Reference strategies Six strategies covering the core signal families — strong starting points for comparison work
Strategy Category Core signal
Bollinger Band Mean Reversion Mean Reversion Buy the dip below the lower band, sell the spike above the upper band. Read reference →
RSI Mean Reversion Mean Reversion Long when RSI is oversold, short when overbought. Read reference →
Moving Average Crossover Momentum Long when the fast SMA crosses above the slow SMA, short when below. Read reference →
Time Series Momentum (TSMOM) Momentum Long if past return is positive, short if negative. Trend-following at its simplest. Read reference →
Donchian Channel Breakout Volatility Long on new N-day highs, short on new N-day lows — the original Turtle Trading entry rule. Read reference →
Williams %R Reversion Pro Mean Reversion Trade reversals when the close gets pinned near the top or bottom of its recent range. Read reference →
Factor Intermediate

52-Week High Momentum

Long when price is within a threshold of the 52-week high — anchoring psychology as edge.

Best for slower, structural bets where intuition comes from exposure rather than signals.
threshold_pct
Factor Advanced

Mean-Variance Position Sizing

Size positions optimally as μ/σ² scaled by risk aversion — Markowitz meets dynamic trading.

Best for slower, structural bets where intuition comes from exposure rather than signals.
window risk_aversion scale_window max_leverage
Factor Intermediate Heuristic archetype

Rates Carry Proxy

Uses 10Y yield direction as a duration proxy, not a cross-asset carry engine.

This is a narrow rates-duration proxy that borrows the carry intuition. It should not be read as a general carry implementation across asset classes. The signal is the *change in the 10Y yield level* (a difference, not a percent change — percent change of a yield is unstable near zero and flips sign for negative yields). If the yield series is unavailable or degenerate the strategy raises instead of returning an all-flat backtest.

Best for slower, structural bets where intuition comes from exposure rather than signals.
window
Mean Reversion Beginner

Bollinger Band Mean Reversion

Buy the dip below the lower band, sell the spike above the upper band.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
window num_std
Mean Reversion Advanced

Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Mean Reversion

Fit an OU process to log prices and trade when deviation exceeds the threshold.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
window threshold
Mean Reversion Intermediate

Pairs Trading (Cointegration)

Trade the spread between two cointegrated assets back to equilibrium.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
ticker_b window entry_z exit_z hedge_window min_hedge_obs
Mean Reversion Beginner

RSI Mean Reversion

Long when RSI is oversold, short when overbought.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
rsi_period oversold overbought
Mean Reversion Beginner Heuristic archetype

Return Z-Score Reversion

Standardizes recent returns into a z-score; cleaner than price bands, but not a full stat-arb convergence engine.

This trades single-asset return shocks, not a richer cross-sectional or market-neutral statistical-arbitrage stack.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
window threshold
Momentum Intermediate Heuristic archetype

Dual Momentum Heuristic

Antonacci-style single-asset proxy using T-bill and SPY filters rather than a full asset-allocation implementation.

This keeps the dual-momentum intuition visible, but it is not a canonical Antonacci switcher across offensive and defensive asset sleeves. The absolute-momentum leg compares the asset's price return against an actual compounded T-bill TOTAL RETURN derived from the ^IRX yield level — not against the change in the yield level, which is a different unit entirely and disables the filter exactly during rate-cut regimes.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
lookback
Momentum Beginner

MACD Momentum

Trade crossovers of the MACD line and its signal line for trend confirmation.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
fast slow signal_period
Momentum Beginner

Moving Average Crossover

Long when the fast SMA crosses above the slow SMA, short when below.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
fast slow
Momentum Beginner

Rate of Change Momentum

Long when N-day price ROC exceeds a threshold, short when below the negative threshold.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
period threshold
Momentum Beginner

Time Series Momentum (TSMOM)

Long if past return is positive, short if negative. Trend-following at its simplest.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
lookback_months
Statistical Advanced

Kalman Filter Trend

Use a 1D Kalman filter to estimate the latent price trend; trade in the direction of the filter.

Best for users who want model-driven behavior and are comfortable validating assumptions more aggressively.
process_noise obs_noise
Statistical Intermediate

Linear Regression Channel

OLS-fit a trend line over a rolling window; trade when price breaks outside its confidence band.

Best for users who want model-driven behavior and are comfortable validating assumptions more aggressively.
window num_std
Volatility Beginner

Donchian Channel Breakout

Long on new N-day highs, short on new N-day lows — the original Turtle Trading entry rule.

Best for breakout environments and regime shifts where range expansion matters.
window
Volatility Intermediate Heuristic archetype

Low-Volatility Regime Heuristic

A long-only calm-volatility proxy, not a full volatility relative-value or implied-vs-realised strategy.

This captures a low-volatility regime intuition through realised-vol z-scores. It is not a complete volatility mean-reversion implementation with options, spreads, or explicit short-vol carry.

Best for breakout environments and regime shifts where range expansion matters.
short_window long_window threshold
Volatility Intermediate

Volatility Breakout

Enter long when today's range exceeds a multiple of the ATR, signalling a momentum burst.

The breakout OPENS a position that is held for hold_days bars; it is not a one-bar signal. Without that hold the strategy exits on the bar after every entry, producing maximal turnover.

Best for breakout environments and regime shifts where range expansion matters.
atr_period k hold_days
Mean Reversion Intermediate Pro only

Connors RSI Reversion

Blend short-horizon RSI, streak persistence, and return percentile rank into one short-term reversal score.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
rsi_period streak_period rank_window oversold overbought
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Mean Reversion Beginner Pro only

Stochastic Reversion

Fade price moves that push the close to the edge of its recent high-low range.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
window oversold overbought
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Mean Reversion Beginner Pro only

Williams %R Reversion

Trade reversals when the close gets pinned near the top or bottom of its recent range.

Best for pullback entries, oversold rebounds, and skepticism about trend persistence.
window oversold overbought
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Momentum Intermediate Pro only

ADX Trend Strength

Trade directional moves only when ADX says the trend is strong enough to matter.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
window adx_threshold
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Momentum Beginner Pro only

Aroon Trend Timing

Use time since the latest high and low to decide whether a fresh trend is still in force.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
window trend_threshold
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Momentum Intermediate Pro only

Volatility-Scaled Momentum

Keep the trend signal, but scale exposure down when realized volatility expands.

Best for persistent trend regimes and broad index testing.
lookback vol_window target_vol max_leverage
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Volatility Intermediate Pro only

Keltner Channel Breakout

Trade moves that push beyond an EMA plus ATR envelope instead of a fixed price band.

Breakout positions PERSIST: a close beyond a band opens (or flips) the position and it is held until the close crosses back through the EMA centre line. Without that the signal would exist only on the breakout bar itself, making this a one-bar-hold system.

Best for breakout environments and regime shifts where range expansion matters.
ema_period atr_period multiplier
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

Volatility Intermediate Pro only

Supertrend Filter

Use ATR-based trailing bands to stay with breakouts until volatility says the regime flipped.

Best for breakout environments and regime shifts where range expansion matters.
atr_period multiplier
Expanded Pro library

Unlock 8 additional built-ins across backtest, compare, and paper tracking.

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