New research lab debuts a public hub of 13+ publications and an open leaderboard measuring the investment biases of leading AI models
NEW YORK, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LinqAlpha, the AI-native company building the Alpha Intelligence Layer for global public markets, today announced the launch of LinqAlpha AI Lab, a research organization dedicated to Alpha Intelligence — AI-native investment research: how AI systems understand financial information, when their judgment can be trusted, and how to build systems that turn that trust into investment performance. The Lab's work debuts today in a dedicated Research hub at linqalpha.com/research, with new research published weekly.
The launch comes as financial institutions confront a widening gap between AI adoption and AI accountability. As banks, hedge funds, and asset managers embed large language models into research and trading, researchers and regulators are asking what happens when markets run on models whose judgment no one has measured.
The Lab's answer is to measure trust — openly. In its peer-reviewed study Your AI, Not Your View: The Bias of LLMs in Investment Analysis, published at the ACM International Conference on AI in Finance (ICAIF), the Lab's researchers showed that every foundation model carries measurable, persistent investment biases. To make these findings actionable, LinqAlpha has also launched a public leaderboard that benchmarks leading AI models, enabling investment teams to evaluate model behavior before deployment.
"Everyone is deploying AI in the front office. Almost no one can tell you when to trust its judgment," said Jacob Chanyeol Choi, Co-founder and Co-CEO of LinqAlpha. "For financial AI, trustworthiness is a benchmark as vital as performance. The Lab exists to close the gap between how fast the industry is adopting AI and how little it has measured it — and to publish what we learn openly."
The Lab is led by Professor Yongjae Lee, who joins as Chief Scientist. An Associate Professor at UNIST, Professor Lee serves on Korea's Presidential National AI Strategy Committee and the Financial Services Commission's AI Council; at ICAIF 2025, his group presented the most main-track papers of any single research group. Professor Alejandro Lopez-Lira of the University of Florida, recipient of the 2023 BlackRock Best Paper Prize, joins as Academic Advisor; his independent public AI-managed portfolios have attracted over $200 million from more than 50,000 investors.
"Financial AI research has often developed along separate academic and industry tracks, with academic work emphasizing methodological rigor and industry work focusing more directly on real-world workflows," said Professor Lee. "This Lab is built to do both."
Measuring trust is the foundation, not the destination. Building on its bias research, the Lab also studies how validated AI judgment can generate alpha signals and manage risk. In a study presented at ACL 2026, the Lab's researchers showed that adding an LLM "filter" that vets the economic logic behind statistically discovered trading signals cut average losses by 46% in backtests. In related research, the Lab found that blending prediction-market prices with context-aware LLM forecasts yields better-calibrated event predictions than either alone, and that LLM analysis of corporate disclosures produced roughly three times the alpha of standard baselines.
LinqAlpha AI Lab launches with more than a dozen publications at venues including ICML, ACL, and ACM ICAIF, co-authored with researchers affiliated with institutions including J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Blackstone, State Street Investment Management, Kalshi, and MIT, among others. Its contributions include the FinDER and FinAgentBench benchmark datasets and the AI for Finance Summit series, whose Boston edition was co-hosted with J.P. Morgan. The Lab's researchers have also organized leading academic workshops in financial AI, including the ACM ICAIF AI for Finance Symposium (2024-2026), the ICLR Workshop on Advances in Financial AI (2025-2026), the NeurIPS Workshop on Generative AI in Finance (2025), the EMNLP Workshop on Financial Technology and Natural Language Processing (FinNLP, 2026), and KDD Finance Day (2026).
About LinqAlpha
LinqAlpha is the AI-native company building the Alpha Intelligence Layer for global public markets. Founded by former Goldman Sachs analyst, MIT computer science PhDs and UC Berkeley MFE, LinqAlpha serves more than 70 financial institutions across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including sell-side sales, trading, and research teams at leading investment banks, as well as hedge funds and asset managers. Collectively, LinqAlpha's buy-side clients manage more than $5 trillion in assets. For more information, visit www.linqalpha.com.
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LinqAlpha Launches AI Lab to Answer Wall Street's Hardest AI Question: When Can Investors Trust the Machine?
Partnering with Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation and nine NGOs to inspire the next generation through a story of growth, hope and aspiration
HONG KONG, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sponsored by CTF Life and fully supported by the Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation, "CTF Life 40th Anniversary Presents: Growing Up Together – Hong Kong's Giant Panda Twins Birthday Celebration" was held successfully at Ocean Park Hong Kong on Saturday (15 August) to commemorate the second birthday of Hong Kong's first locally born giant panda twins, Jia Jia and De De.
