Just wanted to know everyone’s opinion on this and is it really possible to replace analysts with machines?
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Did you read the article? The bottom third was talking about how the bots till don't know what is useful data and what isn't. There will always be a certain element of human interaction/decision making. If this human part gets cut out of banking, then I think there are many more jobs that will be removed first.
It is not possible to replace analysts with the way IB is. There's just too many nuances in everything. The mechanical parts of DCF / LBO / Comps / Precedents / AccDil type of models are already easy to automate or template out. The problem is when you dive into it. How will an AI determine if a revenue growth projection is reasonable? How will an AI select relevant M&A counterparties for a client? How will an AI determine how to adjust EBITDA? All these things require analysts to dive in and use critical thinking while synthesizing data from many many different sources that are picked based on credibility. An AI simply cannot replace this. Not to mention as you move up the ranks, the human interaction aspect becomes more and more important.
Not possible *yet*
It’s coming
My bank has a PowerPoint tool that checks work (not if numbers tie but formatting & errors like misspelled words, different spellings (fast paced vs fast-paced), and missing footnotes. Helps a ton
But I think the horizon is more like >20 years rather than in the next few years. So much of IB is subjective (or "an art" although I hate this term..) that until AI gains skynet levels of cognitive function, I don't see them completely replacing IB. Maybe certain functions, but not the entire analyst program.
Or, you have a Siri-like software that the associate can talk to that does all the work
But can they send meeting invites laid out just the way I like?
Computers can't replace every IBD analyst. Only the bad ones.
Can Morgan Stanley's bot bullshit with my MDs? I don't think a computer can do that for at least 20 years, and "bull pen talk" is my specialty.
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