Dear Future Alpha Community,

As a member of the Future Alpha Advisory Board, it was a privilege to witness another exceptional gathering at Future Alpha 2026. If you were there, the conversation that dominated and frankly may not have left your mind since, was the role of artificial intelligence in the future of alpha generation.

Day One set the tone immediately, with panels tackling the harder questions: how to integrate alternative data without signal decay, how to balance human intuition with machine output, and what model explainability looks like under growing regulatory scrutiny. The afternoon brought a compelling debate on whether the future of investing is competitive or collaborative between discretionary traders and systematic approaches.

There's little doubt that AI is reshaping quantitative finance. Whether through LLM-driven signal generation, agentic investment systems, or rebuilding execution infrastructure to support GenAI at scale, the implications for how the industry invests, manages risk, and builds systems are hard to ignore. The recurring tension was around durability: as base models commoditize, where does lasting competitive advantage actually reside in the model, the proprietary data, or the workflow built around both?

On Day Two, one of the most thought provoking discussions centered on the future of quant research teams. As AI compresses research cycles, attendees were divided on who owns oversight and explainability when autonomous systems sit between data and decision-makers.

The consensus, if there was one, is that firms best positioned are those treating AI as a reason to rethink their operating model entirely, with data infrastructure, talent strategy, and governance evolving together.

On a personal note, the FutureX Awards ceremony was a highlight of the event, celebrating breakthroughs and emerging players driving next generation alpha. I am truly honored and humbled to have been among the winners this year. Thank you to the Future Alpha community for considering me worthy of this recognition. It means more than words can express. Congratulations to all the nominees and everyone recognized on the night.

Until next time, at Future Alpha 2027!

Amrita Tiwari, New York Life Investments

Future Alpha 2026 Advisory Board Member, Speaker & FutureX Award Winner