Risk On/Risk Off Hedgefundie (No K-1) v1.1
Today’s Change (Mar 17, 2026)
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About
A dynamic, regime-based ETF strategy that switches between safety (short-term bonds), leveraged growth, dollar/hedge hedges, and a specialized HFEA mix for falling rates. It uses a volatility kick, momentum screens, and rate signals to pick assets, with a 5% rebalancing cushion and no K-1 ETFs.
Think of it as a small, rule-based engine that watches how worried the market is and how rates are moving, then allocates to one of four playbooks:
- Crash risk-off: when fear is high, put all cash into short-term government bonds (safe haven).
- Normal risk-on: if not in crash mode, pick three 3x levered growth ETFs (tech/large-caps) that look strongest on short-term momentum, and spread your weight among them (about two-thirds of the portfolio in this lane).
- Rising rates: if longer-term bonds are outperforming short-term ones, shift to a dollar-strength/ bear-leaning mix plus a small short/ inverse hedge suite to protect against stock declines.
- Falling rates (HFEA refined): when rates look like they’re dropping, use a combined growth/bond tilt (a specific two-asset mix with fixed weights) designed to benefit from falling rates, but with built-in checks (like a drawdown test) to avoid extended losses. Within each regime, there are additional micro-rules (e.g., how many assets to pick, how to sort by momentum, and exact weightings) to avoid over-concentration. The system keeps cash in reserve and only shifts when the regime signals an opportunity, with a notional 5% corridor to minimize churning. It also avoids complex K-1-generating funds, focusing on widely traded ETFs such as SHY, UPRO, TQQQ, TECL, TMF, USDU, SQQQ, TBF, IEI, GLD, TIP, BSV, and BND/BIL proxies.
Key signals used (in plain terms):
- A “fear” indicator (volatility-related) that, when high, drives risk-off into safe bonds.
- A momentum screen over recent days to pick the strongest 3x levered growth bets when risk is on.
- A rate environment check comparing different bonds to decide whether to tilt toward dollars and hedges in rising-rate conditions.
- A fall-rate regime (HFEA) that uses a disciplined mix of growth and long-duration bonds with an additional trend/risk guardrail.
Rebalancing is not continuous but occurs when signals shift regimes or when weights drift beyond a small corridor (0.05). The aim is to be adaptive without frequent trading.
An adaptive, four-regime ETF strategy that shifts between safety and opportunistic growth to capture upside while controlling risk. It delivers 22.73% out-of-sample annualized return vs the S&P 500’s 22.05%, with built-in hedges, cash buffers, and no K-1 ETFs.
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Invest in this strategy
OOS Start Date
Oct 5, 2022
Trading Setting
Threshold 5%
Type
Stocks
Category
Risk-on/off, macro-driven, multi-asset, no-k-1 etfs, dynamic allocation
Tickers in this symphonyThis symphony trades 17 assets in total
Ticker
Type
BIL
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Stocks
BND
Vanguard Total Bond Market
Stocks
BSV
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF
Stocks
GLD
SPDR Gold Trust, SPDR Gold Shares
Stocks
IEI
iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF
Stocks
SHY
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
Stocks
SPY
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Stocks
SQQQ
ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ
Stocks
TBF
ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury ETF
Stocks
TECL
Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3x ETF
Stocks