{"id":104882,"date":"2026-08-17T05:27:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/104882\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T05:27:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:27:21","slug":"look-to-diverse-infrastructure-for-durable-ai-returns-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/104882\/","title":{"rendered":"Look to diverse infrastructure for durable AI returns, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

The initial wave of blanket gains from artificial intelligence (AI) stocks<\/a> may have passed, but wealth managers and venture investors say it remains one of the most compelling multi-year themes for high-net-worth portfolios \u2013 provided investors shift from momentum-driven bets to selective, infrastructure-anchored positions.<\/p>\n

Raymond Ang, global head of private, SME and affluent clients, and head of wealth and retail banking, Greater China and North Asia, at Standard Chartered, says that AI technology has become an inevitable topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not something investors choose to opt into or out of,\u201d he notes. \u201cIt is a structural shift that cuts across industries and asset classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ang\u2019s remarks come despite sobering headlines around AI commercialisation. Cancellations of data centre developments have increased since late 2025, and several high-profile AI firms missed revenue targets ahead of planned initial public offerings.<\/p>\n

\"RaymondRaymond Ang, global head of private, SME and affluent clients, and head of wealth and retail banking, Greater China and North Asia, at Standard Chartered. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n

While public markets are wavering, underlying data shows corporate spending on AI is doing the opposite.<\/p>\n

The 2026 AI Index Report from Stanford\u2019s Institute for Human-Centred AI found global corporate AI investment more than doubled in 2025, with private investment growing 127.5 per cent. Generative AI<\/a> captured nearly half of all private funding in the subsector, while organisational adoption climbed to 88 per cent. The Deloitte-HKU AI Adoption Index 2026 report found adoption highest in customer services (58 per cent), marketing (54 per cent) and IT (53 per cent), with more moderate uptake in R&D and operations (both 45 per cent).<\/p>\n

The report also says that executives plan to invest in customer engagement while expanding into innovation-centric functions such as R&D, signalling a strategic shift from efficiency to discovery.<\/p>\n

\"ApplicationsApplications for AI drew attention at the Humanoid Robots Industry Base in Beijing in April, but investors are advised to focus on infrastructure plays. Photo: APWill Wang, an associate professor of management and strategy at HKU Business School at the University of Hong Kong, says that AI\u2019s economic impact<\/a> should be seen as being in its early stages rather than plateauing.<\/p>\n

He explains that the adoption pattern resembles previous technology cycles. \u201cInfrastructure investment remains strong, but the faster growth is now in the application layer, especially in enterprise adoption,\u201d Wang says.<\/p>\n

He describes the pattern as \u201cwide but shallow \u2013 exactly what I would expect early in the diffusion of a general-purpose technology\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wang goes on to draw a parallel with mobile phone technology, where chips, networks and devices came first before software and applications caught up and captured more incremental value. He adds that \u201cAI application spend as a share of enterprise revenue\u201d remains small but should rise quickly once AI systems begin replacing parts of workflows rather than merely augmenting human workers.<\/p>\n

\"SamirSamir Subberwal, Standard Chartered\u2019s global head of wealth solutions, retail products, data and analytics. Photo: HandoutWith the technology still in the infrastructure phase, wealth managers argue that the safest financial bets sit in the physical foundations underpinning it. Samir Subberwal<\/a>, Standard Chartered\u2019s global head of wealth solutions, retail products, data and analytics, says the opportunity has evolved considerably, moving from a concept story to a tangible investible theme which reshapes how enterprises operate and allocate capital. \u201cThe most compelling opportunities are in the application and infrastructure layers including leading semiconductor companies and global power and electronification \u2013 data centres, power, connectivity and specialist semiconductors \u2013 which benefit regardless of which AI model ultimately dominates.\u201d<\/p>\n

A November 2025 KKR report said today\u2019s data centre buildout differs from the 1990s fibre optic overbuild: projects are supported by pre-emptive hyperscaler offtake agreements, while power constraints and permitting bottlenecks naturally limit oversupply risk. The report concluded that investors who are focused on execution, unit economics and scarce inputs \u2013 power, land, grid access \u2013 will be best positioned as AI infrastructure matures.<\/p>\n

High-net-worth investors today are more sophisticated and looking beyond the public markets, according to Ang. They are either seeking opportunities to access or are looking to increase their allocation to private assets.<\/p>\n

The most compelling opportunities are in the application and infrastructure layers including leading semiconductor companies and global power and electronificationSamir Subberwal, Standard Chartered<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is still too early to call clear application-level winners in AI,\u201d Subberwal says, \u201cThis is why, rather than making narrow calls on specific AI applications, we encourage clients to think in terms of the entire value chain \u2013 from enablers and suppliers through to end users.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expects the next phase to reward resilience over speed. \u201cCompanies need to demonstrate that their products can be embedded deep into client workflows, supported by reliable infrastructure and recurring demand, not just rapid experimentation. The market will reward those companies with better network effects and return on investment strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI requires a disciplined and systematic approach both in public and private markets,\u201d Subberwal adds. \u201cInvesting in tech and tech-enabled business models today goes beyond passive exposure; it demands active management to navigate market volatility, business cycles and disruption risks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The initial wave of blanket gains from artificial intelligence (AI) stocks may have passed, but wealth managers and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21387],"tags":[1418,43923,1659,43927,43925,26243,43921,43926,43929,27363,28315,43922,20677,43928,43924],"class_list":["post-104882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-standard-chartered","tag-ai","tag-ai-index-report","tag-asia","tag-beyond-ventures","tag-deloitte-hku-ai-adoption-index","tag-greater-china","tag-hku-business-school","tag-institute-for-human-centred-ai","tag-mindworks-capital","tag-north-asia","tag-raymond-ang","tag-samir-subberwal","tag-standard-chartered","tag-university-of-hong-kong","tag-will-wang"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117109197624171157","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}