Does AI spell the death knell for investment writers? Definitely not.
- Anthony Beachey
- Dec 15, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
A huge debate is currently taking place in the asset-management industry: can artificial intelligence (AI) replace investment writers?
I’ve worked with many of the world’s leading asset managers over the past 30 years or so, as both a freelance writer and a staff member. In that time, I’ve covered just about every asset and investment topic possible. So, I don’t speak lightly when I say that AI can indeed be a useful tool in investment marketing, if the aim is to produce standardised emails or SEO-optimised content.
However, I’m sceptical that it can be used for high-level thought leadership of the kind that people will regard as insightful or will want to share on LinkedIn.
Why? It all comes down to the idea.
Why interviews are crucial for generating content ideas
I love to generate ideas for new content. But here’s the thing: I rarely do it in isolation.
The very best, most novel ideas nearly always come when I’m interviewing an investment professional, or just chatting with them by the water cooler. On countless occasions, while discussing another topic, one of these professionals has casually made an aside that has stopped me in my tracks. I realise that what they’ve just said is not common knowledge and would make for a great piece of content. Often, an interview or casual conversation will generate three or four highly topical ideas.
As an example, back in the early 2010s, a US fund manager I was interviewing for an unrelated article made a comment about fracking. It became obvious that the technology had huge potential to transform the US economy and global geopolitics (by lessening US dependence on the Middle East), and I was able to follow up with what I still regard as one of the most interesting thought pieces I’ve ever written.
Earlier in my career, working as a journalist with the BBC World Service in the 1990s, I was talking to an aid worker when she mentioned that a serious famine that wasn’t getting any press coverage had broken out in a remote part of Cambodia. I was able to write up the story for the World Service and The Economist.
These experiences lead me to ask: could AI do any of the above? I have serious doubts, but please let me know if you think I’m wrong. I’d love to hear your point of view.
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