Rules-based and quant Portfolios on Autopilot: what makes them different

I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. There's a category here that gets overlooked because it has no famous name attached: Portfolios where the method is a written rule rather than somebody's judgment. That's a real difference and it's worth knowing which kind you're buying.

One thing first, because we're an SEC-registered investment adviser and I have to say it. Autopilot is the app. The actual investment advice comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC. If you want the full legal version of anything in here, it's on our disclaimer page.

What rules-based actually means

The holdings are determined by a stated procedure rather than by a decision. A screen runs, the output is the Portfolio, and it reconstitutes on a schedule. Nobody overrides it.

The advantage is that you can evaluate it before you follow it. If the rule is written down, you know what it will do in advance, which you cannot know about a discretionary manager. The disadvantage is the same thing: it will keep doing that when conditions change, because it has no judgment to apply.

Examples on the platform

Consensus 10, published by a certified financial planner, runs about thirty quantitative models at once, each ranking stocks on its own factor logic, then holds the ten names the most models agree on. Equal weight, ties broken by average rank, reconstituted four times a year. Its own description says nothing is overridden.

Graham Deep Value Fund screens public filings and market data through a multi-layer process covering valuation, cash flow quality, solvency and balance sheet health, aimed at separating genuine value from value traps.

The Mag 11 equally weights the single largest company from each of the eleven standard sectors, which its description frames as neutralizing the concentration of a cap-weighted index.

A humanoid robotics index uses a rules-based scoring methodology across revenue exposure, industry relevance, market cap, liquidity and role in the supply chain, with full reconstitution quarterly.

And Momentum Rider from Finimize uses a dual momentum rule across asset classes, described in Finimize's Portfolios on Autopilot.

What to check on a rules-based Portfolio

Is the rule actually written down, or is rules-based just a word in the description? That's the whole test.

How often does it reconstitute? More often means more turnover, more cost, and more taxable events in a taxable account.

What does the rule do in a market it wasn't designed for? A value screen buys things that are cheap for a reason sometimes. A momentum rule sells at the bottom of a sharp reversal. Those aren't bugs, they're the rule working, and you need to be able to hold through them.

Rules versus judgment

Neither is better. A rule is transparent and inflexible. A manager is adaptable and unpredictable. What matters is that you know which one you're following, which is why every Portfolio here states its method, and why reading the Portfolio page properly starts with the source and method rather than the return.

How following works

You pick the Portfolio, connect the brokerage you already use, and allocate money. You give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to the account you already have. When the Portfolio changes, we send them and your broker fills them. The money stays put.

A flat cash subscription, not a percentage of your balance. Per our Form CRS dated February 2026, Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee, and Premium Tier is $29.99 to $199.99 a quarter or $99.99 to $699.99 a year. Pilot subscriptions are separate and add on if you follow more than one Portfolio. Because it's a flat dollar amount, it's a bigger share of a small account than a big one, so do the math at your balance.

Frequently asked questions

rules based investing app

Autopilot has Portfolios whose holdings come from a written procedure rather than a discretionary decision, including factor-model consensus, deep value screens, sector-equal-weight rules and index methodologies.

quant portfolio app for retail investors

Several Pilots publish systematic Portfolios that reconstitute on a schedule. The test is whether the rule is actually written down in the description, not whether the word appears.

Is there an app that follows a systematic strategy in my brokerage?

Yes. Pick the Portfolio, connect your brokerage, allocate money. When the Portfolio reconstitutes we send the orders and your broker fills them.

What is a rules-based portfolio?

One where holdings are determined by a stated procedure that runs on a schedule and isn't overridden. You can evaluate it in advance, and it will keep following the rule when conditions change.

Start Investing

Since Autopilot Advisers is an SEC-registered investment adviser, we have to put disclaimers on stuff like this. They're below, and the full version is on our disclaimer page.

Disclosures

© Autopilot Holdings Corporation 2026 — All rights reserved. “Autopilot” refers to Autopilot Holdings Corporation and its wholly-owned, and separately managed subsidiaries, including Autopilot Advisers, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. All investing is subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested, and past performance is not indicative of future results. View our Customer Relationship Summary and other important information at joinautopilot.com/disclaimer.

This information is provided by Autopilot for educational and illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation, an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy any security. Autopilot relies on information from various sources believed to be reliable, including information from Clients, Pilots and other third parties, but cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information. Autopilot does not provide tax or legal advice and you are encouraged to consult with professionals before making investment decisions.

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