Does this sound like a scam to anyone else?

[ThisSerenePinkFatball]

My younger brother (19) has suddenly become obsessed with this “AI investing company” run by some guy he found on LinkedIn/YouTube.

The man claims his firm’s “AI” portfolios have done 900% returns in a year (but only in simulations, not with real money) and that the company will be worth $100 billion in 3–5 years.

It all looks dodgy to me - tiny YouTube interviews with barely any views, self-funded, no sign of actual investors. No sign of a company website (that I can find)

My brother wants to put serious money into it. I told my parents not to let him and now he’s saying I’m ruining his “big opportunity.”

am I wrong to think this is a total scam, or is there any chance it’s legit?

Sounds like a scam to me. Ask yourself, would a regulated financial advisor let him invest in an unregulated, untested company who are only promising (unrealistic) returns? of course they wouldn’t. The promises being made break financial conduct rules, eg warning of risk, over projecting gains. Claims of high, guaranteed investment returns with little or no risk are classic warning signs of fraud.

Is he an adult with full agency over his finances? If so there is probably little you can do to stop him. Put your concerns to him in an email ad you can be sure you’ll all be accused of not stopping f him when he’s been rinsed or when he’s desperately chasing his losses.

The FCA site may have some good advice - looks like they already have a warning out about one firm and you can report suspect companies on the site too

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/warnings/quantum-ai

@TheCountessofLocksley thanks. that’s really helpful. i guess part of what’s confusing me is that this guy is based in the us, not the uk, so i wasn’t sure if the same financial regulations even apply to him. does that change anything? or is it just a red flag anywhere in the world when someone’s making claims like 900% stimulation returns + $100bn plus valuation in a few years? i wish i could link the interview hear but i don’t want my brother to realise i’ve said anything incase someone decides to contact the adviser directly

it couldn't sound more like scam if it tried. Unfortunately there are some awful people out there that know how to sound convincing to your and inexperienced people online.

Your brother needs to wise up, we were all young once but anybody promising large returns is going to be lying to you. They might be getting 900% returns, all of that is from taking peoples money from them in scams.

It’s all just one big red flag . The Uk financial rules probably don’t apply, but worth reporting to the FCA.

he stands no chance of getting his money back (or getting a return on anything he invests).

He may be talking about Jensen Huang & Investing in some of his AI related companies.

If he wants to invest I would suggest

Paying into a work place pension, where his employer may add free money on top of the money he adds in & free life insurance. This is for long term savings. This is tax efficient, but not accessible until 57.

Pay into an LISA, because it is tax efficient

Pay into a stocks & shares ISA, tax efficient

Pay into emergency savings

Spare money, he could invest in something like EToro with £100 & see how it performs
Or
Peer to Peer lending

Yes there are lots of scams on the Internet !

Suggest reading things like

Guardian money
Money Saving Expert
Motley Fool
Etc

This "investment opportunity" is dancing around waving a red flag bearing the legend 'I am Scammy McScamface' and singing 'scammy days are here again' 🎶'