Bermuda’s business could be damaged by poor internet service, a conference heard yesterday.

Stuart Lacey, founder and chief executive officer of financial technology company Trunomi, said: “I would certainly say our internet needs some improvement.

“It’s problematic to be on a global conference call and get a shutout. It’s unacceptable.”

Mr Lacey added that he did not think a lack of bandwidth was a problem.

But he said that larger countries had a large number of providers, which tended to increase competition, while smaller ones like Bermuda often had monopolies or small numbers of service providers.

Mr Lacey was speaking as part of a panel discussion at the launch of the Global Hedge Fund Survey, carried out by professional services firm KPMG with the Alternative Investment Management Association and the Managed Funds Association.

Mr Lacey said that Bermuda was “a favourable environment to launch a young start-up”.

He added: “It provides not just an accelerant but a framework from which you can expand.”

But he said: “I don’t think necessarily we should be advertising Bermuda as Silicon Beach — we need to compete where we can and smartly compete.”

Mr Lacey said that Bermuda was an ideal spot for financial technology, and even computer-generated imagery, biomedical research and “any kind of lab work — in our case, it was technology and particularly technology related to financial markets”.

Mr Lacey was joined on the panel, moderated by KPMG head of investments Craig Bridgewater, by Nathalie Rushe, principal of Rushe Capital Advisors and Chris Eaton, senior manager for cybersecurity at KPMG.

Mr Eaton said that the two internet providers on the island were both investing in improvements and services were set to be improved greatly over the next 12 months.

He added: “When you have the America’s Cup around the corner, the potential for the jurisdiction to shine is there and we can broadcast that to the rest of the world. It also has the potential to be an enormous banana skin as well.”

The survey quizzed more than 100 hedge fund leaders and executives around the world, with a total of $300 billion in managed assets, on how innovation and technology are shaping the industry.

A total of 94 per cent of those surveyed said that technology would have an impact on competition over the next five years, while 90 per cent said that investment in technology was increasing.

And 58 per cent of managers said that artificial intelligence and machine learning would have a “medium to high” impact on the sector over the next five years — with one manager saying there was “a very strong business case” for replacing people with algorithms in many areas of their business.

Ms Rushe said that US-based Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund, had been “spending huge amounts on their software”, with a prediction that three-quarters of management decisions would be made by artificial intelligence within the next five years.

She added: “I do think of how many jobs have been taken over by robots — so many jobs in manufacturing have been taken over by robots.”

But she added: “I think human interaction is still going to be important going forward.”

Mr Lacey added: “We’re on the cusp of a self-drive revolution which will have a massive impact on people who move boxes around. If you’re not building technology or servicing technology in 20 years’ time, it’s going to be hard to get a job.”

Mr Lacey said that millions of jobs just in “middle America” were at risk as delivery and sales became increasingly automated.

And he said: “Without a doubt, it’s happening and it’s happening in real time. If you’re someone with young kids, and I am one of them, you should drive them into maths and technology.”

Mr Lacey added afterwards that Bermuda’s tourism industry and financial services sectors were primarily people-based and difficult to replace with artificial intelligence.

He said: “I don’t think we’re at risk of automation as much.”

Mr Bridgewater said: “This new survey underlines how the alternative investment industry continues to invest in technology across the entire fund management organisation, both globally and here in Bermuda.

“Investment in new technologies will help to keep the industry ahead of the competition over the long term, delivering consistent and positive risk adjusted returns for investors while continuing to address the ever-increasing regulatory burden.”