Single Pops (Medium Leverage - No K1 - No Black Swan Catcher) l 2 Nov 2011
Today’s Change (Mar 18, 2026)
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About
A momentum-based, rule-driven strategy that first tries to hedge into BTAL on extreme RSI signals across major ETFs. If no BTAL signal fires, it moves into a leveraged-long path (QLD/TECL/SSO/SPXL) with a lowest-RSI pick among QLD and BSV. No regular rebalancing; aims for short-lived “pops” with hedging and selective leverage.
- What it does: It looks for short-term momentum signals (RSI overbought readings) on a list of popular ETFs. If any signal fires, it places all capital into BTAL (an anti-beta hedge).
- If none of the RSI triggers fire, it shifts into a leveraged-long path focused on tech/market exposure (QLD, TECL, SSO, SPXL) with a fallback rule to pick the asset with the lowest RSI among QLD and BSV.
- The strategy uses equal weighting when it buys a single asset (100/100) and does not perform routine rebalancing on a schedule.
- What RSI is (plain-language): RSI is a momentum measure that compares recent gains to losses to gauge how quickly prices have moved up or down. Higher readings suggest recent price strength; very high readings can indicate overbought conditions where a pullback might occur. The code uses fixed RSI thresholds to decide when momentum is strong enough to warrant hedging with BTAL or, in the fallback path, to select among levered-long or bond options.
- Why BTAL: BTAL is designed to reduce market beta and can act as a hedge when market moves are sharp and risk is high, potentially smoothing portfolio drawdowns during spikes.
- Why levered ETFs in fallback: When BTAL isn’t signaled, the system tries to ride short-term momentum with leveraged bets (QLD, SPXL, SSO, TECL) to capture larger moves, with BSV used as a stabilizing bridge in some paths.
- What you’re exposed to: A mix of large-cap tech and broad-market exposure (QQQ, SPY, XLK, etc.), sector tilts (XLY, XLP), value vs growth (VTV, VOOG), and hedges (BTAL, BSV, leveraged plays QLD, TECL, SSO, SPXL).
- Risk note: Leveraged ETFs magnify gains and losses, and momentum-based rules can generate frequent signals in choppy markets. The lack of routine rebalancing means unexpected regime shifts can expose the strategy to abrupt allocations when signals flip.
Out-of-sample results show lower drawdowns (15.2% vs SPY’s 18.8%), solid Calmar ~1.15, and hedged upside via BTAL with no rebalancing. While annualized return is ~17.5% vs SPY ~22.5%, risk-adjusted stability and downside protection may appeal in choppy markets.
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Invest in this strategy
OOS Start Date
Apr 22, 2023
Trading Setting
Threshold 10%
Type
Stocks
Category
Momentum-based, leveraged etfs, tactical allocation, anti-beta hedging
Tickers in this symphonyThis symphony trades 13 assets in total
Ticker
Type
BIL
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Stocks
BSV
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF
Stocks
BTAL
AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund
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
VOOG
Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF
Stocks
VOOV
Vanguard S&P 500 Value ETF
Stocks
VTV
Vanguard Value ETF
Stocks