The first Weekend Reading every month can be read by anyone on the Monevator website. Subscribe<\/a> for free to our email newsletter or become a member<\/a> to ensure you see the rest.<\/em><\/p>\n What caught my eye this week.<\/em><\/p>\n W<\/span>ould you be happy handing over the reigns of your portfolio to a robot? Given most of you will be regular Monevator<\/em> readers and email subscribers, I can guess the answer \u2013 if not the specific gentle expletive added for colour\u2026<\/p>\n Of course, the typical Monevator<\/em> reader (rightly) invests passively in index tracker funds. And those funds are managed by software \u2013 albeit usually with some kind of human oversight to determine which companies go in and come out of a given index, as we saw with the recent controversy<\/a> over SpaceX.<\/p>\n However it\u2019s one thing to use software to follow a well-established and diversified benchmark via what\u2019s now very mainstream index fund investing. It\u2019s another to toss the keys to a novel AI agent with a cheery, \u201chave it it, call me if you blow the kids\u2019 inheritance!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Okay, in practice any self-driving portfolio is going to have guardrails. But even so, you can easily imagine countless robot investing edge cases that are the financial equivalent of a self-driving car facing a hotdog cart trundling into the road, or the driver in front falling asleep at the wheel.<\/p>\n Or consider the market madness proxy of gridlock and traffic jams, when movement (liquidity) evaporates.<\/p>\n Think back to the crazy ride that was the Covid crash<\/a>. How would a cheapo trading robot cope?<\/p>\n Naturally, just because we don\u2019t need<\/em> self-driving portfolios, that doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t get them.<\/p>\n Innovation in financial services is driven by what sells, not what is good for us.<\/p>\n Only this week CNBC<\/a><\/em> reported that:<\/p>\n Larger brokerages are moving in [this]<\/em> direction. Robinhood in May introduced tools allowing third-party AI agents to connect with customer accounts. Brokerage firm Public, meanwhile, is developing AI agents in-house that can automate investing workflows within its platform.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat this era of agentic is doing \u2026 it goes away from just being able to research something by yourself and then make up your own ideas and then trade the way you\u2019ve traded where it\u2019s now becoming automated and where AI agents can actually execute investment strategies on your behalf,\u201d<\/em> said Leif Abraham, Public\u2019s co-founder and co-CEO.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The article paints a breathless future of AI agents turning private investors into DIY hedge fund managers. There\u2019s nary a mention of fees and costs, though \u2013 although to be fair the piece does conclude with caveats about the risks of letting Clippy<\/a> 2026<\/em> trade stocks.<\/p>\n That latter sentiment is echoed by a blog from the CFA Institute<\/a>, which reviewed the *cough* mixed results from research into trading via LLMs.<\/p>\n It concluded:<\/p>\n The evidence for multi-agent and LLM-augmented portfolio construction is promising. The failure literature does not invalidate this, but it does suggest that the gap between a research prototype and a production-grade institutional system is larger than the paper acknowledges.<\/p>\n The human overseer [\u2026] <\/em>cannot yet take a purely passive safeguard role.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But who am I kidding? The reality is tens of thousands of retail investors are already experimenting with AI trading, whether through financial service scaffolding such as \u00a0RobinHood<\/a> or via the \u2013 hopefully judicious \u2013 interrogation of their nearest chatbot.<\/p>\n As far as I can tell, this era\u2019s Warren Buffett \u2013 part-man, part-machine, all alpha \u2013 has yet to reveal himself.<\/p>\n But if enough people do it then we\u2019ll probably get an AI-enabled self-made trader billionaire someday, just thanks to the law of averages.<\/p>\n Famously, a few quant shops like Renaissance<\/a> have smashed the market for years by force feeding gargantuan amounts of data into supercomputers. However that\u2019s very different from Joe Day Trader setting a few rules in an AI-enabled investing account.<\/p>\n Yet even a few<\/a> traditional stock picking active managers do beat the market, at least for a while, and no doubt so will some AI agents.<\/p>\n The odds have always been against it however \u2013 active investing is a zero-sum game<\/a> \u2013 and AI cannot change that.