DeepSeek Emerges as the Strongest 'AI Trader'! Performance Surpasses ChatGPT and Grok – Latest Holdings Revealed

In a real-world stock trading competition among leading artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, DeepSeek has emerged as the standout performer, becoming the highest-performing 'AI trader' to date.

According to a report by Business Insider, since the initial wave of AI in 2023, University of Florida finance associate professor Alejandro Lopez Lira has been testing whether various AI models can generate investment returns that outperform the broader market based on their own judgment.

After nearly three years of observation and comparison, he recently stated: 'DeepSeek is undoubtedly the best-performing trader right now.'

Based on publicly available data, the investment portfolio managed by DeepSeek has risen 73% cumulatively since its inception in 2023, with a year-to-date gain of 35%.

In contrast, the portfolio managed by OpenAI's ChatGPT has achieved a slightly higher cumulative return of 78% since inception, but only a 16% gain so far this year.

The portfolio managed by Grok, the AI developed by Elon Musk's company, has risen 54% since inception and 19% year-to-date.

Lopez Lira added that DeepSeek's performance also surpasses that of Anthropic's Claude, though he noted that Claude's investment portfolio has been active for a relatively shorter period.

These AI-managed investment portfolios are now publicly accessible on the copy-trading platform Autopilot. The platform allows retail investors to replicate the trading strategies of well-known figures, ranging from 'Oracle of Omaha' Warren Buffett to U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

Chris Josephs, co-founder of Autopilot, noted that copy-trading has grown increasingly popular in recent years, and interest in replicating 'AI-managed portfolios' has been steadily rising.

Josephs said: 'What's most fascinating is that we're seeing more and more people applying to launch new funds, launching more portfolios, and more individuals beginning to use AI—designing prompts to develop and execute their own investment ideas.'

Lopez Lira explained that while the information-processing logic of different AI models is broadly similar, his estimates show that different models make identical trading decisions in only about 50% of cases.

He noted: 'There are aspects requiring human intervention, such as feeding the model the latest company news and financial fundamentals. But the final trading decision is entirely made by the model itself.'

Lopez Lira shared examples of the prompts he used in building AI investment portfolios, as detailed in a white paper on his Autopilot profile.

The platform also publicly discloses the latest trading records of each AI portfolio. According to the latest data, DeepSeek executed 19 trades on July 14, including increasing its position in NVIDIA (NVDA-US) and reducing its holdings in Vista Energy (VIST-US).

While Micron Technology (MU-US) is the top holding for both DeepSeek and Grok's portfolios, ChatGPT's portfolio—ranked second in performance—shows a preference for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS-US).

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a relatively lesser-known aerospace and defense company, but it has recently been named a top pick by investment bank Stifel.

Meanwhile, Claude's investment portfolio also holds shares in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, but its largest holding is the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV-US), a stark contrast to other AI portfolios that favor large-cap tech and energy stocks.

Additionally, Claude maintains a significantly higher weighting in Vista Energy, directly opposing DeepSeek's decision to reduce its position in the company.