There is a troubling phenomenon that threatens to undermine investor confidence in legitimate technological innovation – many firms claiming to use AI for portfolio optimization are, quite simply, not using AI at all. The gap between marketing claims and technological reality has reached crisis proportions. The Securities and Exchange Commission has coined a term for this deceptive practice: “AI washing”—and it’s more pervasive than most realize.
The $400,000 Warning Shot
In March 2024, the SEC sent shockwaves through the investment advisory community by charging two firms—Delphia (USA) Inc. and Global Predictions Inc.—with making false and misleading statements about their use of AI. The firms agreed to pay a combined $400,000 in penalties, marking the first explicit AI-related enforcement actions against investment advisers.
Global Predictions had boldly proclaimed itself “the first regulated AI financial advisor” and touted “expert AI-driven forecasts.” Delphia claimed its platform used AI to “predict which companies and trends are about to make it big and invest in them before everyone else.” The reality? Neither firm possessed the AI capabilities they advertised.
As SEC Chair Gary Gensler put it bluntly: “We’ve seen time and again that when new technologies come along, they can create buzz from investors as well as false claims by those purporting to use those new technologies.”
The Anatomy of AI Washing
There are several patterns in how firms engage in AI washing:
The Rebrand Masquerade: Traditional statistical models or rule-based systems are rebranded as “AI” without any fundamental technological change. A simple regression analysis becomes “machine learning,” and basic algorithmic trading becomes an “AI-powered investment engine.”
The Buzzword Bombardment: Marketing materials overflow with terms like “neural networks,” “deep learning,” and “predictive analytics,” yet the underlying technology remains conventional portfolio optimization techniques that have existed for decades.
The Black Box Excuse: When pressed for details, firms hide behind claims of proprietary technology, suggesting their AI is too complex or secret to explain. In reality, there’s often no AI to protect.
The Future Promise: Companies claim their AI capabilities are “in development” or “coming soon,” using these promises to attract investors and clients based on potential rather than reality.
Real AI vs. Marketing Fiction: A Technical Perspective
As a business educator, I believe it’s crucial for business leaders to understand what genuine AI in portfolio management actually looks like. Consider BlackRock’s Aladdin platform—a legitimate example of AI application at scale.
BlackRock’s AI implementation includes:
- Natural language processing that parses earnings reports and central bank communications in real-time
- Machine learning models that identify complex market patterns across millions of data points
- A “Thematic Robot” tool that uses large language models to construct thematic equity baskets
- AI-driven risk analytics that anticipate market movements and stress-test portfolios under thousands of scenarios
The platform processes data for over $21 trillion in assets and serves thousands of institutional clients globally. This is what real AI looks like: sophisticated, scalable, and substantive.
Contrast this with the firms sanctioned by the SEC. When examined, their “AI” turned out to be nothing more than traditional algorithms dressed up in modern marketing language. One firm admitted during an SEC examination that it hadn’t even created the AI capabilities it claimed to possess.
The Cost of Deception
The implications of AI washing extend far beyond regulatory penalties. For C-suite executives, the risks include:
Reputational Damage: In an era of rapid information flow, exposure of false AI claims can destroy decades of carefully built trust. The securities litigation landscape in 2024 alone saw multiple class-action lawsuits against companies making unsubstantiated AI claims.
Regulatory Escalation: The SEC’s Director of Enforcement has made it clear that the agency will approach individual liability in AI cases similarly to cybersecurity disclosure failures. Executives who know or should know about AI misrepresentations face personal liability.
Competitive Disadvantage: While companies waste resources on AI theater, competitors with genuine technological capabilities gain real advantages in portfolio performance, risk management, and operational efficiency.
Lost Innovation Opportunity: Perhaps most tragically, the focus on marketing fiction prevents organizations from pursuing authentic AI innovation that could deliver real value to clients.
A Path Forward: Building Legitimate AI Capabilities
For executives serious about leveraging AI in investment management, I recommend a three-phase approach:
Phase 1: Honest Assessment Conduct a thorough audit of current technological capabilities. If you’re calling something AI, can your technical team explain the specific machine learning algorithms involved? Can they demonstrate how the system learns and adapts over time? If not, you don’t have AI.
Phase 2: Strategic Investment Real AI requires real investment—not just in technology, but in talent. You need data scientists who understand both machine learning and financial markets. You need infrastructure capable of processing vast amounts of unstructured data. You need a commitment to long-term development, not quick marketing wins.
Phase 3: Transparent Communication When you do develop genuine AI capabilities, communicate them clearly and accurately. Explain what your AI can and cannot do. Provide metrics and evidence. Remember that in financial services, trust is your most valuable asset.
The Regulatory Imperative
The regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly. The SEC’s December 2023 AI sweep sought detailed information about firms’ use of AI, signaling intensive ongoing scrutiny, and it’s clear that enforcement will only intensify.
Business leaders must understand that existing securities laws fully apply to AI claims. The principle is simple: say what you do, and do what you say. The SEC isn’t requiring new AI-specific disclosures—they’re enforcing the fundamental requirement of truthfulness that has always governed the industry.
A Call for Authentic Innovation
We are standing at an inflection point. AI has genuine potential to revolutionize investment management—from enhancing risk assessment to democratizing access to sophisticated portfolio strategies. But this potential will only be realized if firms are committed to authentic innovation over marketing hyperbole.
The firms that will thrive in the coming decade are those that invest in real AI capabilities while maintaining scrupulous honesty about their technological evolution. Those that choose the path of AI washing face not just regulatory sanction, but obsolescence in a market that increasingly demands substance over style.
