How new grads should be approaching AI as they seek careers in finance
According to the CFA Institute's global graduate outlook survey, 40 per cent of Canadian university students and recent grads ranked finance as the sector in which they have the most confidence, beating the next closest sector – STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) – by 20 percentage points. What gives?
Michael Thom, managing director of CFA Societies Canada, says the financial sector may offer better prospects for young professionals with artificial intelligence skills they're ready to use in the workplace.
Most students (87 per cent) surveyed expressed confidence in their AI literacy, and 35 per cent believed their AI skills would boost their job prospects more than traditional skills, such as speaking another language, at 23 per cent.
Still, almost three-quarters feared AI could hurt their careers and make it harder to get a job.
We spoke with Mr. Thom about the survey and what's most important for those entering careers in finance.
New grads like the financial industry right now. How come?
I wish I had [more] explanatory variables.
If you look at some of the questions around secular challenges, there's a pathway in which finance is enabled by AI and able to adapt to the challenge of AI, and it's not entirely disrupted and made obsolete.
Unfortunately, it's a dire market for new grads, and AI may be contributing with entry-level jobs being eliminated. How should grads be looking at that in terms of financial jobs in Canada?
The younger cohort is definitely affected inordinately by the employment weakness we're seeing in the broader Canadian economy right now, and that's a point of concern. I'd want to look at what the data points are on financial services on a sectoral basis, but it's in the data that new grads are positive, and I think financial services is going to be relatively resilient in this cycle. And that's cause for optimism.
What new skills should people entering finance be acquiring or developing?
That's been a big topic of conversation. AI literacy is something that probably a certain number of the new grad cohort take for granted, but it's really important to turn whatever implicit literacy you have into applicable skills in the workplace. So, arming yourself with understanding AI, and generative AI in particular, [as well as] broader trends around data usage and data wrangling … and synthesizing that into parts of your job.
There's reason to think about AI as an enabler rather than a replacer, at least at this stage.
What are some of the ways entry-level jobs in the financial sector are changing as AI is adopted?
Some of the pieces of relatively low value-add work around rote commentary and content production – tasks junior staff would have cut their teeth on just as a learning exercise. That's compressing, to some degree, where there are pieces in that value chain that generative AI is quite competent at if prompted properly, fed the right information properly, and constrained from a hallucination perspective properly. And then it allows you to scale the outputs really interestingly.
UBS has deployed AI personas of some of their analysts to answer questions on the basis of their published research, allowing them to stretch further from both an internal and an external client resourcing perspective. That's really interesting as a not-so-remote application.
That's enablement as opposed to replacement, and allowing highly trained investment professionals at various levels of their career development to be in more places at once, which is exciting.
In terms of replacement, is there any risk that if firms aren't needing to hire as many entry-level positions – whether it's analysts or advisor assistants – that you lose out on the talent chain and it's tougher to have that pipeline, especially on the advisor side, as the industry ages?
It's a risk, but you really have to look at this on a sector-relative basis. AI allows new hires to get to more value-added work more quickly, and take away some of those low value-added tasks.
So, from a progress perspective, there's more progress expected more quickly from staff to provide value around tasks that AI can't do reliably, better and more quickly.
Again, that's exciting from a career development perspective. Does it have net negative effects on the number of people you need to hire? Maybe, but I'm not convinced by anything I've seen yet that it's affecting finance more than elsewhere. If anything, it might be the inverse.
Is there anything else you want to say on this?
There's still this view in some quarters that this is a hype cycle: 'I don't believe this is real yet, and I don't think this justifies changing my skill set and how I do my job.' And that might be ill-founded. AI does deserve everyone's attention. Whether you're late career, mid career, or early career, you're probably going to want to approach it in different ways, but it's worth everyone's attention.
- This interview has been edited and condensed.
Insurance changes: Danielle Kanengoni, the president of Allan Financial in Vancouver, has had her licence to work as a life insurance advisor in British Columbia for more than a decade. But in Quebec, the mid-career professional still had to be supervised by another advisor for three months this spring to obtain her licence in that province. It's one example of the friction life insurance advisors say exists for those who want to work with clients in multiple provinces.
Tax changes: Bill C-4, the Liberal government's legislation to reduce the tax rate for the lowest federal tax bracket, is still making its way through Parliament. While this change will result in tax savings for many Canadians, not everyone will receive the same benefit. In some situations, this change could increase taxes payable, writes Aaron Hector.
