August 15, 2025 – A new breed of investor is emerging: the sophisticated retail trader armed with AI. No longer content with passive index funds or robo-advisors, these individuals—many from Gen Z and Millennials—are diving into complex strategies like options trading, armed with artificial intelligence tools that were once the domain of hedge funds. Recent data highlights this surge. U.S. options trading hit a record 1.2 billion contracts in January 2025 alone, building on a banner 2024 where nearly 10.2 billion equity options contracts changed hands by November’s end.
Options trading volumes are booming again in 2025, poised for a sixth consecutive year of record activity, with retail investors now accounting for an estimated 45% to 60% of the market’s share. This dramatic uptick in sophisticated retail investor activity, with participation surging 32.6% in daily averages during the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, is driven by younger demographics seeking higher returns amid economic uncertainty. At the heart of this shift is AI for options trading, a phrase that’s become synonymous with platforms like LevelFields, which uses machine learning to scan thousands of stocks for event-driven opportunities, delivering AI alerts that help options traders capitalize on market-moving catalysts.
This explosion in options trading isn’t just about volume; it’s reshaping how individuals approach the markets. Retail traders are increasingly drawn to high-risk, high-reward instruments like zero-day options, which expire the same day they’re purchased, fueling much of the recent boom. More than 40% of single-name retail options volume is concentrated in the top 10 symbols, a sharp rise from 26% in late 2019, highlighting a focus on mega-cap tech stocks and volatile names that offer quick profits. Yet, this growth comes with caveats. Studies show retail traders lost upwards of $2 billion in options premiums between 2019 and 2021, hence the need for AI trading tools that provide an edge. Enter AI for options trading, which is democratizing access to predictive analytics and pattern recognition, allowing even novice investors to mimic institutional strategies.
LevelFields, an AI-powered platform launched in the early 2020s, exemplifies this trend by democratizing access to sophisticated trading insights. The tool scans over 6,300 companies for 24 types of events—such as earnings surprises, FDA approvals, leadership changes, or activist investor campaigns—that historically trigger significant price movements. Using AI algorithms, LevelFields AI analyzes patterns from millions of past events to predict outcomes, providing users with high-probability trade ideas, including options strategies like covered calls or puts that can yield 20-100% returns in short periods.
For retail investors, this means cutting through the noise of irrelevant news that doesn’t impact stock prices—which LevelFields claims is 95% of news. Instead, LevelFields AI is trained to focus on catalysts that offer outsized gains, such as a stock surging 275% in a month following an overlooked event, like a large contract award.
“LevelFields is the NORAD of stock market events: they track all events, note the ones worth paying attention to, then predict their impact…on stock prices.,” said one LevelFields user who posted a review online.
NORAD refers to the North American Aerospace Defense Command. A part of the U.S. Military that tracks all flying objects and is in place to monitor threats and relay information to military commands.
Beyond AI stock alerts, LevelFields integrates advanced features like backtesting historical events against current market conditions, enabling users to simulate options trades and assess risk-reward ratios with precision. This level of AI for options trading empowers individual investors and levels the playing field against professional funds, which have long relied on similar technologies.
These AI tools are also reshaping the wealth management landscape, particularly at smaller firms like Farther Wealth Management, which are leveraging platforms like LevelFields to punch above their weight against Wall Street behemoths like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Founded as a tech-centric RIA, Farther has positioned itself as a hybrid model, blending human expertise with AI for data-driven portfolio optimization, continuous market monitoring, and personalized investment proposals generated in under 10 minutes.
Advisors at Farther use AI to identify novel opportunities in stocks that change hourly—such as short squeezes or post-earnings volatility—allowing them to build dynamic portfolios that outperform benchmarks while minimizing risks through predictive modeling and tax-efficient strategies. For instance, by harnessing LevelFields’ AI for stock and options trading, advisors are using pre-made strategies for portfolio allocations. Much in the way they allocate 10% to small caps and 20% to large caps, Farther is now allocating percentages of portfolios to event-driven strategies – many of which outperform the broader indexes.
