Intro
A Pilot publishes the decisions. Nothing else.
I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. If you're thinking about publishing a Portfolio here, the first thing to get straight is what you'd actually be. Let me explain.
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 legal page.
A Pilot is an investor who publishes a Portfolio on Autopilot so other people can follow it in their own brokerage accounts.
You decide what's in the Portfolio and when it changes. We turn those decisions into orders in every follower's account. Their money never comes anywhere near you, and it never comes anywhere near us either.
By the numbers
Our difference
What you do, what we do, and what you are not
1) What you do
You build a Portfolio out of stocks and ETFs. You write the description and your bio. You set your subscription price. You manage the Portfolio over time.
When you change it, the change flows to everyone following you, in proportion to what each of them allocated. That's the whole job: the decisions. Everything downstream of the decisions is ours.
2) What we do
Autopilot Advisers, LLC is the adviser in the relationship, and it's the manager of record on every Portfolio, including yours.
Followers give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to their own brokerage accounts. When your Portfolio changes, we send them and their brokers fill them. The money stays put.
Our disclosures name two roles for every Portfolio: a Published Pilot, which would be you, and a Manager, which is Autopilot Advisers. Two names, two jobs, on purpose.
3) What you are not
You're not your followers' investment adviser. Third-party Pilots aren't advisers to the people following them, and following your Portfolio isn't personal advice from you. It's a published strategy that a registered adviser applies to accounts, within the allocation each follower set.
You don't hold anyone's money. You don't open accounts. You don't trade in anyone's account. You don't know who most of your followers are.
If that sounds like less than running a fund, it is. It's also why you can do it without becoming a fund.
4) Why we built it this way
Our manifesto says the long-term vision was always a marketplace where anyone can publish a portfolio and get paid for it through a straightforward, fixed-fee subscription, while the customer keeps direct ownership of the stocks in their own brokerage account.
The Pilot is that idea made real. The adviser layer sits between you and the follower for their protection and yours. They get a registered firm accountable for how the Portfolio lands in their account. You get to publish your thinking without carrying custody, execution, or personal advice.
Quote
You publish the decisions. Autopilot Advisers applies them. Your followers keep their own accounts, and you never touch the money.
Conclusion
Who publishes here
People, mostly, and a few firms. Former hedge fund analysts. Finance creators. Professional portfolio managers. Registered advisers publishing curated Portfolios. Data companies publishing rules. Everyday investors with a record they're willing to put a date on.
The homepage lists them. The range is the point of a marketplace. It's also why your record matters more than your résumé, which is the next post: What your followers can check about you, and what you can check about us.
TLDR: You publish the decisions. Autopilot Advisers applies them. Your followers keep their own accounts. You never touch the money, and you're not their adviser. If you want to see what that looks like, spend ten minutes in the app looking at how Pilots present themselves, then read the next post.
FAQ
Do Pilots handle their followers' money?
No. Followers keep their own brokerage accounts and grant Autopilot Advisers, LLC limited authority to send orders there. The Pilot never holds, moves, or trades anything in a follower's account. The Pilot publishes decisions, the adviser applies them, and the follower's broker keeps custody.
Do I need to be a registered investment adviser to be a Pilot?
Our help center says we work with a range of creators, from finance content creators and self-taught traders to professional portfolio managers and registered investment advisers. What matters most is a verifiable track record, a clear investment philosophy, and Portfolios built to be followed safely at scale. The adviser in the relationship with followers is Autopilot Advisers, LLC. Third-party Pilots are not advisers to their followers.
How does publishing a portfolio on Autopilot work?
You apply. If accepted, you build the Portfolio, write its description and your bio, set a subscription price, and manage it in the Pilot Portal. When you change the Portfolio, the change flows in proportion to everyone following, with Autopilot Advisers sending the orders and each follower's broker filling them. You never touch follower money, open accounts, or trade in anyone's account.
What is a Pilot on Autopilot?
An investor who publishes a Portfolio of stocks and ETFs on Autopilot so other people can follow it in their own brokerage accounts. The Pilot decides what the Portfolio holds and when it changes. Autopilot Advisers, LLC, the SEC-registered adviser, turns each change into orders in followers' accounts, and followers' money stays at their own brokerages. Our disclosures name the Published Pilot and the Manager separately for every Portfolio.
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Disclosures
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 legal page.
© 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/legal.
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.
Autopilot is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by the companies listed, described, or featured on its site. Company logos or trademarks used do not imply endorsement and are the property of their respective owners.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. You should carefully consider your investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon before investing through Autopilot.
Autopilot Advisers, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Additional information about Autopilot is available in our Form ADV Part 2A, available at adviserinfo.sec.gov or joinautopilot.com/adv.
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.
Autopilot’s services depend on technology systems, third-party APIs, and internet connectivity. System outages, API disruptions, or connectivity issues may temporarily affect service availability or trade execution timing.
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 page is for prospective Pilots. Pilot compensation is described as stated in Autopilot's public help center; the revenue split is not published and no level of revenue is promised. The conflicts described are from Autopilot's own disclosures. Third-party Pilots are independent and are not investment advisers to followers; Autopilot Advisers, LLC is the manager of every Portfolio. Nothing here is a performance claim or a recommendation.
