Neo Pops - SPHD
Today’s Change (Mar 17, 2026)
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A symphony is an automated trading strategy — Learn more about symphonies here
About
A rule-based, SPHD-centric tactical strategy that rotates between leveraged equity bets, volatility hedges, and bonds based on QQQ RSI momentum; aims to ride short-term pops while cooling risk with hedges and bonds.
What the strategy does, in plain language:
• It splits capital into different decision pockets that revolve around SPHD as a core anchor. SPHD is a high-dividend, lower-volatility ETF meant to act as a ballast rather than a pure growth bet.
• It watches momentum signals using a simple momentum gauge (RSI) on QQQ (the Nasdaq-tracking fund) across several time frames (10, 20, 30, 60, 126 days) to judge if the market is overbought (risks are high) or not.
• If signals indicate high risk or overbought conditions, the system tilts toward hedges and safer bets, such as volatility-related ETFs (TECS which bets against tech, UVIX which bets on volatility futures) and short exposure to the market via SPXU or other defensive positions, sometimes routing into short-term Treasuries (BIL) for safety.
• If signals look more favorable (not overbought, or showing a strong up-move while risk is manageable), it tilts into leveraged tech and broad-market plays to chase gains (TECL for 3x tech, TQQQ for Nasdaq 3x, SPXL for S&P 500 3x, UDOW for Dow exposure). These bets are layered with SPHD-based allocations to balance risk.
• The structure uses several nested decision clusters (labeled like “321 Pop,” “Double Pop Bot,” “QQQ Double Pop Bot,” and “Mean Rev/Bond Signal”) that combine momentum checks with hedging logic and bond-market considerations. Some clusters test whether the recent performance of popular indices has risen too far (mean reversion signals) and then shift toward bonds (IEF/TLT/TMF) or back toward equities depending on the readouts.
• There are explicit checks for bond-market health and relative strength comparisons (for example, relative strength of SPHD vs SPY/IEF) to decide if a rotation into bonds is warranted.
• The overall weighting scheme assigns substantial but not exclusive weight to the active pocket (e.g., a 40% anchor with other branches contributing the remainder), creating a diversified but tactically rotating allocation rather than a static buy-and-hold.
• No automatic daily rebalancing is assumed in this particular configuration; instead, changes are driven by the evaluation of the decision-tree conditions as they are met. The intended effect is to capture short-term “pops” while limiting risk through volatility hedges and bond exposure. Important caution: the strategy relies on leveraged ETFs and complex timing signals; it can behave very differently in fast-moving markets and is sensitive to how RSI and other momentum checks perform in real time.
Out-of-sample edge: ~51% annualized return vs ~22% SPY; Calmar ~1.72; Sharpe ~1.30. Levered bets plus hedges target higher upside than SPY with disciplined risk—though drawdowns may be larger.
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Invest in this strategy
OOS Start Date
Jan 14, 2023
Trading Setting
Threshold 10%
Type
Stocks
Category
Tactical allocation, leveraged etfs, momentum, volatility hedging, mean-reversion, multi-asset
Tickers in this symphonyThis symphony trades 19 assets in total
Ticker
Type
BIL
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Stocks
BND
Vanguard Total Bond Market
Stocks
IEF
iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF
Stocks
QQQ
Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
Stocks
SPHD
Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF
Stocks
SPXL
Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3x ETF
Stocks
SPXU
ProShares UltraPro Short S&P 500
Stocks
SPY
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Stocks
TECL
Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3x ETF
Stocks
TECS
Direxion Daily Technology Bear 3x ETF
Stocks