AI powers investing tips, raises productivity at OCBC

SINGAPORE – Starting end-July, OCBC Securities customers in Singapore will be able to access stock recommendations online powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Mr Donald MacDonald, head of group data office at OCBC Bank, explained that AI bots will peruse daily news articles, market movements and relevant news feeds to generate tips that consumers can use to inform their investment choices.

The AI bots will also suggest stocks that customers should pay attention to on a given day.

Mr MacDonald said that while stock recommendations are not new, the bank’s AI-driven algorithms will assess potential movements in Singapore stocks and show customers some of the most frequently traded stocks based on various market-related metrics.

He said that the AI bots will be able to make recommendations, which will be filtered down to the bank’s analysts, who will then select the relevant options to pass on to consumers.

Mr MacDonald added that the bank will also be rolling out hyper-personalised tips based on each customer’s profile by end-August. These will be sent out via e-mail for those who are on the OCBC Securities mailing list, and can also be accessed through the iOCBC app.

He said: “We’re also looking at new signals, because it’s AI-driven, that potentially the investment analysts weren’t looking at, so maybe we are going to find opportunities that previously would have been missed. But I think also, when we push out the personalised e-mails, we’re starting to look at things like your own profile to say out of all the ideas today, which are the ones that are actually most relevant to you.

“For example, if you’ve never traded in tech stocks, should I really be giving you a tech stock or should I just be showing you the ones that I think are aligned with your risk profile and things that you’ve shown interest in in the past.”

The technology, Mr MacDonald added, will also help OCBC make better investment decisions.