LLM-Enhanced Black-Litterman Portfolio Optimization
Abstract
The Black-Litterman model addresses the sensitivity issues of tra- ditional mean-variance optimization by incorporating investor views, but systematically generating these views remains a key challenge. This study proposes and validates a systematic frame- work that translates return forecasts and predictive uncertainty from Large Language Models (LLMs) into the core inputs for the Black-Litterman model: investor views and their confidence lev- els. Through a backtest on S&P 500 constituents, we demonstrate that portfolios driven by top-performing LLMs significantly out- perform traditional baselines in both absolute and risk-adjusted terms. Crucially, our analysis reveals that each LLM exhibits a dis- tinct and consistent investment style which is the primary driver of performance. We found that the selection of an LLM is therefore not a search for a single best forecaster, but a strategic choice of an investment style whose success is contingent on its alignment with the prevailing market regime. The source code and data are available at https://github.com/youngandbin/LLM-BLM.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2504.14345,
title = {LLM-Enhanced Black-Litterman Portfolio Optimization},
author = {Youngbin Lee and Yejin Kim and Juhyeong Kim and Suin Kim and Yongjae Lee},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.14345},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
Presented at the CIKM 2025 Workshop on Financial AI (https://advancesinfinancialai.com/)