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Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick offered a striking assessment of AI investment, saying the world is "roughly in the second inning of a nine-inning game."

Speaking at a global investment summit hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Pick said cumulative AI investment could reach $10 trillion to $15 trillion over the next decade, according to Bloomberg, as reported by Yonhap on Tuesday (local time).

Pick said investment returns would continue over the long term and projected that productivity gains could lift US real GDP by 0.5 to 0.7 percentage points annually.

He also noted early signs that many components of major US stock indexes have fallen nearly 10%, approaching correction territory.

Regarding the broader outlook, JPMorgan Vice Chairman Daniel Pinto said he remains optimistic on AI but cautioned that markets are pricing in revenue and profit growth for AI-related companies too aggressively. "There could be a correction in the AI sector," he said.

Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman warned that the scale of AI financing may be more than markets can absorb. "At some point, it will be too much," he said.

Morgan Stanley sees pullbacks as buying opportunities

Morgan Stanley had earlier predicted that several "correction events" could cause temporary share price declines in the weeks ahead, presenting good entry opportunities for investors.

Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist, made the remarks in an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday (local time).

Wilson said the S&P 500 could temporarily fall to around the 7,100 level — about 9% below its recent peak — due to factors including the US midterm elections, concerns over AI spending and liquidity constraints.

However, he forecast that once the short-term correction runs its course, the S&P 500 would rally to the 8,000 level, even amid the Iran war that has weighed on sentiment.

Wilson noted that midterm elections have historically been a headwind for markets, but data show a 100 percent probability of gains in the six months to one year following midterms.

However, he said uncertainty is weighing on investors this election cycle because President Donald Trump has signaled he plans to do something "big" after the vote.


yul@heraldcorp.com