AI Model Showdown: Which Outperforms the Market? Finance Professor Names the Leader

Dr. Alejandro Lopez Lira has been testing AI chatbots to outperform stock markets since 2023.

An associate professor of finance at the University of Florida, Lopez Lira initiated this project during the AI boom to evaluate which model could generate market-beating returns. After nearly three years of experimentation, he claims to have identified the top performer.

“DeepSeek is by far the best trader,” he stated to Business Insider.

DeepSeek’s portfolio has gained 73% since its 2023 launch and 35% year-to-date. ChatGPT slightly exceeded DeepSeek since its launch with a 78% return but is only up 16% year-to-date. The Grok portfolio returned 54% since inception and 19% year-to-date.

Lopez Lira also noted that DeepSeek is outperforming Claude, though he mentioned Anthropic’s chatbot has been managing a portfolio for a shorter period.

Can DeepSeek beat the market? Our public experiment during the past year says yes: up 76% against 27% for the S&P 500.

$13.5M in client capital, 2,285 subscribers, every position live and public.

See it all and trade alongside here: pic.twitter.com/HVUGeVBPBX

— AI Finance Labs (@aifinancelabs) May 28, 2026

The Autopilot platform enables retail traders to replicate strategies from successful investors, including AI-managed portfolios. According to co-founder Chris Josephs, there is growing interest in following AI-driven trading decisions.

“What’s interesting is the increasing number of users applying to launch funds and portfolios, with AI prompting their strategies,” Josephs explained to Business Insider.

“Each AI model processes information similarly, but they make identical decisions about 50% of the time,” Lopez Lira added. He also shared prompts used in his AI portfolio setup on the Autopilot page.

Dr. Alejandro Lopez-Lira/Autopilot

The platform displays recent trades made by each AI portfolio. Recent activity includes DeepSeek increasing its position in Nvidia while reducing holdings in Vista Energy.

Both DeepSeek and Grok’s portfolios hold Micron Technology as their top asset. However, ChatGPT’s second-place portfolio favors Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, a lesser-known aerospace company recently highlighted by Stifel.

Claude’s portfolio also includes Kratos stock but prioritizes the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF, contrasting with other bots’ focus on Big Tech and energy stocks. It also maintains a significant position in Vista Energy, contrasting with DeepSeek’s reduction in that holding.

Source link