Get help with SIQ — guides for turning your portfolio and market intent into an AI-managed strategy, managing it on paper, and using live broker workflows where supported.
Getting Started
SIQ starts from what you already own and what you want to express in the market. It turns that into a managed strategy, gives you an initial plan, and keeps the portfolio aligned over time.
What is SIQ and how is it different from other AI finance tools?
SIQ is an AI investing agent that turns your current portfolio or investment idea into a managed strategy.
Unlike general AI chatbots that pattern-match finance answers, SIQ:
- **Starts from what you already own or believe** — Upload a portfolio, describe your holdings, or start from an idea
- **Gives you a concrete starting plan** — You get an initial portfolio recommendation with reasoning, not just commentary
- **Shows the work** — You see the rationale, data, and portfolio changes behind every recommendation
- **Uses institutional-grade quant workflows** — Code execution, backtests, risk analysis, and live market context are built into the product
- **Keeps the portfolio aligned over time** — The agent continues managing the strategy on paper first, adapting as markets and your preferences evolve, with live broker workflows where supported
What is 'Agentic Investing'?
Agentic Investing means expressing what you want in the market and letting an AI agent keep your portfolio aligned to that intent over time.
Traditional investing forces you to translate vague goals into one-off trades yourself. With SIQ:
1. You start from your current portfolio
2. You describe your intent in plain English
3. SIQ turns that into a managed strategy
4. The agent proposes an initial plan with reasoning
5. You keep steering the agent over time through chat and execute-now workflows
Think of it as having an investing companion that manages the gap between what you own and what you actually want as the world changes.
How do I create my first strategy?
You can create your first strategy from either a current portfolio or an investment idea.
If you already hold positions, bring SIQ what you own and then describe what you want to express in the market.
If you are starting from an idea, describe it directly.
For example:
- "This is my current portfolio. I want more quality tech and less idle cash."
- "Keep my current core holdings, but make the portfolio more defensive."
- "Use this portfolio as the base, but manage it more actively for momentum."
- "Build me a concentrated quality compounder strategy with tighter downside control."
SIQ will:
1. Understand your starting portfolio or idea
2. Ask clarifying questions about intent, constraints, and preferences
3. Turn that into a managed strategy
4. Generate an initial portfolio plan with reasoning and proposed changes
5. Let you start managing it on paper immediately
*You can also use the Strategy Wizard if you prefer a more structured setup flow.*
What's the difference between paper trading and live trading?
**Paper management** uses simulated capital so you can see how the agent manages your intent before real money is involved. **Live trading** mirrors approved decisions through a supported broker connection.
| | Paper Management | Live Trading |
|---|---|---|
| **Capital** | Simulated SIQ Cash | Your real money |
| **Risk** | None — safe proving ground | Real gains and losses |
| **Broker needed?** | No | Yes (supported broker required) |
| **Trade execution** | Agent manages on paper | Orders require your approval before submission |
**Why start on paper first?**
- You see whether the agent expresses your intent the right way
- You get an ongoing management relationship, not a one-off analytics answer
- You can tune the strategy as markets and your views change before money is involved
**How live trading works today:**
When you connect a supported broker, SIQ maintains a mirror of that live portfolio.
1. If trades happen at the broker, SIQ reflects them after sync
2. If SIQ recommends changes, you review and approve them first
3. SIQ updates its portfolio view from broker-confirmed fills, not assumptions
4. Your broker account remains under your control throughout
What assets can I trade on SIQ?
SIQ supports a wider set of assets and markets in paper management than it does in live broker execution.
**Paper Management**:
- **Markets**: US, UK, Europe, India
- **Asset Classes**: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Crypto, Mutual Funds
**Live Trading**:
- Depends on the broker you connect and the current integration coverage
- Trading 212 is the first supported live broker workflow
- Additional broker support will expand over time
The simplest rule is: paper supports the broadest expression of your strategy, while live support expands broker by broker.
Is there a minimum investment required?
**You do not need to deposit real money to create a strategy on paper.**
For agent-managed paper portfolios, SIQ asks you to allocate at least **$1,000 of simulated SIQ Cash** so the agent has enough room to generate meaningful portfolio changes. That is paper capital, not a real-money minimum.
For live trading, the practical minimum depends on your strategy and the broker account you connect:
- Small live portfolios may run into whole-share constraints
- Some strategies need more capital to mirror allocations cleanly
- Very small allocations can produce "less than 1 share" issues
The important distinction is:
- **Paper setup** uses simulated capital
- **Live trading** uses your real broker capital
Strategies & Trading
Strategies are how SIQ translates your portfolio and intent into an agent-managed workflow. The agent proposes changes, explains them clearly, and keeps learning from your feedback over time.
