An investment portfolio using Anthropic’s Claude language model attracted about $27 million from investors copying its trades before reporting a 19.04% return in early August.

The Claude Portfolio launched in March with $50,000 and a goal of outperforming the S&P 500. By August 4, it reported a 19.04% gain, compared with 12.24% for the index over the same period.

The broader use of AI in retail trading Retail Trading In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade Read this Term comes as brokers and technology firms continue to test its role. Finance Magnates Intelligence reported that at least 10 retail brokers and trading-platform providers connected AI agents to live client accounts during the first half of 2026. Claude was named in nine of those deployments, although the level of trading authority varies between platforms.

Claude Portfolio Runs with Human Oversight

The portfolio was offered through Autopilot, allowing users to copy its trades. Its positions and transactions were also publicly disclosed.

The project was associated with Alejandro Lopez-Lira, a finance professor at the University of Florida and founder of AI Finance Labs. It was not affiliated with Anthropic.

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Claude did not independently manage the portfolio. It was used for research and investment ideas, while Lopez-Lira and his team set the strategy and risk parameters and controlled the investment process.

AI Finance Labs also runs portfolios based on other AI models, including ChatGPT, Grok and DeepSeek. By July, nearly 52,000 investors had reportedly allocated about $200 million across seven such portfolios on Autopilot.

Short Track Records Raise Sustainability Questions

The DeepSeek portfolio reported a 76% return in May, compared with a 27% gain for the S&P 500 over the stated period. Later Autopilot data showed an 89.1% gain since its February 2025 launch, with about $49.6 million in assets.

The Claude portfolio continued operating. As of September 4, Autopilot reported a 31.1% gain since its March launch, with about $49.4 million in assets.

The results remain based on a relatively short track record. The Claude strategy had been live for fewer than six months when it first reported outperformance, making “it too early to assess whether the gains can be sustained.”

AI Faces Retail Trading Reality

At Finance Magnates London Summit 2025, industry executives questioned whether AI could materially improve trading outcomes or mainly support engagement, retention and access to information. The discussion also highlighted a basic limitation: AI tools can support trading decisions but cannot remove the behavioural risks affecting retail investors.

The Claude portfolio’s performance therefore provides an early example of how AI models are being incorporated into investment strategies and distributed through copy-trading platforms.