Deutsche Bank is putting artificial intelligence’s investment skills to the test. The bank asked its dbLumina AI model to pick a basket of funds from the most popular funds used by typical retail investors as of the end of November. Research analyst Luke Templeman fed dbLumina a week of the same daily market analyses from late November that his team uses to build thematic indicators. “The decisions are based on our daily market commentaries, and other inputs, and takes into account market themes and emotions,” Templeman wrote to clients in a Monday note. “The initial allocations surprised us a little — but the proof will bear out over the coming year.” Templeman also gave dbLumina some market data, including past performance of certain ETFs that track broad markets. Deutsche’s dbLumina model can review its decisions on a weekly basis using new information, according to the analyst. Templeman said dbLumina found investors to be their most “irrational” in April, as the market whipsawed following the release of President Donald Trump’s high-tariff policy. As a result, Templeman said many investors didn’t own enough stocks to allow them to benefit from the market’s subsequent rebound. “Can the average investor use AI to beat the market?,” Templeman said. “We aim to find out.”
