Opinion: Saad Naja, CEO of PiP World

For decades, retail investors have been told a lie: diversify, track the benchmark and play with caution. This lie has only one effect: indefinite mediocrity. Diversification was Wall Street’s leash on the masses – a clever ploy to keep households tied to “average.” It protects you from ruin, yes, but it also ensures that you will never be free.

The ultra-rich have never followed these rules. They are focusing capital on paradigm shifts in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, and biotechnology to an asymmetric advantage.

They don’t waste time on price-to-earnings or dividend ratios; they focus on network effects, distribution moats, and winner-take-all dynamics.

That’s why the affluent get richer: conviction, not caution.

Diversification is dated

Diversification began in the 1950s, when information was sparse and trading was sluggish. Back then, spreading bets across dozens of holdings made sense. In today’s hyper-connected world, this is dated.

Today’s markets are characterized by power law dynamics, with a handful of players generating most of the profits. Diversification in this environment doesn’t protect you – it neutralizes you.

Hedge fund stars are now hiring Hollywood agents to strengthen their brands and attract more capital. This is how skewed the system has become: billion-dollar quantum desks are doubling as stars. What about retail investors? You were still told to discreetly diversify into 60 companies. The truth is uncomplicated: passive diversification cannot compete in a superstar economy.

AI blew up Wall Street’s treasury

The market is already changing. In August 2025, value stocks outperformed by 460 basis points. Mega-capitalist technologies now make up almost 40% of the S&P 500. Detecting such rotations is a matter of life or death for portfolios, and for the first time, retail investors have the tools to do so.

Reuters questionnaire found that almost half of retail investors are open to using AI tools like ChatGPT to pick stocks, with 13% already doing so. Cointelegraph reported the same trend in cryptocurrencies: everyday investors adopting bots and AI pilots once reserved for hedge funds. Agentic AI is destroying Wall Street’s moat in real time.

Related: How to set up and utilize AI-powered cryptocurrency trading bots

Instead of sitting in an index fund, you can now deploy AI agents that scan global markets 24/7, instantly model thousands of scenarios, and confidently identify trades associated with exponential change. This isn’t about chasing meme resources; it’s about discovering plays that matter for decades, not days.

Conviction on a immense scale

People are susceptible to fear, greed and hesitation. The AI ​​doesn’t care. The real power of agentic AI lies in its ability to escalate belief. Consider a personal swarm of AI agents constantly monitoring each market, identifying risks, debating strategies, revealing trades with confidence, and executing them without hesitation. What once took a billion dollars is now compressed on your phone, without the 20% fund management fees.

Artificial intelligence in markets is not coming; it’s here. BlackRock raked in $14 billion in incoming exchange-traded funds in the second quarter, while analysts forecast the market for agent-based AI services to be worth $1 trillion. Institutions are already preparing. Retail investors face a choice: adapt or get outpaced.

Recent playbook

Diversification is protected, but safety comes at a price: it protects investors from financial ruin, but it also protects against exponential gains. Wall Street wants you to be diversified, obedient, and stick to “average.” AI rewrites this script.

It’s not about instant wealth. It’s about fighting with the same weapons the elite have always used: asymmetric bets backed by beliefs. Artificial intelligence is giving retail investors access to this power for the first time in history.

Diversification is a straightjacket. Artificial intelligence is a tool for disruption. The question is whether individual investors will take advantage of this or remain wedded to mediocrity while institutions hold power. If you stick to diversification in 2025, you will make a loss. If you believe in the AI-based belief, you finally have a chance to win.

Opinion: Saad Naja, CEO of PiP World.

This article is for general information purposes and is not and should not be treated as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.