Get AI to show its working.
Most AI tools give confident answers. They don't show their sources, flag their assumptions, or tell you when they've run out of data and started guessing. A structured method fixes this. This guide documents mine.
Download the PDF →~20 pages · PDF · Free. No email required.
Written by Ben Dixon — tested against a real portfolio, not a demo. About me →
- → Investors who already use AI tools and don't fully trust the output
- → Anyone who's asked an AI a financial question and thought "that sounds plausible but I can't verify it"
- → People who want a method, not another tool recommendation
- → Beginners to investing — the guide assumes you're already doing it
- → Anyone looking for stock tips or position recommendations (there are none)
- → People who want AI to make their decisions for them
Gemini fabricated an options table — noticed the error, and kept going anyway.
I asked Gemini to reason about a covered call on a real trade — BMNR, cost basis $22.11, current price $21.50, two specific strikes I was considering. The prompt stated explicitly: "without access to a live options chain."
Gemini produced a formatted comparison table with specific premium estimates ($3.50–$4.00 for one strike, $2.80–$3.20 for the other), an implied volatility figure ("currently around 75%"), and a stock price I never gave it — $28.60 instead of the $21.50 in my prompt. It noticed the price discrepancy mid-response, flagged it, and then kept generating the estimates regardless.
None of those numbers were real. The model pattern-matched to what an options table is supposed to look like and produced one. The RISK stage of the Prompt Stack — require every claim to cite its source — catches this before it costs anything. The full test is documented in Section 4 of the guide.
~20 pages. No padding.
- 01 The full Prompt Stack methodology. Four stages — ROLE, FILTER, RISK, VERDICT — worked through with one real investment example end to end. The version I actually run, not a simplified illustration.
- 02 Five complete, copy-paste prompts. One for each core investing decision: position review, earnings analysis, downside hunt, add/hold/sell, and pre-trade stress test. Orange placeholders mark what needs your actual numbers.
- 03 A printable field reference card. The condensed Prompt Stack on one page — stage names, what each stage does, and the common failure mode it prevents. Designed to sit next to a brokerage screen.
- 04 Two real-world tests, documented. The Gemini options table above, in full. And a Prompt Stack read on Meta's Q1 earnings — what structured prompting surfaced that a generic question wouldn't have.
The Field Guide.
Free PDF. No email, no signup, no paywall.
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