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 Brazil's central bank and the Federal Reserve. Instead of waiting for trading desk analyses, the quantitative model parses the vocabulary of monetary authorities the moment a document is released, delivering a score that rates whether the tone was 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 quantitative strategies and the firm's decision-making desks.
The development earned the firm international recognition from the specialized publication Global Finance, which awarded Bradesco Asset in the category of Best Innovation in Artificial Intelligence amid a global field of 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 wave of popular generative AI tools.
How Does Automated Interest Rate Statement Reading Work?
The indicator processes the natural language of the official statement to determine whether it leans "hawk" or "dove." In global financial jargon, a hawk stance signals inflation concerns and an inclination to raise rates or keep them high for longer. Conversely, a dove stance suggests monetary easing, a focus on economic activity, and room for interest rate cuts.
On days when Copom meets in Brazil or the FOMC meets in the United States, text changes tend to be subtle: the swap of an adjective, the inclusion of a caveat, or the adjustment of a sentence regarding the balance of risks. The machine quantifies these textual nuances immediately, free from the emotional bias of an exhausted economist at the end of the day.
According to the firm's management, the creation of this framework began in 2022, prior to the explosion of public generative AI tools. The strategic bet stemmed from the premise that building proprietary data and internal technology would be the major differentiator for returns among large asset managers.
“When a central bank or Fed statement comes out, our AI indicates how hawkish or dovish it is. This can help with quantitative strategies or decision-making.”Bruno Funchal, CEO of Bradesco Asset, speaking to Espresso Outliers
Does This Technology Drive Real Results for Funds?
The asset manager has been reaping performance awards in the local market precisely in the categories that rely most heavily on macroeconomic timing and credit. In recent results announced at the Outliers InfoMoney Awards, Bradesco Asset secured top spots across four prominent fronts:
Winner for Best Private Credit Fixed Income Fund and 1st place in the Popular 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 the B32 Theater 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 retail investors, the message is clear: trying to front-run interest rate decisions as an individual trading against institutional robots is a losing battle. The moment you open the central bank's PDF in your browser, AI-equipped 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 Monitor Next 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 — Track whether decisions made using the Hawk-Dove score correctly anticipate the direction of the future interest rate curve and translate into real outperformance in the firm's active fixed-income funds.
Market Adoption — Observe whether other major Brazilian asset managers adopt similar quantitative models or continue to rely primarily on manual macroeconomic committees.
Performance of Award-Winning Funds — Verify whether the manager's private credit and pension vehicles maintain their risk-adjusted return levels without taking on excessive volatility during Selic cycle turning points.
The Verdict: Does the Average 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 doesn't require competing with high-frequency algorithms, but rather knowing how to select capable managers and understanding that data analysis is already a basic prerequisite for professional wealth management.