<\/p>\n Have a great weekend.<\/p>\n The Slow & Steady Passive Portfolio update: Q2 2026 \u2013 Monevator<\/a><\/p>\n A deep dive into FX hedging \u2013 Monevator<\/a> [Moguls<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n From the archive-ator: Compound interest can save our pensions \u2013 Monevator<\/a><\/p>\n Chancellor announces his first Budget will be on 28 October [Sigh]<\/em> \u2013 BBC<\/a><\/p>\n Bank of England holds rates at 3.75% as inflation fears mount \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n One million more Britons set to pay income tax \u2013 Which<\/a><\/p>\n Ban foreign stocks from Isa wrapper, says top pensions boss \u2013 City AM<\/a><\/p>\n BP puts its North Sea business up for sale \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n London only English region to see population fall \u2013 BBC<\/a><\/p>\n It now takes 216 days to move home \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n UK millionaires fall to 442,000, lowest since 2008 \u2013 Business Matters<\/a><\/p>\n House prices up just 0.1% in July, says Nationwide \u2013 Mortgage Strategy<\/a><\/p>\n Jim Leaviss, Bond Vigilante, 1971-2026 \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve moved from income world to wealth world [Paywall]<\/em> \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n South Korean bubble bursts, erasing $2.2trillion in value \u2013 Mugglehead<\/a><\/p>\n Minister apologises as leveraged ETF investors suffer deep losses\u2026 \u2013 CNBC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026while AI fund Situational Awareness dumps holdings to Citadel\u2026 \u2013 CNBC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026and then the Kospi closed up a record 18% in a day on Friday \u2013 Korea Times<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s all because the AI boom creates a lot of uncertainty \u2013 Noahpinion<\/a><\/p>\n Disclosure: Links to platforms may be affiliate links, where we may earn a commission. This article is not personal financial advice. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. With commission-free brokers other fees may apply. See terms and fees. Past performance doesn\u2019t guarantee future results.<\/sup><\/p>\n Is your annual travel insurance still worth it? \u2013 Which<\/a><\/p>\n The fake Spotify<\/em> emails that put you at risk of fraud \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n Paragon Bank cuts five-year buy-to-let mortgage rates \u2013 Mortgage Strategy<\/a><\/p>\n Get \u00a3100 to \u00a33,000 cashback when you open an Interactive Investor<\/a> SIPP. Minimum \u00a320,000 deposit. Terms and fees apply, affiliate link \u2013 Interactive Investor<\/a><\/p>\n Does Saga\u2019s best buy interest rate for over-50s live up to the hype? \u2013 Which<\/a><\/p>\n A sea view could cost you up to \u00a3220,000 more \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n Get up to \u00a31,500 cashback when you transfer your cash and\/or investments to Charles Stanley Direct through this affiliate link<\/a>. 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He\u2019s giving it away instead \u2013 N.Y.T.<\/a><\/p>\n Why America\u2019s super rich have embraced British football clubs \u2013 CNBC<\/a><\/p>\n The light narrows \u2013 Aeon<\/a><\/p>\n Poor countries are aging fast but can\u2019t keep up with the cost \u2013 W.S.J.<\/a><\/p>\n Scientists rethink sun exposure risks and benefits \u2013 Scientific American<\/a><\/p>\n An uncomplicated man [On The Odyssey movie]<\/em> \u2013 London Review of Books<\/a><\/p>\n How to exist \u2013 Raptitude<\/a><\/p>\n Who dares ridicule Gianni Infantino? \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cStop thinking about what your money can buy. Start thinking about what your money can earn. And then think about what the money it earns can earn.\u201d Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon<\/a> and Interactive Investor<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nInvesting under the AI influence<\/h3>\n
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Top gear<\/h3>\n
From Monevator<\/h3>\n
News<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nKospi\u2019s boom-bust-boom mini-special<\/h3>\n
Products and services<\/h3>\n
Comment and opinion<\/h3>\n
Naughty corner: Active antics<\/h3>\n
Kindle book bargains<\/h3>\n
Environmental factors<\/h3>\n
AI, authors, and writing mini-special<\/h3>\n
Robot overlord roundup<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nNot at the dinner table<\/h3>\n
Off our beat<\/h3>\n
And finally\u2026<\/h3>\n
\u2013 J.L. Collins, The Simple Path to Wealth<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n