The event welcomed around 1,000 participants who enjoyed a special screening of Hong Kong's first giant panda documentary, From 100 grams, followed by a fun day out at Ocean Park. Among them were 500 children and family members from grassroots communities supported by nine local NGOs. They were joined by CTF Life customers, Life Planners, CTF Life ‧ CIRCLE members and employees. United and inspired by the story of the giant panda twins, they spent the day learning, discovering and connecting with one another while marking a meaningful milestone that speaks to the power of care, perseverance and growth.
A key initiative in CTF Life's 40th anniversary celebrations, the event reflects the Company's deep roots in Hong Kong and its commitment to growing alongside the community it has served for four decades. Through its partnership with Ocean Park and the Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation, the programme combined life education, ecological conservation and community engagement. Nine beneficiary organisations were involved: the Society for Community Organization, J Life Foundation, Concern for Grassroots' Livelihood Alliance, Hong Kong Christian Shuen Tao Church (Mongkok), Kwun Tong Methodist Social Service, People Service Centre, Hong Kong Women Workers' Association, Hong Kong Christian Shuen Tao Church (Sheung Shui) and Urban Peacemaker. For many families, the celebration was more than a chance to spend time together. It was an opportunity to witness first-hand how even the smallest beginnings can blossom into something extraordinary.
Speaking at the event, Ellick Tsui, JP, Executive Director, Deputy CEO & CFO of CTF Life, said: "Today's celebration is about much more than marking a birthday. It is a celebration of life's potential, the power of nurturing care and the possibilities that unfold when every new beginning is given the chance to flourish. When Jia Jia and De De were born, they weighed just over 100 grams. In just two years, they have brought immense joy and inspiration to Hong Kong. Their story reminds us that every life is precious and every child deserves the opportunity to explore, learn, dream boldly and realise their aspirations."
Tsui added: "Last month, we launched our new brand campaign, 'Your Aspiration. Our Aspiration.', which reflects our commitment to supporting customers and their loved ones across four important aspects of life: Wellbeing, Growth, Health and Wealth. Today's celebration is a meaningful expression of that commitment. By inspiring the next generation to see the possibilities ahead of them, strengthening family bonds and extending care to more households, we are bringing our promise of creating value beyond insurance to life."
One of the day's highlights was a special preview screening of From 100 grams, Hong Kong's first giant panda documentary, at Ocean Park's Applause Pavilion. Directed by Benny Lau, the film chronicles the extraordinary early days and months of Jia Jia and De De – capturing the challenges, milestones and heartwarming moments that have shaped their journey since birth. The documentary has already drawn international attention at the Cannes Film Festival, attracting interest from overseas distributors, and is set to feature at several international film festivals later this year, bringing Hong Kong's conservation story to audiences worldwide.
In addition to the screening, CTF Life arranged exclusive panda-themed experiences for CTF Life ‧ CIRCLE members and their families, enabling them to be part of this joyful birthday celebration and create treasured memories together.
As a member of the Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, CTF Life continues to leverage the Group's ecosystem to drive social impact. Through close collaboration with partners across sectors, the Company will continue to champion initiatives that create positive impact, strengthen communities and help build a brighter future for Hong Kong.
About CTF Life
Chow Tai Fook Life Insurance Company Limited ("CTF Life") is proud of its rich, 40-year legacy in Hong Kong. CTF Life is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CTF Services Limited ("CTFS") (Hong Kong Stock Code: 659) and is one of the most well-established life insurance companies in Hong Kong. As a member of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, CTF Life consistently strengthens its collaboration with the Chow Tai Fook Group ecosystem to support customers and their loved ones throughout the life journey of "Wellbeing, Growth, Health and Wealth" with personalised planning solutions, lifelong protection and diverse lifestyle experiences. By leveraging the Group's robust financial strength and strategic investments across the globe, CTF Life aspires to become a leading insurance company in Asia while continuously creating value beyond insurance.
| Chow Tai Fook Life Insurance Company Limited (Incorporated in Bermuda with limited liability) |
Chow Tai Fook Life Insurance Company Limited (Incorporated in Bermuda with limited liability)
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CTF Life 40th Anniversary Presents: Growing Up Together - Hong Kong's Giant Panda Twins Birthday Celebration Unites Local Community
