Street signs: AI storm could hit other pockets, GIFT City's master key

AI fears widen beyond IT to wealth management, while APMI tightens fund-flow norms and GIFT City rolls out a single-window 'master key' registration

The AI storm could hit other pockets 

Last week felt like an AI reckoning for Indian IT services companies. The growing fear is that the newest generation of AI tools could render large parts of their work obsolete, triggering a sharp valuation de-rating and forcing analysts back to the drawing board on growth assumptions. But IT may not be the only sector in the line of fire. One segment that could be just as vulnerable — though markets appear largely oblivious for now — is wealth management. “AI systems can already build and rebalance portfolios in real time, optimise taxes, and respond instantly to complex client queries. As these capabilities evolve, the implications feel unavoidable: pressure on fees and margins. The disruption is only beginning,” said an analyst. 

APMI tightens screws on 3rd party fund flows 

Industry body Association of Portfolio Managers in India (APMI) has issued what may appear to be a procedural note, but carries a clear signal. Portfolio managers are now expected to independently verify that every inflow and outflow is free of third-party transactions. This is no longer a compliance checkbox; the verification must be embedded into both client onboarding and transaction approvals. The concern is straightforward. Third-party fund flows can turn one investor’s account into a conduit for another’s money, exposing portfolios to fraud and misuse. While PMLA norms already bar acceptance or payment of third-party funds and securities, APMI’s guidance seeks to remove any lingering ambiguity. Its insistence that at least one common account holder exist between the PMS account and the linked bank or demat account draws a firm line on what constitutes an acceptable transaction. 

GIFT City gives out a master key 

The IFSC regulator has loosened the paperwork knot by introducing a unified registration — a kind of “master key” for capital market activities. Instead of running around for multiple licences and certificates, entities can now apply once through the Single Window IT System Portal and receive a single registration listing all approved activities. The wording from IFSCA was telling: one common certificate, multiple permissions. Simple, clean — and very unlike how financial regulation usually feels. It also underscores how much the GIFT-IFSC ecosystem has matured in recent years. First fund managers, and now stockbrokers, are being allowed to set up separate business units there without first seeking Sebi’s nod. Less friction, more intent. For once, regulation appears to be getting out of the way.