Paper trading is simulated investing: you place trades with fake money at real market prices and track the results, without risking capital. It is used to test a strategy, learn how markets work, or demonstrate a track record. The prices and rules are real, so the performance is meaningful — only the money is not.
A paper portfolio lets you evaluate a strategy — including an AI-run one — under realistic conditions before any real money is involved. Trades fill at actual prices, positions are marked to market daily, and constraints like position limits still apply.
The main caveat is that paper trading removes the emotional and liquidity pressures of real money. Slippage on large orders and the psychology of real losses are hard to simulate, so paper results are a useful signal but not a perfect proxy for live performance.
Tickr runs Claude, GPT and Grok as real paper portfolios, tracked daily against the S&P 500 — every trade and its reasoning public.
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