Key facts
- More than 5,000 investors continue to mirror Leopold Aschenbrenner's stock holdings through the Autopilot platform.
- Aschenbrenner's hedge fund, Situational Awareness, lost 67% in July, though it remains up 80% for the year.
- The Autopilot strategy, which avoids leverage and short positions, has $28 million remaining from over 5,000 investors.
- Autopilot investors saw a 35% recovery from their portfolio's lowest point last Wednesday, but were down over 30% in July.
- Aschenbrenner was compelled to sell a significant portion of his publicly traded stock holdings to Citadel.
- The Autopilot portfolio is concentrated in AI-infrastructure plays, with Nebius, Coreweave, and Bloom Energy being major holdings.
Despite the significant losses and near implosion of his hedge fund, Situational Awareness, over 5,000 investors are still mirroring Leopold Aschenbrenner's trades through the Autopilot platform. Autopilot, which offers portfolios based on the disclosed holdings of prominent investors, saw approximately $32 million invested in Aschenbrenner's strategy from its March launch until early last week.
Following news of Aschenbrenner's struggles, Autopilot informed its investors, resulting in $3 million to $5 million in capital withdrawals. However, $28 million remains invested by more than 5,000 individuals. While the Autopilot portfolio has recovered 35% from its lowest point last Wednesday, it experienced a decline of over 30% in July. In contrast, Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness fund lost 67% in July but is up 80% year-to-date.
The Autopilot strategy differs from traditional hedge funds as it does not employ leverage, short positions, or complex derivatives, instead mirroring disclosed stock holdings and estimating stock exposure from call options. This lack of leverage meant Autopilot investors experienced smaller losses during the downturn compared to Situational Awareness. The Autopilot portfolio holds 14 stocks, with significant concentrations in AI-infrastructure plays like Nebius (30%), Coreweave (12%), and Bloom Energy (12%).
These stocks faced volatility in July, partly due to jitters in Asian markets and concerns over AI spending. Aschenbrenner was reportedly forced to sell a substantial portion of his publicly traded stock holdings at a 10% discount to Ken Griffin's Citadel after facing weeks of steep losses and margin calls. Notably, the stocks that had previously dragged down Situational Awareness rallied after Citadel's purchase, benefiting those who maintained their positions.
Autopilot primarily follows 13F filings, which are quarterly disclosures of US stock holdings released 45 days after the quarter's end. Aschenbrenner's filings are closely watched, and his next disclosure is expected by August 14. Autopilot plans to continue mirroring the fund's portfolio as long as it remains active. The platform handles fund closures on a case-by-case basis, similar to its plan to convert its Representative Nancy Pelosi stock trade tracker into a general politician trade tracker upon her retirement.