AI is considered by 43% to be the definitive long-term factor set to shape the macro environment. This is over the next 5-10 years. It outpaces concerns like geopolitics and the energy transition/climate change (each 34%), signaling a paradigm shift.
This according to Mercer’s Large Asset Owner Barometer 2025. It convenes the views of 74 large asset owners, with US$2 trillion assets and respondents from 16 countries.
Despite this sentiment, 69% of large asset owners have neither developed nor implemented an AI/Gen AI policy. Only half expect to do so over the next three years. This risks leaving asset owners unprepared for AI’s rapid evolution.
Shaping the Macro Environment
For asset owners the impact of Artificial Intelligence is potentially threefold:
- Opportunities to invest in companies that will themselves benefit from the increasing adoption of AI.
- Potential to make asset owners’ internal processes more efficient, lowering costs and improving net returns.
- Facilitating the analysis of reams of data to uncover new investment opportunities.
As Maanch prepares to launch AI-powered stewardship case studies, it’s critical we understand how asset owners are embracing Artificial Intelligence.
Integration across the Globe
AI integration is gaining traction, with asset owners leveraging technology to improve data analysis, engagement strategies, and reporting mechanisms:
- AU$ 190 billion Aware Super, third biggest superannuation fund in Australia, has created a head of data and AI role. The intention is to strengthen the super fund’s position as an industry leader in tech and innovation. Thus, molding a strategy focused on AI and enterprise data. It’s made strategic investments like leading European fibre platform, long-term Maanch client, euNetworks, to capitalise on AI growth.
Aware Super Head of Infrastructure, Mark Hector, said euNetworks was an attractive asset. It’s able to capture tailwinds from accelerated AI innovation and adoption. - The $C 25 billion OPTrust invests and manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds and administers the OPSEU Pension Plan. Rather than racing to deploy Artificial Intelligence, OPTrust is focusing on robust AI governance and ethical frameworks. This includes transparency, explainability, and responsible use, especially in sensitive areas like member data and investment decisions.
- Pioneering responsible investor Brunel Pension Partnership is a UK-based Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool. It has implemented AI to enhance stewardship evaluations. It is also used to identify misalignments between asset owners and managers around climate-related engagement. AI is being deployed to automate data consolidation, detect engagement gaps, and generate real-time stewardship intelligence. This has the ability to reduce manual overhead and elevate decision-making.
Securing Futures
A certified B Corp, Maanch is at the forefront of integrating Artificial Intelligence into stewardship – the responsible management of investments to align with long-term goals.
AI could enable asset owners to amplify their impact on critical issues like climate change and social equity. This is by identifying and engaging with companies that align with ESG goals. For pensioners, it could enhance investment returns through smarter, data-informed decisions, ensuring more secure retirement funds, with reductions in fees.Like OPTrust, Maanch ensures responsible AI use, prioritising ethics and data privacy, adhering to robust regulatory and privacy standards (such as GDPR and ISO 27001).
Systemic Visibility, Systemic Impact
More than a manager-side tool, the Maanch Engagement Tracker is a stewardship oversight and impact intelligence platform for asset owners. It gives them centralised visibility over the quality, coverage, and effectiveness of engagements carried out across mandates. An example is flagging underperforming managers on climate goals in real-time.
This empowers asset owners to:
- Benchmark stewardship performance across managers
- Drive strategic alignment with long-term sustainability goals
- Enhance transparency and accountability from the top of the investment chain
Maanch is helping asset owners reframe fiduciary duty as a financial obligation AND a lever for societal transformation, backed by forward-looking metrics and AI-powered insights.
The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Stewardship
The integration of AI in stewardship is not just a trend, but a transformative shift. Asset owners and managers are increasingly adopting AI to enhance their engagement strategies, ensure compliance, and drive impactful outcomes.
As the industry evolves, the focus remains on leveraging AI responsibly to foster transparency, efficiency, and meaningful change in investment stewardship, leaders adopting more systems focused approaches, with entire workflows reimagined and re-engineered with AI at their core.