Advice changes: CIRO is looking at allowing order-execution-only dealers to provide non-tailored advice to clients to address the growth of the do-it-yourself investment landscape. What would this mean for investors? Kelsey Rolfe reports.
A big retirement: The formula for success in personal finance is just this: Spend less than you make, keep debt manageable and save and invest regularly, writes Rob Carrick. In his final column as The Globe and Mail's personal finance columnist, Mr. Carrick offers solutions to some of the challenges people face in managing their money.
Two big mistakes: The founders of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. never wanted to sell the business they built over 35 years to a bank. But management made two strategic mistakes that cost the firm its independence, leading to its $625-million sale to BMO, writes Andrew Willis, offering lessons in succession to any entrepreneur-owned businesses.
A big scam: Last week, Bank of Montreal chief investment strategist Brian Belski became the latest finance heavyweight to warn his social media followers about imposters posing as him to scam investors. While scams impersonating celebrities and politicians have proliferated for years, fraud targeting investors through fake advice from big names in finance is now multiplying, with the real experts struggling to get the content taken down.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Alcohol tax cuts in Ontario are in effect. Here's what you need to know
An LCBO employee moves products in an LCBO store at Union Station in Toronto on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Laura Proctor Ontario's largest alcohol tax cut in decades officially takes effect today, with the provincial government cutting levies and LCBO markups in an effort to shield local producers from global trade tensions. The changes, announced in the 2025 provincial budget include significant tax relief for spirits, cider, and ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs), along with new support for microbreweries. While the Ford government says the move is a response to U.S. trade policies, industry experts say some sectors will remain largely unaffected but others could see some new growth. What's changing and who benefits? In an email to CTV News Toronto, the Ministry of Finance says the cuts include a 50 per cent reduction in the spirits basic tax rate for distilleries with on-site retail sales, a nearly 50 per cent cut to LCBO markups on cider, and reduced markups for wine- and spirit-based ready-to-drink beverages with alcohol content under 7.1 per cent. Beer made by Ontario microbreweries will also benefit, with reductions to both LCBO markups and the beer basic tax, along with enhancements to the province's Small Beer Manufacturers' Tax Credit. 'In the face of President Trump's tariffs and tariff threats taking direct aim at our economy, we are protecting Ontario business with the largest tax cut to the alcohol industry in decades,' a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Finance said. The province is also allocating $100 million in 2025–26 and $155 million in 2026–27 to support these changes. Scott Simmons, president of the industry trade association Ontario Craft Brewers, said the reforms mark a defining moment for the province's beer industry. 'The tax cut that takes effect today is a game changer for Ontario's craft beer sector, one of the biggest things to happen to the industry in a generation, and a great day for locally-owned craft breweries, craft beer lovers, and communities across Ontario,' Simmons said in a statement. 'We represent 80 per cent of all direct brewing jobs in Ontario, and today's tax changes have put it on a path that will see breweries grow, create even more jobs, invest in their communities, and get more local beer on store shelves — I think that's something we can all cheers!' The government also says this is part of a broader effort to modernize Ontario's alcohol marketplace. Not all sectors will see the same relief The Ontario Craft Wineries association says most of today's changes won't directly impact traditional wine producers, who saw earlier reforms of their own. 'With regards to taxation and other supports, OCW received some big wins recently including the elimination of the 6.1 per cent wine basic tax and an extension and uncapping of the VQA Support Program,' Michelle Wasylyshen, president and CEO of Ontario Craft Wineries, said in a statement. But Wasylyshen noted there's still more work to be done to level the playing field. One top priority, she said, is removing the LCBO administration fee charged to wineries for sales to restaurants — a fee that's applied even though 'the LCBO (is) not providing a service in this transaction.' She added that the recent shift toward Canadian-made products still presents a rare window of opportunity for domestic wine producers. 'The 'Buy-Canadian' movement has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get our products into the hands of consumers, onto store shelves and into restaurants,' Wasylyshen said. 'Our biggest priority continues to be in sustaining (that) incredible boost in sales.' What comes next? While the results of the new framework remain to be seen, the province says they will continue to 'champion' domestic businesses. 'We will continue to champion Ontario and Canadian businesses as we work to build a more self-reliant and resilient economy.'
