Photo: AFP / Joe Raedle
More than a third of New Zealand retail investors are using AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to make investment decisions, and more than three-quarters (76 percent) are satisfied with the results.
Chartered Accountants ANZ's (CA ANZ) seventh annual investor confidence survey of more than 550 retailer investors also indicated 79 percent had increasing confidence in New Zealand's capital markets and listed companies, though concerns about political unrest were growing.
Confidence in capital markets rose by 6 percent on the year earlier, which was a contrast to investor confidence in overseas markets, which dropped 5 percent.
The reasons for a lack of confidence was dominated by fear of unstable or corrupt foreign governments (+15 percent) with fears of trade wars increasing.
"Overall, despite the doom and gloom there are positive signs from investors, that they see value in New Zealand's economy and they're willing to invest domestically, rather than overseas," CA ANZ chief executive Ainslie van Onselen said.
"Investors are telling us that their increasing confidence is fuelled by the belief that New Zealand's economy historically bounces back, and that their personal financial situations are improving.
"Domestically, inflation is still the primary concern, but that is dropped by a massive 8 percent, while concern about the global political landscape is close behind, having increased by 6 percent.
"The next biggest concern is the impact of a trade war, with 12 percent of respondents calling it the biggest risk.
"We can also see concerns about domestic politics, with 11 percent of respondents saying that domestic political unrest is the biggest risk to the New Zealand economy, up from 5 percent last year."
Investors using AI for advice
Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of younger investors between the age of 18 and 29 were using AI in their investment decision-making, with more men (9 percent) than women (5 percent) likely to use the technology extensively.
The highest proportion of those who used AI was found in Auckland (51 percent) compared with Canterbury (33 percent) and Wellington (27 percent).
"Although more than a third of Kiwi investors used AI to make investment decisions, their trust is fragile," van Onselen said.
"We found that 41 percent of investors who do not use AI do not trust the information it provides and 48 percent were more confident in other sources of information."
He said many investors were not sold on AI's integrity or usability.
"This highlights the importance of having high-quality and reliable financial data for training AI models, which in turn can support investors in making informed decisions."
Independent auditors take on role of 'data guardians'
CA ANZ reporting and assurance leader Amir Ghandar said auditors continued to be ranked the most trusted party in advancing investor protection, ahead of regulators, analysts and the market.
"Trust in audited financial statements remains robust, with 88 percent of New Zealand investors expressing confidence," Ghandar said.
"Audit is the unsung hero when it comes to delivering reliable and trustworthy information to businesses, investors, journalists and market observers.
"Although more investors are using AI, it's only as good as the source information, and independently audited financial statements remain the bedrock of investor intelligence."
He said a recent report by Chartered Accountants Worldwide and Ipsos UK indicated the role of accountants as 'data guardians' would become increasingly important to organisations.
The report, based on 2718 respondents across 48 countries from multiple professional chartered accountancy institutes, also indicated accountants were increasingly using AI, particularly those under 30 years old.
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