Bradesco Asset isn't waiting for the market to interpret Copom: a proprietary algorithm reads the text and measures interest rate bias in seconds.Statement by Bruno Funchal, CEO of the asset manager
What is Bradesco Asset's Central Bank-Analyzing AI?
Bradesco Asset has developed a proprietary artificial intelligence tool capable of instantly classifying statements from the Central Bank of Brazil and the Federal Reserve. Rather than waiting for trading desk analysis, the quantitative model parses monetary authorities' vocabulary the moment a document is released, delivering a score that rates whether the tone is hawkish or dovish.
The innovation was detailed by Bruno Funchal, CEO of Bradesco Asset, during an interview with XP analyst Clara Sodré on the program Espresso Outliers. According to the executive, the system—internally called the Hawk-Dove indicator—has been plugged directly into the Bloomberg terminal to feed the firm's quantitative strategies and decision desks.
The development earned the firm international recognition from specialized publication Global Finance, which awarded Bradesco Asset the category for Best Innovation in Artificial Intelligence in a global competition among financial institutions.
Proprietary algorithm that measures the hawkishness or dovishness of Copom and Fed texts.
Winner in a global artificial intelligence innovation competition.
Internal unit created before the mainstream ChatGPT wave.
How Does Automated Interest Rate Statement Reading Work?
The indicator processes the natural language of official statements to determine whether they lean hawk or dove. In global financial jargon, a hawkish stance indicates concern over inflation and an inclination to raise interest rates or keep them high for longer. Conversely, a dovish posture suggests monetary relief, a focus on economic activity, and room for rate cuts.
On meeting days for Copom in Brazil or the FOMC in the United States, text revisions are often subtle: swapping an adjective, adding a caveat, or adjusting a sentence on the balance of risks. The machine quantifies these textual nuances immediately, free from the emotional bias of a fatigued economist at the end of the day.
According to the firm's management, development began in 2022, prior to the explosion of public generative AI tools. This strategic bet stemmed from the premise that building proprietary data and in-house technology would become the primary profitability differentiator among large asset managers.
“When a Central Bank or Fed statement is released, our AI indicates how hawkish or dovish it is. This can help with quantitative strategies or decision-making.”Bruno Funchal, CEO of Bradesco Asset, on Espresso Outliers
Does This Technology Deliver Real Results for Funds?
The asset manager has been winning local performance awards precisely in categories that rely heavily on macroeconomic timing and credit. In recent results announced at the InfoMoney Outliers Awards, Bradesco Asset secured top placements across four prominent fronts:
Winner for Best Private Credit Fixed Income Fund and 1st place in the People's Choice Vote.
2nd place in Variable Income Pension Funds and 3rd in Private Credit Fixed Income.
These awards, whose next in-person edition is scheduled for January 28 at Teatro B32 in São Paulo, highlight that combining quantitative models with active credit and interest rate management has become the backbone for capital raising among major firms.
For individual investors, the message is clear: trying to anticipate interest rate decisions as a retail trader competing against institutional bots is a losing battle. By the time you open the Central Bank's PDF in your browser, AI-driven asset managers have already recalculated future interest rate curve (DI) probabilities and adjusted their positions. The everyday investor's advantage lies not in execution speed, but in selecting consistent funds and maintaining a long-term strategy.
What to Watch Moving Forward in AI-Driven Management?
The race for analytical automation will not stop at official central bank statements. Investors should pay attention to how this technology translates into lower costs or consistent portfolio returns.
AI Projection Accuracy — Tracking whether decisions based on the Hawk-Dove score successfully predict the direction of the future interest rate curve and translate into real returns in the firm's active fixed-income funds.
Market Adoption — Observing whether other major Brazilian asset managers adopt similar quantitative models or continue to rely primarily on manual macroeconomic committees.
Performance of Award-Winning Funds — Verifying whether the firm's private credit and pension vehicles maintain their risk-adjusted returns without taking on excessive volatility during Selic cycle inflection points.
The Verdict: Does the Everyday Investor Need to Worry?
Bradesco Asset's initiative validates that institutional management has reached a new technical tier. For individual investors, this reinforces that making money in the market does not require competing with high-frequency algorithms, but rather knowing how to select qualified managers and understanding that data analysis is already a basic prerequisite for professional asset management.
