Asheesh Chanda, Founder

Every once in a while a new trend emerges both technical and otherwise that makes its impact on the entire industry including manufacturing and service sectors. Currently, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI)are the majors trends that are changing the way businesses are operated and managed. There are various industries which have already embraced these new technologies and are reaping its benefits,but Artificial intelligence(AI)in the asset management industry is still hovering around its infancy with firms still seeking out best practices and using cases for their own strategic applications. Asheesh Chanda,an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and IIT Delhi with over15 years’experience in the financial industry, teamed up with Vineeth Narasimhan, an IIM Calcutta and IIT Delhi alumnus with more than 14 years'of experience in Product Management, Delivering Cloud and Mobile solutions,to establish Kristal.AI–an AI-enabled Digital Asset Management Platform which gives investors the access to curated portfolios from the world's top Portfolio Managers.

Kristal.AI was founded not to compete with any other financial players, but to disrupt the financial services industry by delivering a Wealth Management platform not yet seen in the industry. Some compare us to robo-advisors; however, we are not just another robo advisor. We actively manage our clients' portfolios. With our in-house financial experts carrying out thorough research on possible investment options, our Advisory Algorithm understands the background and financial goals and evaluates our investor’s risk profile, and then recommends the most suitable basket(Kristals) of global securities. While some of these Kristals are simple passive ETF’s,others are heavily managed strategies including various instruments such as bonds, futures and options. We allow our investors to view the returns generated on these securities on the Kristal dashboard as well as from the mobile phones via the Kristal.AI app. We are a one stop shop solution for people who want exposure to domestic and international markets. They do not need to look beyond Kristal and that is what we constantly strive for,” says Asheesh Chanda, Founder, Kristal.AI. The portfolio strategies which are branded as Kristals are created by the firm’s proprietary algorithm which incorporates concepts of Machine Learning to create intelligent portfolios. A minimum investment in a Kristal starts at INR 10,000(and now globally USD 100)only thereby ensuring this platform is available to a wide variety of people.

Offering AI-Powered Asset Management with Customer Centric Approach
As digital revolution makes its way into the asset management industry,it is undeniable that the invasion of robots into investment management is seemingly unstoppable-right from robo advisory in wealth management to robotic process automation in asset management. Digitized data is creating the right kind of fuel that is needed to feed the AI computing engines. As portfolio managers make investment decisions based on the data related to companies and their managers, Artificial Intelligence plays a crucial role, being more efficient than humans when it comes to sorting and analyzing vast amounts of structured and unstructured data. It can give asset managers the ability to access deeper insights, increase productivity and drive higher revenue at a time when most firms are adapting to rapidly changing customer expectations, sluggish returns, outflows from active to passive and tighter regulations.

A SEBI licensed Investment Advisor, Kristal.AI is the simplest and the most economical platform for people who want to diversify their holdings offshore and is committed towards understanding an investor’s financial goals,all the way to directing towards the right Kristals to invest

,the Advisory Algorithm supports investors through a wide range of assets like bonds, ETFs, equities, mutual funds and Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS). A pioneer in this field, Kristal is transforming the way Indians start investing in international markets by providing access to more than 100 exchanges across the US,China, HK, Asia and Europe which makes the firm a complete solution provider for any one looking to Diversify.

"The Portfolio Strategies Which Are Branded As Kristals Are Created By The Firm’s Proprietary Algorithm Which Incorporates Concepts Of Machine Learning To Create Intelligent Portfolios"

“When I started Kristal.AI,I put a lot of thought into understanding how we can really create portfolios that outperform the index as well as peer portfolios. Our data science goes well beyond machine learning. At Kristal.AI, we use a combination of classic investment-banking style quant(stochastic calculus, MonteCarlo simulations, dynamic programming,and more), Artificial Intelligence heuristics such as Genetic Algorithms, Methods from operations research such as bootstrapping as well as a small amount of supervised machine learning to deliver the best investment experience to our clients. Moreover, we use plenty of inputs from classical and behavioral economics in order to understand an investor’s preferences and recommend portfolios. It is the combination of concepts from economics,along with portfolio theory and data science that results in delivering the best experience to our investors,” shares Asheesh Chanda.

Based out of Singapore with its operations spread across India and Hong Kong, Kristal.AI holds more than 40 strategies on its platform that focuses on specific themes like biotechnology, EV, FAANG, and more.Its diverse team of financial advisors, researchers, and market experts takes a unique yet holistic approach towards its clients’ needs and works hard to achieve their goals. With its clientele including Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Google, Nomura and Standard Chartered,and many more spread across Asia, Middle East, and the America, Kristal.AI continuously strives to provide the best investment strategies to its investors and build a community of portfolio managers, affiliated partners, and investors.

“We have put in significant research into creating the Kristals on the platform. Our focus lies on communicating this value to our clients. Our outreach programme is focused mainly on digital marketing which uses various social media channels. We also create in–house content that is shared on the Kristal Resource Centre where we publish articles centered on finance and economy. Additionally, what has really worked for us is the word of mouth reach. We not only attendconferences and events to interact with industry veterans and prospective clients but our relationships with MAS in Singapore has given us the opportunity to promote Fintech at the Innovation Showcase at Annual Meetings 2018, co-sponsored by World Bank, IMF and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. We believe that our active participation keeps our presence strong in the market and has so far worked brilliantly for us,”mentions Asheesh.

Marching Ahead withan Army of Skilled and Dedicated Professionals
A B2C platform, Kristal.AI has served people various industries and backgrounds, who have trusted the firm with their portfolios. The skilled team of experts at Kristal, work day in and day out to develop a better platform and build a stronger relationship with the customers.“The culture we have built at Kristal.AI is of paramount importance to us. We invite thought-driven, passionate and innovative individuals to join our team. At Kristal.AI, it is important to us that everyone’s opinion is heard of. Beyond official hierarchy, we encourage our employees to exchange ideas through open interactions. It is our presence in different countries which has enabled us to create a multi-cultural, diversified and positive work environment, where we are constantly learning from each other, and driving ourselves to do better, professionally and personally,”mentions Asheesh. Apart from this, Kristal.AI also encourages its team members to explore different options which can further develop their skill sets and learnings. We do this by encouraging them to participate in relevant conferences, seminars and more, which helps them understand where the world in terms of technology and business development is heading towards. “We ensure that the team at Kristal.AI enjoys what they do. Being part of a positive, culturally sensitive and diverse workforce helps in bringing out the best in them, and we are 100 percent committed in doing just that,” add Asheesh.

With its constant drive to do better, over the past 2.5 years, Kristal has continuously upgraded its platform features. The firm has developed its own algorithm and robo advisor to make the most powerful strategies and better investment plans. Apart from feature development on the platform there are several developments that Kristal. AI is looking forward to in the coming days, speaking of which Asheesh says, “We have recently opened our 4th Office in Dubai and we are excited to penetrate this market. We have started our initial sales and communication efforts and seeing significant interest from the audience. Very soon, we will be developing portfolio strategies that cater to the investment needs of the clients in Dubai. Also, having graduated from Sandbox programme, we have acquired a CMS license in Singapore. So, earlier we could only target the HNIs in Singapore, but with this license we will be able to reach a wider customer base. For this we are also building the robo-advisor and adding some new features. In the coming years, Kristal.AI also plans on getting a PMS license in addition to the RIA license which we already hold in India so that we can take over execution for our clients and bring depth to our offerings across the globe.”