Which Portfolio should I follow first? A decision guide for your first allocation on Autopilot

I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. This is the moment people freeze: the app is connected, the buying power is there, and there are hundreds of Portfolios. I can't tell you which one, because that would be advice about you and I don't know you. What I can give you is the decision, in order, so the choice is yours and defensible.

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.

Decision one: which kind

There are three kinds of Portfolio here, and they behave differently in your account. Trackers built on hedge funds' public filings change a few times a year, after each filing, so they're slow and lagged by design. Portfolios run by Pilots change whenever the Pilot decides, so they can be active, and their records are the Pilot's judgment. AI-model Portfolios change on a documented process run by a lab, with a model doing the picking. Ask which source of decisions you actually want to trust, because that's what you're buying. The three kinds and who publishes them are in The Autopilot marketplace: who publishes here, the three kinds of Portfolios, how one gets listed, and how to judge any of them.

Decision two: read the sheet before the story

Every Portfolio has a description, and many have a public fact sheet with a live composite of follower accounts from the day it launched, gross and modeled net, with the drawdown and a date on every figure. Read the drawdown before the return and ask honestly whether you'd have held through it. Check whether the record is long enough to mean anything to you, since every record starts at the Autopilot launch and not a day earlier. Look at the largest positions to see how concentrated it is. A Portfolio with a description you love and a drawdown you'd have sold at the bottom of is the wrong first Portfolio. The method is in How to read a Portfolio's track record before you follow it.

Decision three: how much

Only settled buying power you actually have, never a hoped-for number, and only an amount whose worst plausible drawdown you could watch without acting. If your allocation is small, prefer a Portfolio with fewer, larger positions, because small positions in a small allocation fall under minimum order sizes and get skipped. And do the fee arithmetic: the platform fee is a flat subscription, so convert it to dollars a year and divide by your allocation before turning on the paid tier. That math is in How much money do you need to start on Autopilot? No stated minimum, but three things that decide whether a small allocation works.

Decision four: one, then wait

Start with one Portfolio. Watch a quarter: how the orders land, how your account differs from the Portfolio, how the balance in the app relates to the brokerage. Then, if you add a second, read the two sheets together, because two Portfolios that lean the same way are one bigger bet. How allocations and subscriptions work across several is in Following more than one Portfolio: how allocations work, what buying power limits, and why one Pilot subscription covers all of that Pilot's Portfolios.

Decision five: the exit, decided now

Before you allocate, decide what would make you stop: a Pilot who stops publishing, a drawdown past what you said you'd hold, a record that turns out to be a backtest. Write it down. Then the quarterly check has a question to answer instead of a mood. How to stop, and what each kind of stop does, is in How to reduce, withdraw, stop, or leave: changing an allocation, deleting a Portfolio, cancelling a subscription, disconnecting, and deleting your account.

Frequently asked questions

Which Portfolio should I follow first on Autopilot?

Nobody can answer that for you honestly without knowing you, so use the process: decide which source of decisions you trust, a hedge fund's filings, a Pilot's judgment, or an AI model's process; read the fact sheet and its drawdown before the description; allocate only settled cash you'd hold through that drawdown; start with one Portfolio and watch a quarter; and write down what would make you stop before you start.

Should I start with a hedge fund tracker or a Pilot's own Portfolio?

They behave differently in your account. A tracker changes a few times a year after each public filing, so it's slow and lagged by design; a Pilot-run Portfolio changes whenever the Pilot decides, so it can be active and its record is that person's judgment. Pick by which source of decisions you want to be following, then by the fact sheet's drawdown and record length, not by which sounds more exciting.

How much should I allocate to my first Portfolio on Autopilot?

Only settled buying power you actually have, and only an amount whose plausible drawdown you could watch without selling. If the allocation is small, prefer Portfolios with fewer, larger positions so fewer orders fall under minimum order sizes, and convert the flat platform fee to dollars a year divided by the allocation before paying for ongoing following. Basic Tier, which has no platform fee, lets you place a Portfolio's holdings once while you learn.

Can I follow more than one Portfolio when I start?

You can, on a paid tier, with each Portfolio having its own allocation funded by real buying power. I'd start with one and watch a quarter first, because two Portfolios that lean the same way are a single larger bet, and because learning how orders, balances, and the fact sheet behave is easier with one moving part.

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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.

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Autopilot provides limited investment advisory services focused on Portfolio selection and suitability assessment. Our services are not intended to replace comprehensive financial planning. We recommend consulting with a qualified financial advisor regarding your complete financial situation.

This content is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. You should consult with qualified professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult with qualified tax and legal professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not hold client assets. All investments are held at the brokerage firm you select and connect to Autopilot. Your brokerage firm is responsible for trade execution, custody, and reporting. Autopilot is not responsible for your broker-dealer’s services, fees, or execution quality.

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Client account holdings are designed to track the Portfolio you’ve selected, but your actual holdings and performance may differ from the Portfolio due to execution timing, market conditions, brokerage capacity constraints, fractional share availability, and other factors outside Autopilot’s control.

For Portfolios inspired by publicly disclosed trading activity, there may be a delay between when a Pilot executes a trade and when that trade becomes publicly available and is incorporated into the Portfolio. This timing delay may affect the suitability or performance of trades when executed in client accounts.

This is a general decision framework, not a recommendation of any Portfolio or allocation for any person; Autopilot Advisers, LLC provides impersonal advice, and suitability depends on your circumstances. Nothing here is a claim about results.