AI at the service of investments: new dimensions in asset management

The application of artificial intelligence began in 2017, when K&H Asset Management, together with the development team of KBC Bank, created the first system capable of analyzing the changes in more than a thousand market indicators over twenty years. During the three-year learning period, it mastered the basics of asset allocation decisions and is now able to make recommendations not only for the bond-to-equity ratio within an investment fund, but also for the composition of sectors and regions.

The Optimum Fund Enhanced Intelligence Global Allocation Fund was launched in 2020, and became available first to Belgian and then to Hungarian private banking clients from 2021. This is a euro-based dynamic mixed fund in which short-term tactical decisions are made by artificial intelligence – naturally with human control. The fund currently manages approximately EUR 170 million in assets, of which approximately EUR 22 million is in Hungary. Over the past two years, it has achieved an annualized return of 9 percent in euros, which is an outstanding performance even compared to its Belgian competitors.

The role of artificial intelligence is constantly expanding: it now also acts as a professional assistant to the 80-person portfolio management team of KBC Fund Management. It processes more than a thousand market and economic data points per day and makes forecasts using 180 mathematical models. Taking into account the models’ suggestions, it finally makes a proposal for the portfolio composition with the help of an optimizer. Analyses and suggestions made using artificial intelligence models also play an important role in the weekly Investment Committee decisions. This technology currently affects about a quarter of the assets managed by KBC Fund Management. “Artificial intelligence does not replace our professionals, but supports their work – with its speed and data analysis capabilities, it opens up new dimensions in investment decision-making,” emphasized Tamás Ács, Director of K&H Asset Management. “We are proud to be among the first in Hungary and Europe to recognize the strategic importance of artificial intelligence in asset management,” added Tamás Ács.

As of June 27, 2025, the Optimum Fund Enhanced Intelligence Global Allocation Fund has taken a new direction: it has also set sustainability as its banner and will continue to operate as K&H’s 32nd responsible fund. This innovation combines responsible thinking and the power of artificial intelligence – further proof that K&H Asset Management is at the forefront of innovation.