The need for this technology transformation in wealth management is created by the impending “Great Wealth Transfer,” one of the largest intergenerational shifts in history. Over the next quarter-century, an estimated $124 trillion is expected to be passed from Baby Boomers and older generations to their heirs, with Millennials poised to receive the largest share at $45.6 trillion, followed by Gen X at $39 trillion. Nearly $100 trillion of this will originate from Boomers alone, representing 81% of all transfers, as they hand down assets accumulated over decades of economic growth. This massive influx—often dubbed the “Silver Tsunami”—is projected to reshape economies, with Gen X alone inheriting an average of $1.4 trillion annually over the next decade.
For younger generations, this windfall comes at a time of heightened financial literacy and tech adoption, driving demand for innovative tools like AI for options trading to grow and protect inherited wealth. However, challenges abound: Many recipients may not be prepared, with surveys indicating that nearly one-third of Americans plan to leave an inheritance (up from one-fourth last year), yet expectations of receiving one are falling amid rising longevity and healthcare costs. This transfer isn’t just about money; it’s about values, with younger heirs prioritizing sustainable investing and rapid market responsiveness; areas where AI excels.
This AI-powered approach to wealth management is particularly appealing to younger clients, who are drawn to these nimble firms often staffed by younger wealth managers.
A 2024 Capgemini World Wealth Report found that 75% of high-net-worth investors under 40 prefer advisors offering AI-enhanced services, valuing the speed, personalization, and real-time insights that big banks often lack due to bureaucratic hurdles. For Gen Z and Millennials, who grew up with technology and are more likely to use AI for personal finance—with 67% of Gen Z and 62% of Millennials incorporating it into budgeting and investing—the value proposition is clear: expertise paired with AI differentiates these firms from traditional giants like Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley. “It’s about trust in our ability to deliver,” says one advisor, noting that AI provides an edge clients can’t replicate on their own, fostering loyalty among tech-savvy generations seeking alignment with their values, such as sustainable investing or rapid response to market shifts.
At the forefront of this movement is Michael Flatley, a vice president and wealth advisor at Farther, whose career trajectory mirrors the industry’s evolution. Flatley, 42, spent nearly a decade at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, where he managed over $3 billion in client assets as a senior equity portfolio manager—the largest in Deutsche Bank’s U.S. wealth management division. His expertise spans goal alignment, tax strategies, asset allocation, retirement planning, and estate planning.
Flatley grew frustrated with the constraints of big banks, where outdated systems limited his ability to integrate cutting-edge tools. In 2022, he made the leap to Farther, drawn by the firm’s emphasis on flexibility and technology. “Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them,” Flatley said, embodying his proactive approach.
At Farther, Flatley has embraced AI, particularly LevelFields, to build portfolios that outperform the market for his younger clientele. The platform serves as his “AI research analyst in a pocket,” delivering real-time alerts on market-moving events that enable him to craft tailored strategies, using event-driven scenarios built by LevelFields.
By monitoring hundreds of variables across stocks, he optimizes asset allocation for clients in their 30s and 40s, who appreciate the blend of human insight and AI speed. This helps Farther attract a younger high-net-worth individuals, with the firm named the #1 fastest-growing financial services company in America by Inc. Magazine in 2025.
Flatley’s story is part of a broader exodus: In Q2 2025, advisor departures from big banks rose 28% year-over-year, with teams managing billions fleeing to independent RIAs equipped with AI tools like LevelFields, Jump for CRM automation, and Catchlight for personalized outreach. This migration isn’t just about advisor freedom; it’s reshaping client experiences, offering Gen Z and Millennials a compelling alternative to impersonal big-bank services.
With the Great Wealth Transfer set to inject trillions into younger hands, these firms are positioning themselves as stewards, using AI for options trading to navigate complexities like estate taxes, diversified holdings, and market volatility.
As Flatley puts it, “The future is about blending technology with the human touch.”
