Generate More Investing Know-How With AI

Alex Moschina|January 4, 2024

We’ve been covering AI for more than five years.

Back in 2018, we were among the first to make note of Apple’s (then) newly launched AI research facility.

Half a decade later, the opportunities in the AI sphere continue to grow.

In the investing world, no one has explored AI’s promise the way Shah Gilani has (you can see what he’s found right here)…

But it’s clear that AI is already helping us do important things. The question is… Have you dipped your toes in yet?

Yes, we are talking to YOU, dear reader.

If you’ve been with us since our early days, you understand the value of hard-earned Know-How. It’s one of the core values (along with Liberty and Connections) that defined Manward’s path when we launched. It still does.

One cannot truly succeed in life without it.

If we stop learning… we stop living.

Or, as Henry Ford once put it…

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

And so, as we once did with our popular “Old Guy’s Guide to Crypto” series, we’re going to help you add a new and powerful tool to your toolkit.

To do that, we’ve assembled a quick primer on the biggest name in the AI game today… ChatGPT.

And the great news is… you don’t need to spend a dime.

To get your feet wet, you just need to create a free account…

How to Get Started

Start by going to chat.openai.com.

Click “Sign up” to get started. You’ll be prompted to begin the registration process from scratch. Or you can link a Google, Apple or Microsoft account.

It couldn’t be simpler. (No wonder ChatGPT was able to garner 100 million users in less than a year.)

Once this quick process is complete, you’ll be greeted by a few disclaimers. They essentially state that the software is still a work in progress and may generate incorrect responses to certain queries. You’ll also get a note stating that whatever you put into the chat may be reviewed by OpenAI’s staff to help improve ChatGPT.

So don’t go putting in any sensitive details (this is still the internet, after all).

With all of that squared away, you’ll be off to the races. Your screen should look something like this:

See that text bar at the bottom of the screen? That’s where you’ll put in your first prompt.

This is where things get fun.

Sample Prompts

You might be wondering what sorts of things you can ask ChatGPT. That’s kind of the beauty of the system… You can pretty much ask it anything.

Depending on your personality, that may excite you… or unnerve you. Either way, allow us to provide an example of some good opening questions.

Since we are, at our core, a financial publisher, let’s start with a simple question we’ve gotten from folks just getting started as traders…

“Can you explain how stock options work to me like I’m a 10-year-old?”

When we asked this, ChatGPT replied…

Alright, imagine you have a really cool trading card of your favorite superhero, let’s call it “Super Option.” Now, you know that other kids might want to have this card too because it’s so awesome. So, you decide to let them borrow it for a little while.

Now, here’s the fun part: You tell them, “Hey, you can borrow this card for two weeks, and if you still want it after that time, you can buy it from me for $5.” The other kids think it’s a great deal because they might not be sure if they really want the card, but they get to try it out for a while.

Now, let’s translate this to the stock market! Instead of trading cards, we have stocks of real companies like “SuperTech Inc.” When you buy a stock, you own a tiny piece of that company. But sometimes, you’re not sure if the stock price will go up or down.

That’s where stock options come in…

The software then went on to explain the difference between call options and put options in a way that might truly make sense to a 10-year-old (or someone just learning about investing). It even included a handy disclaimer about the risks of trading options.
Here’s another example…

“What should I look for in a good value stock?”

ChatGPT gave a lengthy response that started with…

Looking for a value stock involves identifying companies whose stock prices appear to be undervalued compared to their intrinsic value. Here are some key factors to consider when looking for a value stock…

It then listed 10 criteria value investors should consider, including a low P/E, a solid dividend yield, consistent free cash flow and more.

And, yes, it provided another disclaimer.

One more to bring us full circle…

“How do cryptocurrencies work?”

ChatGPT explains…

Cryptocurrencies work on the principles of blockchain technology, a decentralized and distributed ledger system. Let’s break down the key components of how cryptocurrencies work…

The software went on to tell us – in simple terms – how blockchains record crypto transactions, how transaction validation occurs, what Proof of Work and Proof of Stake mean, and more.

It also warned of the dangers of trading cryptocurrencies without a proper understanding of the risks involved. (Hear! Hear!)

In our humble opinion, while this response may not be quite as well written or useful as Manward’s official crypto guide, it’s far from shabby.

We dare say it’s even good.

The point is… ChatGPT can provide simple and sometimes in-depth answers to prompts like our examples above. Just be aware that this software is still learning and growing – and is prone to occasional mistakes.

What It All Comes Down To

Naturally, in our sample prompts, we kept things basic and focused on the financial realm. But we invite the curious to simply log in to ChatGPT and take it for a spin.

Think of it as an ultrasmart, souped-up search engine. Ask it whatever pops into your mind (assuming what pops into your mind isn’t your Social Security number or your mother’s maiden name). As it stands, there’s no wrong way to use ChatGPT.

If nothing else, you’ll get a firsthand peek at what all the AI hype is about… even if ChatGPT itself represents only a tiny sliver of what this new technology promises.

Try it out… and gain some valuable Know-How in the process.

Note: You don’t have to understand how AI works to get in on what we’re calling AI’s “Big Bang” moment… or the five “supernova” stocks ready to surge as a result of it. Get all the details here.