Kevin Shea, CFA, BNY Mellon – AI: Investment Implications & Lessons from Late 90's

Kevin Shea is a Director/Senior Equity Strategist at BNY Mellon, where he focuses on individual security analysis, market structure, and emerging technologies—most notably artificial intelligence. Raised in a blue-collar household in Boston, Kevin learned the value of investing early and carried that discipline through Penn State University and into his professional life. He earned the CFA charter while beginning his career at Merrill Lynch Investment Management, eventually joining BNY Mellon's Equity Advisory Group, a team dedicated to helping wealth clients navigate complex equity markets and fast-moving innovation cycles. In this episode, Kevin joins Steve Curley and co-host Dan Fasciano to break down the state of AI, technology leadership, and the increasing concentration within U.S. equity markets. He explains why today's mega-cap technology firms continue to dominate—highlighting advantages in data scale, free-cash-flow margins, and unparalleled AI investment. The discussion explores whether we are in an "AI bubble," how current valuations compare to the late-1990s dot-com era, and the unprecedented capital-expenditure supercycle underway as companies race to build data-center infrastructure. Kevin also offers a global lens—comparing U.S. and Chinese capabilities, semiconductor constraints, and the geopolitical factors shaping the AI race. The conversation then pivots to how AI is transforming the investment-research process itself. Kevin walks through the tools BNY Mellon and industry analysts increasingly rely on—from ChatGPT and internal models like "Eliza" to AlphaSense, Sentieo, and Claude—and how these systems enable teams to process far more information than ever before. He also discusses how AI-driven productivity may help address demographic and inflation challenges over the long run. The episode closes with a memorable perspective on work ethic, drawing parallels between success in investing and Kobe Bryant's "Mamba mentality," emphasizing that excellence is built on consistent, behind-the-scenes effort. Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Dan Fasciano, CFA (Principal at GW&K Investment Management) Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com