Acuity launches Agent Fleet AI to boost efficiency for banks
Acuity Knowledge Partners has announced the launch of its domain-focused Agentic AI platform, Agent Fleet, aimed at banks, asset managers, and private equity firms.
The platform has been designed specifically for the financial services sector, blending an AI-powered fleet of agents with Acuity's two decades of sector expertise and its established data infrastructure. According to the company, this approach is intended to help firms scale operations and enhance decision-making and efficiency, all without increasing staff numbers.
Robert King, Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Knowledge Partners, stated, "Today marks another major step forward for Acuity as a technology-first, digital solutions provider to the world's financial services industry. A new age of change is upon us. We are embracing the AI revolution, and building upon it. In the weeks and months ahead, Acuity Agent Fleet will impact hundreds of billions of dollars of deals, loans, and management decisions as we roll out our first of a new generation of tools, powered by our proprietary Agentic AI technology platform."
The Agent Fleet comprises agents that are trained on financial workflows and processes, capable of handling tasks from data extraction to analysis and document publishing within Microsoft Office 365. The agents operate within workflows set by organisations, aiming for reliable outcomes and adherence to defined procedures. This automation is positioned as a way to take over repetitive and time-intensive activities, thereby freeing human staff for tasks that require more in-depth analysis and add more value to financial outcomes.
Use cases outlined by Acuity include significant reductions in manual workflows required for activities such as profile generation, credit underwriting, and market research. The system is designed to be compatible with a range of banks, regardless of their specific modelling approaches, giving them a means to scale quickly and potentially elevating competition within the sector. One workflow described by the firm involves automatically generating company profiles using a range of data sources, including web-based materials, financial reports, and market data, with fact-checking routines and the creation of presentation materials, all under human supervision at specified stages.
For asset managers, Agent Fleet is presented as a way to redeploy staff away from mechanical work and towards functions that aim to deliver higher investment returns. The platform supports the automation of portfolio valuation analysis, portfolio pricing exception handling, and sectoral or market research, all delivered by research-focused agents informed by industry practice.
Within private equity, the system uses proprietary data mining and workflow automation to identify transaction and exit opportunities, helping operators move quickly to realise gains. The first workflows to be released concentrate on the front-office, specifically deal sourcing, due diligence tasks, and creating investment memoranda for limited partners.
Acuity stated that the Agent Fleet's modular design allows for the deployment of as many agents as a client needs, tailored to particular workflow requirements. The company's approach combines automation with expert oversight to reinforce domain knowledge with artificial intelligence.
Jon O'Donnell, Chief Operating Officer of Acuity Knowledge Partners, commented, "The deployment of Agentic AI throughout the financial services industry will be revolutionary. Agentic AI systems with deep human domain expertise when adopted will enable knowledge workers within Financial Services to massively scale up their impact as they leverage fleets of agents – freeing them up for the most value-added interventions. Our Agentic AI implementation will deliver a paradigm shift for our clients, leaders and companies that embrace it will replace those that do not."
The AI agents are being incorporated into Acuity's current digital solutions. The system's scalability and modularity permit adaptation both to the specific process needs of clients and the complexities of the financial institutions they serve.
