AI, tokenisation and governance dominate CFA Institute’s top publications of 2025

Each year the CFA Institute Research and Policy Center publishes work intended to help investment professionals navigate structural change, emerging risks and technological innovation across global markets. The centre’s most-read publications of 2025 reflect those preoccupations: artificial intelligence in asset management, the mechanics and governance of tokenization, capital formation in Africa, pension-system benchmarking, explainable AI and the ethics of AI claims, the evolution of ETFs and fresh scrutiny of private-market liquidity solutions.

Edited by Joseph Simonian, PhD, a special collection on AI in asset management sets the tone for the year. According to the Financial Analysts Journal volume that compiles the work, practitioners and CFA Institute experts map how machine learning and broader AI applications are reshaping portfolio design, risk oversight and investment decision-making. The volume is both a primer on practical tools and a survey of frontier use cases, signalling that firms must pair technical capability with governance if they are to turn innovation into sustainable value.

That governance theme recurs in two complementary CFA Institute reports. Cheryll‑Ann Wilson, PhD, CFA, argues that explainable AI is essential not merely for regulatory compliance but for institutional trust and ethical standards; the report stresses that automated tools cannot substitute for human oversight and strong organisational alignment. Joseph Simonian’s separate work on “AI washing” frames the reputational and fiduciary risks when firms overclaim AI capability, offering investors concrete questions to test managers’ assertions and guidance on distinguishing substantive deployment from marketing spin. Together the studies underline a pragmatic editorial distance: firms may claim AI advantages, but independent verification and clear disclosure are necessary to protect clients and market integrity.

Tokenization of traditional assets emerges as a technical and regulatory frontier. In a two‑part CFA Institute report, authors examine the tokenisation process, its value proposition and present limitations, then turn to the legal and regulatory changes required for responsible growth. The analysis balances enthusiasm for improved liquidity and fractional ownership against the need for legal clarity, cross‑border standards and investor protections before tokenisation can scale without amplifying systemic risk.

Capital formation and inclusive growth are also prominent. A detailed assessment of barriers across 11 sub‑Saharan African jurisdictions, drawing on country‑level contributors, many of them CFA charterholders, identifies how private markets, policy reforms, fintech innovation and public–private partnerships can expand investment, strengthen infrastructure financing and support economic resilience. According to the report, practical, locally anchored reforms and market development are integral to unlocking long‑term capital for the region.

Pension systems and retirement outcomes received renewed attention in the Mercer–CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025. The benchmarking exercise uses more than 50 indicators to rate national retirement income systems and recommends reforms to improve outcomes and participant trust amid ageing populations and increasing government intervention. The index frames pension policy as both an economic and a social challenge that requires clearer governance, better communication to participants and structural policy choices to sustain adequacy and fiscal balance.

Other publications probe market structure and instruments. An updated CFA Institute Research Foundation guide on ETFs, authored by Joanne M. Hill, PhD, Elisabeth Kashner, CFA, and Dave Nadig, surveys ETF mechanics, benefits and the drivers of their rapid growth, particularly in the United States. A research brief by Friedrich Baumann, Abdolreza Nazemi and Frank J. Fabozzi, CFA, deploys machine learning to investigate a worrying shift: the traditional negative correlation between stocks and bonds has shown signs of reversal, and the brief offers actionable insights for asset allocation and risk management in light of changing macroeconomic drivers.

Finally, scrutiny of private‑market liquidity solutions continues. A report by Stephen Deane, CFA, and Ken Robinson, CFA, CIPM, examines continuation funds, a mechanism that has expanded as managers seek to provide liquidity in sluggish private markets. The authors provide an impartial assessment of drivers behind continuation funds’ growth, the conflicts of interest they can create and the governance mechanisms that may mitigate those conflicts.

Collectively, the Research and Policy Center’s top publications of 2025 emphasise a consistent editorial theme: innovation can enhance markets and investor outcomes, but only when technical progress is matched by robust governance, transparent claims and regulatory clarity. Industry data and practitioner experience cited across these reports point to a practical agenda for investment professionals, strengthen oversight, improve disclosure, and build legal and institutional frameworks that allow new technologies and market structures to mature without compromising investor protection.