By Rohith Rajamony, Senior Business Solutions Consultant APAC, Smartstream
When I speak with buy-side firms across Asia, one theme keeps coming up: the pressure to do more with less. Growing transaction volumes, more complex instruments, and heightened regulatory scrutiny are stretching operations teams. Against this backdrop, AI and machine learning are not just technology experiments, they are becoming a strategic response. But let’s be real: it’s not all smooth sailing. The industry agrees that while running pilots is relatively easy, turning those pilots into production-ready solutions that deliver real value? That’s the hard part. It is common to get stuck in pilot mode forever—especially for buy-side firms, where deep tech skillset isn’t exactly a core strength. This is exactly where smart partnerships come into play. Collaborating with the right tech experts and vendors can bridge the gap between experimentation and execution—turning promising pilots into powerful, production-grade tools.
Moving beyond the hype
Hence, for buy-side firms, the question is no longer whether AI works, or whether they “can” implement AI solutions, but where it can make the greatest impact. Value must be delivered where it matters the most. Reconciliations provide a clear example. Data is messy, spread across multiple sources and formats, with constant onboarding of new feeds. The old approach of layering rules on rules isn’t sustainable. AI offers something more efficient: the ability to learn, predict, and adapt without adding to operational complexity. Time and again, studies and surveys have shown that the back office is where AI truly shines—delivering real, measurable ROI from the moment it’s switched on.
Lessons from real-world deployments
At Smartstream, we’ve seen first-hand how AI can transform reconciliation processes. In one recent case, we saw the implementation of AI pushing the auto-match rates well beyond deterministic rules can, halving the number of transactions needing manual intervention. The same team could now deliver twice the productivity, freeing capacity to focus on high-value tasks like oversight and exception handling. What makes this powerful is not only the efficiency gain but also the shift in operational resilience. By reducing dependency on “key-man knowledge” and simplifying the maintenance of matching rules, firms safeguard themselves against risk while lowering costs.
Building trust in AI
For buy-side institutions, adoption isn’t just about results, it’s also about trust. AI must be transparent, explainable, and subject to business validation. Users must remain in loop and need to understand why a match is being proposed, and auditors must be able to trace the logic. It is not just users demanding it – regulators around the world are asking for it too. The need of the hour? Transparent and trustworthy AI, where humans stay in the loop and remain accountable. Safe AI isn’t a nice-to-have option anymore; it’s a must – if you want a successful implementation. Once confidence is established, automation could, potentially move from assistive to fully autonomous. That’s exactly why, at Smartstream, we’ve built our AI solutions around the principles of Fairness, Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency. Our approach ensures compliance with global regulations, including MAS’ principles of responsible AI and the EU AI Act.
Why this matters now
The buy-side is under unique pressure. Margins are tight, competition is fierce, and regulators are uncompromising. The firms that succeed will be those that can scale efficiently without compromising control. AI and machine learning aren’t just future opportunities waiting to be tapped any more —they’re a present-day enabler of that balance between growth, compliance, and operational efficiency. They’ve moved from hype to “here-and-now” essentials.
Closing thought: At InvestOps Asia 2025, I walked through a case study where AI delivered real productivity gains and cut manual effort in half. The takeaway was simple: buy-side firms don’t need more theory; they need practical deployments and partners that deliver outcomes now. That’s where the real momentum is.
