Editor’s Thoughts.

December brings with it the opportunity to reflect on the year past. In fact, I’m spending this morning with a board of trustees, sharing the legal and industry updates for 2025. My prep for this training session reminded me just how much change 2025 has brought. Geopolitics, conduct supervision and regulations, and of course, AI – both in the investment context and as a tool to exponentialise productitivity.

Sive Nodada (21st Century) shares reflections from their Coffee & Conversation series over the year. And how HR has changed. One of the standout realisations: AI doesn’t build your voice — it frees your voice. It gives you time, leverage, and clarity, but the tone, truth and credibility still need to come from leadership. And at Old Mutual’s recent Thought Leadership Forum on the future of work, experts reflected on how HR must rethink workforce strategy as AI moves from concept to practical implementation across South African organisations.

In his article today, Leon Greyling (ICTS) shares how “AI will transform work, automating routine tasks and creating new roles in AI management, ethics and innovation. In finance, this means hybrid models where humans design strategies, but AI executes flawlessly. By embracing this, we ensure prosperity, not obsolescence.” Will AI result in reduced fees? Listen to our latest Industry Insights episode with David Shochot (10X).

If you’re still on the fence about AI, or think that it’s just a super-search function, take a moment to look at some of this year’s EBnet Evolutionaries Conference content. You’ll see how far the financial services industry has come in a very short space of time. In today’s Top Picks, Lushan Sundram (Essential Employee Benefits) talks about turning data insights into wellbeing. Easy peasy with AI. Or is it?

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