Firms in the asset management industry are turning increasingly to generative and agentic AI to streamline operations, improve decision-making, and uncover new sources of alpha — the measure of an investment strategy's ability to outperform the market after accounting for risk. The trend continues with the latest strategic partnership between Franklin Templeton and Wand AI, marking a decisive shift toward more autonomous, data-driven investment processes.
🤝 Franklin Templeton Partners with Wand AI for Enterprise AI Deployment
Franklin Resources, operating as Franklin Templeton, has entered into a strategic partnership with enterprise AI platform Wand AI to begin the enterprise-wide deployment of agentic AI across its worldwide platform. Wand's Autonomous Workforce and Agent Management technologies have enabled Franklin Templeton to implement agentic AI at scale, accelerating data-driven decision-making in its investment processes.
The collaboration has progressed from initial small-scale pilot programmes to fully operational AI systems, strengthening the relationship between the two companies. Early implementations concentrated on high-value AI applications within Franklin Templeton's investment teams, with both parties now planning to mass-deploy intelligent agents across various departments.
💬 Vasundhara Chetluru, Head of AI Platform at Franklin Templeton:
"With strong governance in place, we are demonstrating that AI can deliver secure, scalable, and measurable value."
Franklin Templeton plans to extend the use of Wand AI's intelligent agents in 2026, a move designed to drive digital transformation across the organisation and enhance investment research. The company is committed to ensuring AI systems are managed responsibly under strict oversight, compliance, and risk control, maintaining trust and transparency throughout.
💬 Rotem Alaluf, CEO of Wand AI:
"Our mission is to elevate AI from experimental technology to a fully integrated, adaptive workforce that drives enterprise-wide transformation and delivers significant business impact. AI agents can seamlessly collaborate with human teams and operate at scale in complex, highly regulated environments — but only when properly governed, orchestrated, and deployed as a unified agentic workforce."
📈 AI Takes Centre Stage in Asset Management
Other major players in the sector are also going all-in on AI. Goldman Sachs has implemented AI at scale, with CEO David Solomon identifying the technology as a key driver of economic growth — calling the opportunity presented by AI "enormous."
📊 Key Figures from Goldman Sachs' Report: "AI: In a Bubble?"
- Generative AI could create US $20 trillion of economic value in the long term
- AI has the capacity to deliver up to a 15% uplift in US labour productivity if adopted at scale
In June 2025, Goldman Sachs expanded its AI capabilities by launching a generative-AI assistant internally, joining a growing list of major banks leveraging the technology for day-to-day operations. The assistant was designed to help with tasks including drafting initial content, completing data analysis, and summarising complex documents — freeing thousands of employees to focus on higher-value strategic work.
Such moves signal a clear shift away from AI niche-use cases and pilot projects toward broader enterprise deployments in major financial institutions, aimed at enhancing productivity and operational efficiency.
💬 David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs:
"I can't find a CEO that I'm talking to, in any industry, that is not focused on how they can re-imagine and automate processes in their business to create operating efficiency and productivity."
"Yes, there will be job functions that shift and change, but I'm excited about it. If you take a three-to-five-year view, it's giving us more capacity to invest in our business."
While Solomon acknowledges the enormous opportunity, he has also cautioned that there will be "winners and losers." Some capital investments in AI will not yield returns, which is why he stresses that clients must be diligent in their AI investment decisions.
Solomon has also noted how technology has already transformed Goldman Sachs' workforce over the past 25 years. Today, the bank employs 13,000 engineers — a testament to the evolution of job functions over time. Rather than roles disappearing with technological advancement, Solomon believes economies and workforces adapt. "At the end of the day, we have an incredibly flexible, nimble economy. We have a great ability to adapt and adjust," he said.
Goldman Sachs and Franklin Templeton are part of a wider trend of financial institutions accelerating AI adoption — signalling that intelligent automation is no longer a future ambition but a present-day operational priority across the asset management industry.
📷 Image source: "Trading Floor at the New York Stock Exchange during the Zendesk IPO" by Scott Beale, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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