In January 2020, Yoni Assia, co-founder and CEO of eToro, attended a charity dinner with Warren Buffett, aiming to persuade the iconic investor to embrace Bitcoin and shed his skepticism about cryptocurrencies.
Ultimately, Assia walked away with a deep respect for Buffett’s expertise in a different realm—value investing.
Reflecting on his experience, Assia shared insights from their conversation during a recent interview with Business Insider, emphasizing the need for even seasoned value investors to embrace artificial intelligence.
Meeting Buffett, who recently stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after a remarkable 60-year tenure, was a “remarkable experience” for Assia.
By listening to the “Oracle of Omaha,” Assia gained clarity on successful investing principles: identifying undervalued assets, staying within areas of expertise, and pinpointing companies with sustainable competitive advantages.
Another significant takeaway for Assia was Buffett’s emphasis on the importance of education. This realization illuminated the value of his initiatives to educate eToro users about market dynamics and wealth-building strategies.
Assia also came to understand the profound effect of compounding; for instance, an investment of $1,000 returning just 5% annually can double in fifteen years and grow tenfold in fifty years.
After his enlightening dinner with Buffett, Assia turned to books like “The Intelligent Investor,” enlisted a value-investing consultant, and encouraged eToro employees to prioritize in-depth research and a long-term investment ethos.
Now, six years later, Assia notes that eToro boasts a “substantial number” of value investors actively conducting research, writing analyses, and sharing insights on the companies they invest in.
However, shortly after his dinner with Buffett, Assia had an opportunity to meet LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who had similarly accumulated a vast fortune through investments in luxury fashion brands.
Assia also mentioned other notable figures like Point72 CEO Steve Cohen and the late founder of Renaissance Technologies, Jim Simons, who achieved billionaire status through active market trading.
This made Assia realize that there are multiple paths to successful investing; individuals must identify the approach that resonates with them.
eToro supports this journey by allowing users to learn from one another and even replicate the portfolios of those who choose to share their strategies.
‘Everyone Deserves a Quant’
In preparation for launching a marketplace for user-generated, AI-powered tools, eToro has introduced several innovative applications.
One such tool allows users to engage in discussions about their investment portfolios with AI personas based on investing greats like Buffett and Peter Lynch, thereby enhancing their investment approaches.
Another application analyzes a user’s trading history, revealing patterns like their most productive trading hours, enabling them to refine their strategies further.
A third tool functions as a virtual investment committee. AI agents specializing in areas like geopolitics or risk management compile daily reports for an AI model simulating a chief investment officer, who then provides the user with tailored insights.
“Everyone deserves a quant,” Assia asserted, regardless of whether they follow Buffett’s value-investing strategy or momentum trading methods aimed at maximizing returns.
He believes AI equips retail investors “with the right tools and the right community” to compete on par with “the most sophisticated quantitative hedge funds globally.”
Personally, Assia has embraced AI, using OpenClaw—an open-source AI assistant—to develop approximately 30 different applications in just one month.
When discussing concerns about AI potentially displacing jobs, Assia advised young people to acquire skills related to AI.
“AI will fundamentally reshape the job market, and it’s crucial for individuals to learn how to work alongside AI,” he explained.
Assia likened the vast potential of AI to the promise of the Internet during the mid-1990s, and more recently, the early days of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Though Buffett has largely avoided the AI wave, Assia has taken inspiration from his leadership in promoting financial literacy, increasing access to markets, and encouraging individuals to build sustainable wealth over time.
