One of the first sectors to be hit by the AI wave was fintech. In fact, AI and ML is projected to play a significant role in the fintech and wealth-tech industry in the next 5 years. In the trading sector, AI is primarily leveraged in algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading. Over the next two years, AI/ML will make investing and trading a more personalised experience for the customers. Right from onboarding to support, AI will be embedded in investment platforms at some level or the other.
For this week’s Deep Dive column, AIM spoke to Pratik Adani, Chief Technology Officer at SAMCO Securities, Mumbai-headquartered wealth management firm that recently launched its first-of-its-kind Research, Analytics and Development Centre in Chennai. The centre is in line with the ‘Make In India’ programme and is set to provide 200 jobs in Chennai.
Talking about the development of new Analytics R&D in Chennai, Adani shared, “We have plans to invest around ₹20 cr in the next two years to build the technology infrastructure and for the same, we had raised fundings last year. At SAMCO, analytics plays a huge role and all our decisions are based on that. We will be only digging into analytics and maths deeper to make sure our products, processes and teams are all aligned to our goal.”
Adani, who had earlier founded Zon Software Solutions is tasked with building innovative tech-driven products at SAMCO and ensure the quality and reliability of its technology platforms. The online stockbroker is doubling down on building a new range of products and enhancing the existing product line. “For this, we require more manpower for the same, hence our expansion plans also include the hiring of 100+ people in 12-15 months and 200+ in 2 years,” he added.
AIML@SAMCO Securities
At SAMCO, Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning technologies are primarily used to analyse, process and provide customers real-time actionable insights through which they can trade better. “The idea is to shield the customers from millions of data points and just give them relevant information which is personalised rather than generic information, considering which they can quickly decide and take action,” said Adani.
The online stockbroker has built proprietary tech-driven products to help drive informed investment decisions – RankMF platform, StockNote and the Giga trading engine that provides auto-generated research so that clients can be abreast with the latest information as soon as it is out. Meanwhile, MosDex considers the margin of safety of stocks before investing.
“We are building products in a way where besides being an excellent execution platform we get involved in decision making for the customer. For example, the Smart SIP is an asset that allows investors to make automatic adjustments to market volatility along with the traditional SIPs to make higher returns compared to the traditional SIP,” he shared.
SAMCO Makes A Push For Personalisation
One of the key ways SAMCO differentiates its offerings from other wealth tech firms is by providing a personalised investing experience to users. While most of the fintechs are doubling down on building an execution platform, SAMCO is driving a more personalized experience which is helping it increase traction and convert passive customers to active customers.
“The idea is to help customers with their wealth creation journey using AI. This has helped us not only to create a wow experience but also helped us to generate revenue. Most of the fintechs are concentrating on providing an execution-based platform. When a customer comes to their platform, they assume that they know what they want to buy or sell. SAMCO, on the other hand, helps customers in the decisioning phase as well besides providing an excellent execution platform,” said Adani.
To build proprietary technology platforms, SAMCO has an in-house team that works on the latest technologies to help users create long-term wealth, ensure users don’t lose money and achieve their goals. “Our mission is to innovate beyond the regular, plan for all possibilities, learn fast and execute like no other, build amazing technology solutions and products to create long term wealth for our customers,” he added.
SAMCO Securities Makes A Perfect Pitch For Hiring — Looks For ML, Big Data Talent
The company thrives on open-source tech. For someone who wants to work with us, s/he should have knowledge of technologies pertaining to ML, Big Data, Distributed Systems, Mobile /Web technologies and DevOps. “We strongly believe automation and DevOps plays a very important role in automating our Development process. CI/CD is something which we will try to achieve in the next 6 months,” shared Adani.
Given how the technological landscape advancing quickly and new tools can impact workflows dramatically, it is important for IT professionals to keep their technical skills up to date. “We have our employees enrolled in online training programs. Apart from that, we also have an internal knowledge base managed by the internal active tech members,” said Adani, in closing.