Why should I resume my strategy?
Resuming a strategy tells SIQ to start making daily trading decisions based on your investment thesis and constraints.
When your strategy is **Paused**:
- You can edit the thesis, constraints, and universe
- No trading decisions are made
- Your portfolio remains unchanged
When you **Resume** your strategy:
- SIQ's AI agent analyzes markets daily
- The agent generates trade recommendations based on your thesis
- Trades appear in your "Pending Trades" queue for review
- Your portfolio starts building positions according to your strategy
You can pause your strategy at any time from the strategy detail page.
What does 'Pending Trades' mean?
Pending trades are trade recommendations that SIQ has generated but haven't been executed yet.
When SIQ's agent makes a trading decision, it creates trades with one of these statuses:
- **Awaiting Approval**: You need to review and approve before execution (live trading)
- **Pending**: Approved and waiting for market hours to execute
- **Executing**: Currently being processed
For **paper trading**: Trades typically execute automatically when markets open.
For **live trading**: Every trade requires your explicit approval before SIQ places orders with your broker.
You can view and manage pending trades from your Portfolio Dashboard.
Do I have to approve every trade manually?
**For live trading, yes — every trade requires your approval.** This is a deliberate safety design.
| Trading Mode | Approval Required? |
|--------------|-------------------|
| Paper Trading | No — trades auto-execute during market hours |
| Live Trading | Yes — every trade needs manual approval |
**Why require approval for live trades?**
- Your real money is at stake
- You maintain full control over what executes
- You can review the reasoning before committing
- Prevents unexpected trades during volatile markets
When you see pending trades, you can:
- **Approve** to send to your broker for execution
- **Cancel** to skip that trade (you can provide feedback on why)
What if I disagree with a suggested trade?
You can cancel any trade you disagree with — and your feedback helps SIQ improve.
When you cancel a trade, SIQ asks why:
- "I don't believe in this stock"
- "Position size too large"
- "Bad timing / market conditions"
- Custom reason
**Your feedback matters**: SIQ's agent considers your previous decisions when making future recommendations. Over time, it learns your preferences and risk tolerance.
Canceling a trade doesn't affect the rest of your portfolio — only that specific trade is skipped.
When do trades execute?
SIQ runs your strategy on a daily schedule. Trades execute when markets open.
**The daily cycle:**
1. **Daily schedule** — Your active strategy is analyzed automatically
2. **Agent analysis** — AI reviews holdings, market data, and your constraints
3. **Trades queued** — Recommendations appear in "Pending Trades"
4. **Market open** — Paper trades execute automatically and approved live trades are sent to your broker
**Need trades sooner?**
Use the **"Execute Now"** button in your strategy settings to run the agent on demand. This is useful when:
- You're tracking something in the market and want immediate action
- You've just updated your strategy and want to see new recommendations
- You want to test how the agent responds to current conditions
How does SIQ decide what trades to make?
SIQ's AI agent analyzes your strategy's thesis, current holdings, and market data to determine the optimal allocation.
**What the agent considers:**
- Your investment thesis (the strategy you described)
- Your constraints (max position size, drawdown limits, cash reserve)
- Current portfolio holdings and performance
- Recent market data and price movements
- Your past feedback on trades
**What the agent outputs:**
- A target allocation (e.g., 25% AAPL, 20% MSFT, 55% CASH)
- Specific trades to reach that allocation (BUY/SELL with quantities)
- Reasoning for each decision (visible in the decision log)
The agent operates within your constraints — it will never exceed your max position size or violate your risk limits.
Can I edit my strategy over time?
Yes — you can ask SIQ to modify your strategy anytime via chat, and it creates a new version automatically.
**How strategy versioning works:**
1. Start a conversation about your strategy: *"Update my tech momentum strategy to exclude NVDA"*
2. SIQ makes the changes and saves a new version (v1 → v2)
3. The agent knows it's now running v2 with your updated instructions
4. Previous versions are preserved in case you want to review changes
**What you can change:**
- Investment thesis and instructions
- Stock universe (add/remove symbols)
- Constraints (position limits, risk controls)
- Rebalancing rules
Each edit creates a clear version history, so you can always see how your strategy evolved over time.
What's the difference between SIQ strategies and my own strategies?
**SIQ strategies** are managed by SIQ's team. **Your strategies** are fully under your control.
| | SIQ Strategies | Your Strategies |
|---|---|---|
| **Created by** | SIQ team | You |
| **View performance** | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| **See trading decisions** | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| **Follow with your money** | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| **Edit strategy** | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| **Pause/resume** | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| **Control trades** | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
**Following a SIQ strategy:**
When you invest in a SIQ strategy, you create a "follower" portfolio that mirrors the strategy's decisions, scaled to your investment amount. You can:
- See all trades before they execute
- Approve or reject trades (for live trading)
- Unlink from the strategy anytime
**Creating your own strategy:**
Start a conversation to build a custom strategy tailored to your investment thesis. You'll have full control to pause, edit, or stop it whenever you want.