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
OC Transpo scrapping youth passes on Sept. 1, charging 11-19 year-olds the same fare as adults
It will soon be the end of the road for OC Transpo's youth pass, as the City of Ottawa gets set to scrap the discounted pass for 11- to 19-year-olds at the end of August. In a memo to council, acting OC Transpo general manager Troy Charter reminded councillors the youth monthly pass will be discontinued as of September 1. 'Customers who currently have a Youth concession set on their Presto card will be charged an adult monthly pass on September 1,' Charter said. The youth monthly pass costs $104 a month, while an adult monthly pass costs $135 a month. Council approved the elimination of the youth monthly pass as part of the 2025 City of Ottawa budget in a bid to reduce a proposed budget deficit. The budget also eliminated free transit for 11 and 12-year-olds. A report for the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority shows the 2025-26 draft budget projected a $4.8 million increase in public transit costs due to the elimination of free transit for students 12 and under and scrapping the youth fare pass in September.
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
This Quantum Computing Company Just Unlocked a New AI Breakthrough
Key Points Rigetti has achieved a significant error rate reduction with a 36-qubit system. This could pave the way for quantum computers with more qubits that can be used for AI. There's still a long way to go, though -- and Rigetti's stock remains a speculative bet. 10 stocks we like better than Rigetti Computing › What are currently the two hottest technologies? Artificial intelligence (AI) deserves a spot at the top, for sure. There's a strong case for quantum computing taking second place. Not so coincidentally, these two technologies are joined at the hip in some ways. When a key milestone is achieved in quantum computing, it can translate to a step forward for AI, too. That appears to be the case with a recent announcement from Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI). This quantum computing company arguably just unlocked a new AI breakthrough. Rigetti's breakthrough On July 16, 2025, Rigetti Computing revealed that it had achieved 99.5% median 2-qubit gate fidelity with its modular 36-qubit quantum computing system. This reflected a halving of the company's best 2-qubit gate error rate with its 84-qubit Ankaa-3 system. If all that sounds like techno-gobbledygook to you, you're not alone. Quantum computing is complicated, with jargon that can be confusing. Let's try to make sense of Rigetti's breakthrough. First, qubits (short for "quantum bits") are similar to the binary bits 0 and 1 used in traditional computers. The big difference is that qubits can be 0, 1, or even both simultaneously. Quantum gates are the building blocks of quantum circuits. They're like logic gates used in traditional computers (such as AND, OR, and NOT) to perform operations. What does it mean that Rigetti achieved 99.5% median 2-qubit gate fidelity? When 2 qubits interact in a "gate" operation, the result is correct 99.5% of the time, with an error rate of five in 1,000 operations. The fewer errors, the more useful a quantum computer is. What does improved quantum gate error rates mean for AI? Rigetti didn't mention AI at all in its announcement. However, its quantum computing breakthrough could have important ramifications for AI. Error correction ranks as one of the biggest problems with quantum computers today. Too many errors make a quantum computer useless in practical applications. That's especially the case with AI, which requires multiple iterations and a high degree of precision in its under-the-hood processing. However, lower error rates allow quantum computers to run longer and use more quantum gates before the accumulated errors cause major problems. It also paves the way for quantum computers with more qubits, which will be a must for training and deploying large-scale AI models. We're seeing this with Rigetti already. The company made its breakthrough on a 36-qubit system. However, it plans to release a 100-plus-qubit system that will have 99.5% median 2-qubit gate fidelity before the end of this year. CEO Subodh Kulkarni stated, "By leveraging well-known techniques from the semiconductor industry, we've developed proprietary technology that we believe is critical to enable scaling to higher qubit count systems." Now for a reality check: Five errors in 1,000 operations isn't nearly good enough. The error rate needs to fall to around one in a million for quantum computers to run useful applications. Some more complex applications will need error rates of one in a billion or better. However, Rigetti's achievement is nonetheless an important milestone in getting to these lower error rates. Is Rigetti Computing stock a smart pick to buy now? If you want to know how significant investors viewed Rigetti's breakthrough, just look at its stock chart. The quantum computing company's share price soared after its announcement earlier this month. Over the last three months, Rigetti stock is up close to 80%. Is this quantum computing stock a smart pick to buy now? Not for risk-averse investors. Rigetti remains unprofitable. It also faces stiff competition from both large and small companies scrambling to develop quantum computers. There's no guarantee that Rigetti will be among the winners in quantum computing over the long run. However, aggressive investors who are willing to take on considerable risk might find Rigetti appealing. It's a speculative stock, to be sure. But if Rigetti can continue to make the technological advances needed to build a practical, large-scale quantum computer, it's likely to be a huge winner over the next decade and beyond. Should you invest $1,000 in Rigetti Computing right now? Before you buy stock in Rigetti Computing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Rigetti Computing wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $625,254!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,090,257!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,036% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025
