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Preferred Returns
Today’s Change

A symphony is an automated trading strategy — Learn more about symphonies here

About

Own preferred-stock funds and gold when the S&P 500 is in an uptrend; move to short‑term T‑Bills when it’s not. Simple trend signal, equal weights in risk‑on, cash-like safety in risk‑off.
NutHow it works
Each day it checks if SPY (an ETF of the S&P 500) is above its average price over ~1 year (250 trading days). If yes: split money equally into VRP (variable‑rate preferred stock fund), PFFA (U.S. preferred stock fund), and GLD (gold). If no: move it all to BIL (1–3 month T‑Bills). It mainly trades when that trend flips; weights stay roughly equal.
CheckmarkValue prop
Strong out-of-sample risk-adjusted performance: Sharpe 3.5, Calmar 6.5, max draw 4.1% vs SPY 13.7%; returns ~26.9% p.a. with near-zero beta. A simple trend rule provides diversification and downside protection relative to the S&P.
1M
3M
6M
YTD
1Y
3Y
Max
Performance
Compared to selected benchmarks
AlphaBetaR2R
0.10.090.080.28
Performance Metrics
Cumulative ReturnAnnualized ReturnTrailing 1M ReturnTrailing 3M ReturnSharpe Ratio
186.72%14.75%2.19%5.01%0.81
141.17%12.19%3.12%4.19%1.87
Initial Investment
$10,000.00
Final Value
$24,117.38
Regulatory Fees
$23.21
Total Slippage
$142.07
Invest in this strategy
OOS Start Date
Mar 10, 2025
Trading Setting
Threshold 5%
Type
Stocks
Category
Trend-following, risk-on/risk-off, tactical asset allocation, preferred stocks, gold, cash equivalents, s&p 500 signal
Tickers in this symphonyThis symphony trades 5 assets in total
Ticker
Type
BIL
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Stocks
GLD
SPDR Gold Trust, SPDR Gold Shares
Stocks
PFFA
Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF
Stocks
SPY
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Stocks
VRP
Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF
Stocks

FAQ

A Composer symphony is an automated trading strategy that executes trades based on parameters of your choice. Some symphonies are similar to holding one ETF in normal conditions and rotating to a different ETF when market conditions shift, for example a 5% drop in the S&P 500, while others use complex rules with dozens of triggers. However, complex doesn’t always mean better. A simple, well-structured symphony can be just as effective as an intricate one. Learn more about how symphonies work here.

"Preferred Returns" is currently performing the same as yesterday today. Performance updates in real time during market hours.

"Preferred Returns" is currently allocated toGLD, VRPandPFFA. Holdings automatically adjust as market conditions change based on the strategy's rules.

Year-to-date, "Preferred Returns" has returned 26.88%. You can adjust the performance chart above to view returns across different time horizons.

The maximum drawdown for "Preferred Returns" is 4.12%. The maximum drawdown measures the largest peak-to-trough decline. It's an important metric to evaluate risk and the strategy's behavior during market stress.

To invest in "Preferred Returns", simply click the Invest button on this page. You'll need to open an account with Composer if you don't have one yet, then you can start investing. Composer will automatically execute the trades for you based on the strategy's rules. Composer also supports trading individual stocks, ETFs, crypto, and options.