ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, which works using a machine learning technique called reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) to converse with humans. The AI is able to memorize previous interactions and can continue conversations without losing sight of the previous context of the conversation. 

Users who seek direct investment advice from ChatGPT may be disappointed, as the AI does not solicit any financial advice, but it can analyze mountains of data within seconds and come up with bite-sized ideas that can go a long way in balancing a successful stock investment portfolio. 

The key to getting something resembling an investment plan from ChatGPT is consistency and a step-by-step approach. Considering the chatbot memorizes previous interactions, users can build up on prior questions to construct a coherent investment strategy and allocate their funds properly. 

ChatGPT is incredibly easy to access. All users need is a valid email address and a phone number to 

We can start by asking ChatGPT some general questions regarding its long-term investment outlook and what it considers to be potentially market-beating investments. We must consider that ChatGPT’s answer to direct investment questions could be evasive and vague:

As we can see ChatGPT avoided a direct answer, but highlighted some basic key principles investors need to be aware of when building a portfolio, which are:

• Diversification
• Long-term perspective
• Regular monitoring
• Keeping an eye on fees
• Seeking professional guidance

ChatGPT is open and forthcoming when it comes to its limitations and what it is not authorized to answer. However, these simple investment principles are nowhere near sufficient to build a lasting investment portfolio that can deliver results over a ten-year period. 

ChatGPT’s responses are geared toward the average users that may not be well-versed in the world of finance and investments. Thus, the overall tone of the conversation from the AI is that of caution. The chatbot sticks with the most fundamental investment advice to ensure that it does not inadvertently cause financial losses. 

We can move on to the next step, where we try to be more specific with ChatGPT to get a relevant response. 

We asked ChatGPT what it thinks the next ten years could look like for the following asset classes: stocks, bonds, crypto, commodities, and real estate. Following the generic refusal to provide direct financial advice, ChatGPT did get into a bit more detail regarding what purpose each asset class could serve within an investment portfolio. However, the answer was still somewhat vague and ultimately off the mark:

To push ChatGPT even further, we can ask it to break down a diversified stock portfolio by market sector to see how much it will allocate to each industry. This serves to find out whether ChatGPT will dodge the question or generate a sample portfolio that could translate into an actionable example. 

After asking ChatGPT to break down what it considers a diversified stock portfolio would look like by market sector, the AI actually provided an example of a portfolio that is diversified across 10 different sectors. While there was still no actionable advice, ChatGPT still provided an example that could very well work in practice:

ChatGPT also highlighted the importance of personalization in investments, as no portfolio blend can work for investors of all interests and backgrounds. However, it did provide a sensible stock portfolio blend that can be observed in real-life investment scenarios. 

Here’s how ChatGPT visualized a diversified portfolio blend by industry:

• Technology: 20%
• Healthcare: 15%
• Financials: 15%
• Consumer Discretionary: 10%
• Industrials: 10%
• Energy: 5%
• Consumer Staples: 5%
• Materials: 5%
• Real Estate: 5%
• Utilities: 5%

Such a portfolio allocation is common among diversified investment funds and institutional investors. 

ChatGPT works best when given clear and direct commands. However, it chooses to be evasive when faced with requests for investment advice. Generally, ChatGPT is not well-designed to be a financial assistant, as most of its answers are predefined responses about the importance of diversification and calculated risk-taking. However, it can be useful in other areas of investing. For example, ChatGPT is a great tool for fetching data from financial statements and other documents that are otherwise time-consuming to read through. 

While ChatGPT may be a useful tool that can ease the workload of investors, it does come with some limitations that can irritate some users. For example:

• Lack of clarity - ChatGPT can sometimes give vague answers and dodge direct questions, which can make it difficult for users to get valuable investment insight from the AI
• Predefined answers - some of ChatGPT’s answers are shallow advice to not take unnecessary risks and to follow a well-researched investment strategy
• Trial and error - Getting to a specific topic may require some prior steps to create a conversational chain, which can be tedious and time-consuming
• Complex questions - ChatGPT can have a hard time with complex questions and come up with answers that are not directly related to the original question
• Technical issues - ChatGPT can experience some technical issues from time to time, which can be very inconvenient for more time-sensitive decisions

“ChatGPT is incredibly limited, but good enough at some things to create a misleading impression of greatness.  it’s a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now. it’s a preview of progress; we have lots of work to do on robustness and truthfulness.” - Sam Altman

• Be as detailed and descriptive in your commands as possible
• Expect a lot of trial and error
• Have an action plan to reach your intended line of conversation with the chatbot
• ChatGPT is not the best tool for mathematical problem solving
• You can reference previous parts of the conversation in future prompts
• You can describe certain scenarios in your prompts 

• ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that uses a machine learning technique called reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF)
• ChatGPT can be used for financial advice as well, but it requires a lot of trial and error from the user
• The key principles for building an investment portfolio with ChatGPT are consistency and descriptive prompts 
• ChatGPT can create a hypothetical stock portfolio that is diversified across multiple sectors
• ChatGPT has plenty of limitations when it comes to financial advice and is more useful as a data extraction tool 
• Ultimately, ChatGPT is a conversational AI that is useful when researching stocks and other investments, but less effective when it comes to financial analysis and advice