Deep Srivastav: Creating AI-Driven Value Propositions at Franklin Templeton

Deep Srivastav, SVP, Head of Digital Solutions at Franklin
Templeton, shares how adopting a client-centric approach is helping
the investment firm drive greater returns with AI

When companies think of transformation, many focus on the
technical side, rather than on customer needs. But AI is not a
magical wand that can be waved across the organization to create
value.


In this week’s Business of Data podcast, Deep Srivastav, SVP,
Head of Digital Solutions at international investment company
Franklin Templeton, shares how centering AI projects around
driving value for clients can yield far better results.
Franklin Templeton’s Client-Centric Approach to AI

Investment companies rarely tailor their product offerings to
speak to individual customers. Noting this disconnect between
customer needs and its product offerings, Franklin Templeton is
now reimagining its offering with the customer in mind.


“Individuals have different liquidity needs,” Srivastav says.
“They have different priorities for multiple goals. For example,
your vacation goal is very different from your goal to buy your
home or how you save for retirement. Your time horizons are
different for each of them.” In 2020, Franklin Templeton launched
its machine learning-driven Goals Optimization Engine to
recommend personalized investment options to clients based on
their financial goals. The idea for the engine came from Franklin
Templeton’s research into creating client value, something the
company considers a core part of its strategy.


Srivastav explains: “We had to think about investment in a
different way so we can really align it with what clients want;
that’s where a big part of the research happened. But how do you
bring that to life and how do you make it scalable? Finding those
answers requires a different level of effort, because you may
have the theoretical foundation but what’s often missing is the
ability to translate that.”


“Pulling it off wasn’t simply about bringing in a data capability
and fitting it there,” he adds. “We had to start by realizing
that we may have to rewrite the rules of some of these
investments.”


Looking to the months ahead, Srivastav says he looks forward to
unveiling innovative new AI products to deliver even more
personalized services and further strengthen customer engagement
at Franklin Templeton.


“Digital allows us to deepen our stakeholder relationships –
that’s the most exciting part!” he says. “We’re asking all our
teams how we can further deepen those relationships. How do we
engage across multiple domains and touchpoints? In the backend,
we continue to augment our capabilities with more data, better
exchange and new research frontiers.”





You can join Deep at CDAO Financial Services by registering here:
https://bit.ly/3H464zX 
Key Takeaways

AI isn’t a ‘magic wand’. Innovating with AI
doesn’t inherently drive business value. Laying the technical
foundations for AI innovation is just the first step on the road
to unlocking the AI’s potential


Focus on creating innovative value
propositions. To deliver value with AI projects,
executives must apply the technology in ways that provide value
to clients or company staff


Transformation means rewriting the rules. To
find out how AI can create more value for its clients, Franklin
Templeton conducted market research and used it to reimagine its
business processes