Live Trading & Brokers
Ready for live trading? When you connect a supported broker, SIQ keeps a mirror of that live portfolio, proposes changes based on your strategy, and only updates portfolio state from broker-confirmed fills after your approval.
How does live trading work in SIQ?
When you enable live trading, SIQ keeps a mirror of your supported broker portfolio and manages proposed changes through an approval workflow.
Here's how it works:
1. **SIQ mirrors the live portfolio state** — Your connected broker account is the source of truth for filled positions
2. **The agent makes strategy-driven recommendations** — SIQ decides what should change to keep the portfolio aligned to your intent
3. **You approve before submission** — No live order is sent without your approval
4. **SIQ updates on confirmed fills** — Portfolio state updates only after the broker confirms execution
This keeps the workflow trustworthy: the agent can manage intent, but the live portfolio view is still anchored to broker-confirmed reality.
Why do I need to approve every live trade?
**Every live trade requires your explicit approval. This is a deliberate safety design — your real money is at stake.**
**What this means:**
- When SIQ generates a trade recommendation, it appears in your "Pending Trades"
- You review the symbol, action (BUY/SELL), quantity, and reasoning
- You click "Approve" to send the order to your broker
- Or "Cancel" if you disagree (with optional feedback)
**Why not auto-execute?**
- Prevents unexpected trades during volatile markets
- Gives you final say over every transaction
- Builds trust as you learn how SIQ operates
- Protects against edge cases or unusual recommendations
*This is different from paper trading, where trades auto-execute since no real money is involved.*
Why am I getting 'intended amount is less than 1 share' errors?
This happens when the scaled position size for your portfolio is less than one whole share.
**Example:**
- Strategy's primary portfolio: ₹10,00,000
- Strategy holds: 10 shares of a ₹50,000 stock (₹5,00,000 = 50% allocation)
- Your portfolio: ₹50,000
- Your scaled position: 0.5 shares (50% of ₹50,000 = ₹25,000 = 0.5 shares)
Since you can't buy half a share, SIQ shows this error.
**Solutions:**
- **Increase your investment amount** — More capital means larger position sizes
- **Wait for the strategy to rebalance** — Future allocations may have smaller position sizes
- **Choose a different strategy** — Some strategies work better with smaller portfolios
*This is more common when following strategies designed for larger portfolios with a smaller investment amount.*
Why can't I take actions when my broker is disconnected?
When your broker session expires or the connection becomes invalid, SIQ can't place or monitor orders on your behalf.
**What happens:**
- SIQ shows that your broker connection needs attention
- Pending trades can't be sent to the broker
- Broker-backed orders may need a fresh sync before you can act on them again
**What to do:**
1. Click "Reconnect" in your broker settings
2. Complete the broker authentication flow
3. SIQ automatically syncs your account and resumes live-trading actions
Can I switch which strategy my live portfolio follows?
Yes — you can unlink from one strategy and link to another anytime.
**To switch strategies:**
1. Go to your portfolio settings
2. Click "Unlink Strategy"
3. Your existing positions remain unchanged
4. Link to a new strategy
5. The new strategy will manage your portfolio going forward
**What happens to your positions?**
- When you unlink, holdings stay as-is (nothing is sold)
- When you link to a new strategy, it may recommend trades to align with its allocation
- You'll see those as pending trades to approve or cancel
*This flexibility lets you try different strategies without liquidating your portfolio.*
Security & Account
Your security is our priority. We use bank-grade encryption, never store your broker passwords, and give you full control over connected applications. Here's everything you need to know about keeping your account secure.
How is my data protected?
SIQ uses industry-standard encryption for all data in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). Your broker credentials are never stored—we use OAuth tokens that can be revoked at any time. All infrastructure runs on SOC 2 compliant cloud providers.
What can SIQ do with my broker account?
SIQ can only place orders and view your holdings—nothing more. We cannot withdraw funds, change account settings, or access your personal banking information. You can revoke access at any time from your broker's connected apps settings.
How much does SIQ cost?
SIQ is free to start on paper. You can turn your portfolio and intent into an agent-managed paper strategy before paying for higher AI usage and live broker workflows. Visit our Pricing page for current plans and features.
Can I cancel my subscription anytime?
Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your Account settings. Your access continues until the end of your current billing period. Before canceling, make sure to disconnect any live portfolios and cancel pending orders.