Masters in Business: BNY's Jose Minaya on How AI Is Transforming Asset Management

Host: Barry Ritholtz
Guest: Jose Minaya, Global Head of Investments & Wealth, BNY (Bank of New York Mellon)
Release Date: October 3, 2025

Overview

This episode features Jose Minaya, Global Head of Investments and Wealth at BNY Mellon, sharing his unique journey from a first-generation American in Washington Heights to leading teams managing trillions in assets. The discussion focuses on his career, the evolution of asset management, the growing role of alternatives, the integration of technology and AI, and how BNY is positioned at the crossroads of innovation and tradition. Minaya also provides insights into building teams, leadership, and how technology—especially AI and tokenization—is reshaping asset management for institutions and individuals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Career Journey and First-Generation Perspective

[03:39 – 10:15]

• Minaya’s early life as a first-generation American in Washington Heights, Dominican family background, and how baseball and a strong family-oriented, hard-working culture shaped his worldview.
• Transition from aspiring baseball pitcher to a finance degree, finding early jobs at JP Morgan, AIG, and moving through analytical, investing, and management roles.
• Emphasizes building something lasting and being comfortable taking calculated risks:

  "One mantra I've always had is, you got to be really good at knowing what you don’t know. That comes with being more humble... asking a lot of questions, not being intimidated by bringing people around you that are smarter than you." —Jose Minaya, [09:40]

2. Building Teams and Platforms

[12:19 – 13:32]

• Detailed examples of building investment teams and platforms, like starting the Farmland fund from scratch and growing private credit initiatives at Nuveen.
• Philosophy: Each few years brings fresh challenges; he thrives on building new capabilities and structures.

3. The Evolution and Urgency of Alternatives (Alts)

[13:32 – 18:13]

• The pitch for alternatives has shifted from academic diversification to urgent necessity in client portfolios due to market volatility and low yields.
• Alternatives—including real estate, farmland, infrastructure—are no longer “get rich quick” strategies but have become vital for stable, diversified, outcome-oriented portfolios.

  "The most important thing in constructing those portfolios is, do you have access to a broad array of capabilities? Because the more access you have to different types of assets, the better the outcome. It’s Portfolio Theory 101." —Jose Minaya, [17:38]

4. Scaling Up: Building at Nuveen, Scaling at BNY

[21:14 – 25:34]

• His 20-year journey at Nuveen: From a $200 billion internally-managed account to a trillion-plus diversified asset manager serving global institutions, sovereign funds, retail, and alternatives.
• At BNY, stepping into a dual role—managing asset management and wealth platform(s)—in a firm with $2.2 trillion in assets and touching $55–$70 trillion globally via custody and servicing.

5. Real Assets & Yield-Oriented Strategies

[23:22 – 25:33]

• Discusses the logic of investing in farmland, real estate, timber, infrastructure—not for high returns, but for yield, inflation hedging, and lower volatility.
• Real assets are moving from niche to mainstream as investors look for tangible, stable-building blocks in portfolios.

6. Technology, Tokenization & BNY’s “Platform” Advantage

[25:33 – 31:34]

• Tokenization: Streamlining settlements in asset transfers from T+1 days to T+0 (instant) clearing using blockchain and internal tech, improving liquidity and efficiency—especially impactful at institutional scale.
• BNY’s unparalleled position as custodian for over 80% of digital assets and a massive internal ecosystem enables unique technology integrations.
• Cross-platform synergies: Integration between investment, wealth, asset servicing, and technology arms (including Pershing and Archer SMA platform).

7. The AI Revolution in Asset Management

[45:52 – 49:10]

• AI is transforming both productivity (digital employees, automating real processes) and investment edge (data analysis, insights, risk management).
• Winner firms will be those with scale and resources to invest heavily in AI—attracting top engineers and building large tech stacks.
• AI’s rapid development brings both excitement and uncertainty:

  "I still say that human beings with AI will be better than human beings without AI... what we think AI can do is literally changing every week, every month. And again, that in many ways is exciting, in many ways it's also extremely unsettling to say the very least." —Jose Minaya, [48:34]

8. Risk, Noise, and New Portfolio Thinking

[49:10 – 54:30]

• Despite high profits, Minaya perceives risk and “noise” (market, geopolitical, policy) at all-time highs; investors should focus on fundamentals and ignore the “80% that is just noise.”
• True diversification means going beyond the classic 60/40 stock–bond split to holistic, outcomes-based solutions with alternatives, public, and private markets blended using new technology.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Adapting and Building:

  "I get itchy. Maybe I’m not the best steward in the world, but what does get me excited is building things, building new teams, the challenge of kind of like growing a capability." —Jose Minaya, [11:41]

• On Technology's Competitive Edge:

  "If the world's becoming more commoditized with performance and cost, then what is the difference? The difference... is technology. You hear about tokenized assets—BNY is on the forefront—that's just about helping clients move money quicker.” —Jose Minaya, [25:33]

• On Human + AI Investing:

  "Human beings with AI will be better than human beings without AI." —Jose Minaya, [48:22]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• Minaya’s background, baseball and finance roots: [03:39 – 05:38]
• Building career at JP Morgan, AIG, and transition to private credit: [05:49 – 10:15]
• Building Farmland and Private Credit at Nuveen: [12:29 – 13:32]
• Alternative assets’ shift from theory to necessity: [13:32 – 18:13]
• Nuveen’s rise and lessons applied at BNY: [21:14 – 25:34]
• Tokenization and BNY’s digital stack: [25:33 – 31:34]
• BNY as the “bank of banks” and platform model: [32:46 – 33:56]
• AI’s present and future in asset management: [45:52 – 49:10]
• Coping with noise and diversification today: [51:22 – 54:30]
• Mentors, books, and personal recommendations: [54:43 – 58:53]
• Advice for new graduates: [59:43 – 60:38]
• Wished he knew sooner: remove emotion, focus on what matters: [60:49 – 61:28]

Final Advice and Reflections

• Career/Industry Advice:

  “Do the easy things really well... Don’t come in day one thinking about how do I start traveling to meet clients and work the big deals? Do the little things really, really well. That is how they’re going to be able to judge you early on.” —Jose Minaya, [59:43]

• Enduring Investment Lesson:

  “Be good at knowing what you don’t know. Take emotion off, focus on what really should matter, not all the noise that’s surrounding it.” —Jose Minaya, [60:49]

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is candid, humble, and optimistic—Minaya is both a system-builder and a pragmatist. He emphasizes adaptation, humility, and constant learning—whether with technology, new markets, or building teams. For listeners, it’s a deep, honest look into what it takes to build and lead at the highest levels in finance—and why embracing technology (especially AI) and true diversification will drive asset management well into the future.

Further Listening

For those interested in asset management innovation, leadership journeys, and the interface of finance and technology, this episode provides a compelling insider’s view alongside practical career and investing advice.