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Symphonies
Single Pops (Medium Leverage - No Black Swan Catcher) l 2 Nov 2011
Today’s Change
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A symphony is an automated trading strategy — Learn more about symphonies here

About

Short‑term contrarian: fades overheated markets with a long‑vol bet, and buys leveraged stock funds after sharp drops. Otherwise sits in T‑bills. Uses UVXY/VIXM, QLD/SSO, SVXY, BSV, BIL. High risk; expect big swings.
NutHow it works
RSI = short‑term “heat” gauge (0–100). If key stock funds are very hot on a 10‑day RSI (> ~79–83) — QQQ (big tech), SPY (S&P 500), VTV/VOOV (value), VOOG (growth), XLP (staples), XLY (consumer) — it buys UVXY+VIXM (a bet on a volatility jump). If tech/market are very cold (RSI < ~28–29 on XLK/QQQ/SPY), it buys 2x stock funds (QLD or SSO) paired with cash‑like BSV or short‑vol SVXY. Otherwise it parks in T‑bills (BIL). Goal: catch quick “pops.”
CheckmarkValue prop
Out-of-sample edge: ~31.3% annualized return vs ~22.5% for the S&P, lower drawdown (≈15.2% vs 18.8%), Calmar ~2.05, beta ~0.45, Sharpe ~1.40. A tactical volatility‑timing strategy offering bigger upside with controlled risk.

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Invest in this strategy
OOS Start Date
Apr 22, 2023
Trading Setting
Threshold 10%
Type
Stocks
Category
Contrarian, mean reversion, tactical etf, volatility trading, leveraged etfs, rsi signals, risk-on/risk-off
Tickers in this symphonyThis symphony trades 15 assets in total
Ticker
Type
BIL
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Stocks
BSV
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF
Stocks
QLD
ProShares Ultra QQQ
Stocks
QQQ
Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
Stocks
SPY
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Stocks
SSO
ProShares Ultra S&P500
Stocks
SVXY
ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF
Stocks
UVXY
ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF
Stocks
VIXM
ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF
Stocks
VOOG
Vanguard S&P 500 Growth 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.

The symphony is currently performing the same as yesterday today. Performance updates in real time during market hours.

The symphony is currently allocated toBIL. Holdings automatically adjust as market conditions change based on the strategy's rules.

Year-to-date, the symphony has returned 27.72%. You can adjust the performance chart above to view returns across different time horizons.

The maximum drawdown for the symphony is 15.24%. 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 the symphony, 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, and options.