AI IMPACT ROLE DOSSIER · FINANCIAL ANALYST
Heavy pressure ahead for financial analysts.
Automation is rising. Augmentation is high and edging down. Human resilience is easing. By 2030, the role will look noticeably different — but not gone.
Sell-side and buy-side analysts already lost a chunk of their day to AI by 2026 — earnings transcript summaries, sector recaps, model outputs from comparables, slide assembly. Goldman's 2023 paper that 300 million jobs would be "exposed" was true mostly for analysts.
Automation is moderate and rising. The mechanical parts of an analyst's day — pulling data, building tables, formatting decks — are mostly model work. Junior analysts who used to spend three days on a comp set spend three hours on it now and three days on the actual analysis.
Augmentation is high. Scenario modelling, sensitivity exploration, sector-research synthesis across long-form filings: the model is genuinely a thought-partner. It generates the boring 80%; the human decides the interesting 20%.
What still belongs to people: investment thesis defence under partner pressure, conviction calls on illiquid bets, the relationships at the table when a deal goes sideways. The analysts losing ground are the ones who can't articulate why their model is right when a partner pushes back. The ones gaining ground are the ones who learned to argue.
— On the instruments —
— overall reading · 2028 outlook —
HEAVY
Automation rising · augmentation high and edging down · resilience easing.
— automation pressure
how much AI is taking over
↑ rising — Medium → High
— augmentation pressure
how much AI is changing the workflow
↘ edging down — High → Med-High
— human resilience
how much stays stubbornly human
↓ easing — Med-High → Med-Low
Where the pressure lands
Skills automating
- Earnings transcript summarisation and recap drafting high ↗ Goldman Sachs Economics Research
- Standard valuation models from comparables medium
- Chart pulls, table builds, and routine slide assembly high
Skills augmenting
- Scenario modelling and sensitivity exploration medium
- Sector research synthesis across long-form filings high ↗ Goldman Sachs Economics Research
- Pitch deck drafting from scratch medium
Skills holding
- Investment thesis defence under partner pressure high
- Conviction calls and risk judgement on illiquid bets high
- Banker–client relationships at the table medium