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Almost one year I asked large language know-it-all ChatGPT to name the best three FTSE stocks for me to buy for five years.
However, I wasn’t that impressed with the ones it gave me, so I picked my own three UK stocks to go head-to-head with the AI bot.
After nearly one year, who is winning so far — AI silicon brain or this fallible human Fool? Let’s find out.
ChatGPT’s picks
The shares ChatGPT named in early January were F&C Investment Trust, Unilever, and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG).
The first is a FTSE 100 investment trust boasting over 50 years of consecutive annual dividend growth. Unilever is the consumer goods giant behind brands like Dove, Persil, Lynx, and Hellmann’s.
Meanwhile, TRIG from the FTSE 250 owns a large, diversified portfolio of wind farms, solar parks, and battery storage projects across the UK and Europe.
Here’s how they have performed since 6 January:
- F&C Investment Trust +10.1%
- Unilever +1.8%
- TRIG -22%
I calculate that an equal amount invested in each of these shares would have generated a total return of just 1.2%. And that’s including TRIG’s giant 8.4% yield from a year ago.
Considering the FTSE 100 has jumped around 20%, with dividends on top, that’s disappointing. It shows me that I shouldn’t rely solely on ChatGPT for my stock picks.
But how has my trio got on?
My picks
The stocks I went for were AstraZeneca, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, and BlackRock World Mining Trust (LSE:BRWM).
The first is a world leader in oncology, while Scottish Mortgage is the FTSE 100 trust focused on disruptive growth stocks. BlackRock World Mining is self-explanatory.
Here’s how these shares have performed since early January:
- AstraZeneca +26.9%
- BlackRock World Mining Trust +70.2%
- Scottish Mortgage +18.8%
As we can see, these returns are far better than ChatGPT’s above. Adding in the dividends, I calculate a total return of 40.1%.
| Total return | |
| Fallible Fool (me) | 40.1% |
| AI superbot (ChatGPT) | 1.2% |
Gold and copper
The standout performer here has been the FTSE 250 mining trust. This has been driven by two themes it had backed in its portfolio: gold and copper.
The yellow metal has rocketed nearly 70% in the past year, surpassing $4,000 per ounce for the first time. Meanwhile, copper has jumped 35% in the same period, as electrification uses now drive nearly half of global copper demand.
Meanwhile, a single ChatGPT query uses roughly 10 times the electricity of a Google search. As such, the trust’s overweight position in copper is paying off as supply deficits have begun to emerge.
Time to go
Of course, there’s still another four years to go with these picks, and a lot can happen in this time. AstraZeneca’s pipeline could disappoint, as could Scottish Mortgage’s bets on the next generation of winners.
Meanwhile, BlackRock World Mining will sell off periodically whenever fears about China’s economy rise. I’m not expecting another 70% yearly surge anytime soon. It’s trading at an all-time high, and I think investors should wait for a pullback before considering it.
Moreover, ChatGPT has had a couple of updates in the past 12 months (it’s now more powerful). So I wouldn’t expect the gap to be so wide next time.
We’ll find out the stocks it likes in January when I do another one of these head-to-heads…
