From Fixed Rules to Reasoning Machines

For decades, algorithmic trading meant fixed rules. If a stock’s RSI drops below 30, buy. Simple. Mechanical. Predictable. AI trading agents work differently. They read earnings transcripts, news articles, and price data, then reason in natural language about what it all means. If 2025 was the year quant funds quietly rebuilt their stacks around large language models, 2026 is the year AI trading agents stopped being a curiosity and started moving real capital.

This article covers how these systems actually work, the specific strategies driving adoption, and the genuine risks nobody should ignore.