Edinburgh-based Level E Research announced that M&G plc has invested a minority stake in its latest seed funding round and that it is partnering with the company to develop a suite of Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment strategies.

M&G has about £340 billion of assets under management and administration.

“The strategies will focus on regional equity markets with each one supported by an initial investment of GBP £100 million,” said M&G.

“The first one, AI Smart US, has launched with the objective of outperforming the US S&P 500 Index.

“The other strategies will launch with a similar aim to deliver excess investment returns compared to a specific financial index.

“AI strategies use powerful computers to crunch large amounts of data to find investment opportunities.

“They use the latest technologies to be; smarter, uncovering value in areas that are hard to recognise by humans alone; faster in executing investment decisions; and cheaper because of their tremendous economies of scale and scope.”

M&G said that Edinburgh based Level E Research, founded by Dr Sonia Schulenburg, pioneers an innovative approach to AI-driven investing using a process called “Co-Creation” which gives institutional investors the ability to build bespoke AI-driven investment strategies.

Built to run on Level E’s in house “E-platform”, these strategies are backed up by academic research.

“Together M&G and Level E Research aim to bring AI and Machine Learning to the forefront of investment management,” said M&G.

Schulenburg said: “Today, we are excited to announce a transformational milestone for Level E Research as we partner with M&G.

“With over two decades of research and development behind us we now begin the next stage of our journey as we grow and scale alongside the largest and most established investment managers in the world.

“Level E Research is now perfectly placed to provide AI solutions that empower the investment industry in the UK and beyond.”

David Montgomery, Managing Director at M&G Wealth, said: “We want to offer a wide range of investment choice at great value to financial advisers and clients.

“Unquestionably, AI solutions are becoming an increasing factor in construction of bespoke investment options and, as with any digitisation, helps to lower costs.

“We are delighted to partner with Level E Research and look forward to the launch of these investment strategies and all future developments.”