Traders Slash Research Time by 80% Using AI
Geopolitical conflict is accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence into Wall Street trading workflows, with some traders reporting an 80% reduction in research time. As the war in Iran created information overload and oil market volatility, professionals turned to AI tools like Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT to gain an analytical edge. Maxence Visseau, founder of Arkevium, placed AI at the core of his investment process during the conflict's initial days, using it to run stress tests and map potential cross-asset chain reactions.
I almost went 48 hours without sleep, monitoring interception operations in the UAE, running scenarios, and preparing for the market open. It’s at times like these that AI becomes indispensable.
— Maxence Visseau, Founder, Arkevium
The applications extend beyond real-time news analysis. Anna Wu, a cross-asset strategist at Van Eck Associates Corp., used AI to review the past 100 years of war-driven oil price spikes, cross-referencing the data with inflation and global growth to identify which asset classes historically outperformed. Similarly, GAM Investment Management fund manager Jian Shi Cortesi noted that AI has increased her research speed by fivefold, stating the technology is now her "best" research assistant and has made her less reliant on junior analysts.
Hybrid AI-Human Models Emerge as New Trading Standard
The adoption of AI is not just a tactical response to crises but reflects a structural evolution toward hybrid human-AI trading systems. While algorithms excel at processing vast datasets and identifying statistical patterns, human experts provide critical contextual interpretation and risk management. This collaborative model allows firms to leverage AI for speed and scale while using human judgment to navigate rare events that fall outside historical training data, such as sudden market regime shifts or geopolitical shocks. This approach combines the pattern-recognition strengths of machine learning with the nuanced understanding of human strategists.
However, regulators and industry veterans caution against the risks of over-reliance on automation. A Bank of England policymaker warned that widespread AI use in trading could amplify market shocks and reinforce herd-like behavior. This risk of generating false or misleading information without proper oversight remains a key concern. Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone Group, emphasizes that traders must maintain a deep understanding of the situation to validate AI outputs and make final decisions, highlighting that the technology is a powerful tool, not a "silver bullet."
Edgen Stock·Mar 20 2026, 08:22