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This study examines whether Large Language Models (LLMs) can support momentum-based breakout strategies for retail investors by analysing technical charts and validating statistical patterns. We analysed 3,621 price charts (2023–2025) to assess LLMs’ ability to identify trading setups and deviations from random walk behaviour. 13,624 tests were run on 1,204 trades using various statistical tests. While 70% of patterns conformed to random walk behaviour in the short term (7–15 days), momentum signals rose to 26.42% over longer periods (50–250 days). Complex prompting produced both higher random walk classification (72.41% vs. 69.29%) and better returns than single-shot prompting. Incorporating Gamma Exposure (GEX) improved caution but reduced return rates. Discrepancies of up to 20% between JavaScript and Python implementations underscored LLMs’ current limitations in statistical precision. Overall, LLMs may democratise technical analysis but still require human oversight, structured prompting, and validation through traditional methods.

This study investigates the role of large language models (LLMs) in retail investors (RIs) decision-making processes from the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). It explores whether LLMs can replace or change the role of financial experts and whether introducing LLMs may lead to more infromed RIs’ decisions. Qualitative interviews were conducted with experienced RIs (n = 8). Secondary data were gathered from YouTube recordings (n = 44). Thematic analysis and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) methodology was used for data extraction and analysis of the scripts. The findings indicate that while LLMs have the potential to enhance accessibility to expert opinions and provide more informed investment decisions, they are unlikely to replace human experts. RIs show a preference for combining LLM insights with human expertise, recognising the limitations of LLMs in managing complex and nuanced investment information. The study highlights the usefulness of the TPB as a framework for the exploration of the topic. It also introduces a novel research method - advanced data extraction techniques on a vast unstructured dataset.?Results contribute to the understanding of LLMs potential in supporting RIs and confirms the usefulness on the AESTIMA tool for data extraction and analysis.