Your first strategy

This walkthrough takes about ten minutes. You'll open a starter pattern, read its backtest, change one rule, and save your own version.

1. Open the builder#

Go to the builder. You don't need an account to look around. The page shows four starter patterns, each with its last ten years next to simply holding QQQ, a fund that tracks the Nasdaq-100:

PatternWhat it doesRules
Trend followingRide a risk-balanced growth basket while the trend holds, and step aside when it breaks.QQQ over its 200-day average → SPY and QQQ by inverse volatility; otherwise an RSI(10) dip buy, else GLD and IEF.
Buy the dipHold a risk-balanced core and concentrate into a short-term pullback.QQQ RSI(10) below 30 → QQQ; otherwise SPY, QQQ and GLD by inverse volatility.
Momentum rotationRank whole baskets against each other and hold whichever is strongest.Top 1 of QQQ, a SPY and QQQ basket, GLD, and BIL by 3-month return, monthly.
Static allocationSpread across index, growth and gold so each contributes similar risk.SPY, QQQ and GLD, inverse-volatility weighted, monthly.

2. Read a pattern's card#

Each card shows three numbers, with buy-and-hold QQQ underneath for comparison:

  • Max DD (maximum drawdown): the biggest drop from a peak. −20% means that, at its worst, the strategy was 20% below its previous high.
  • Sharpe: return per unit of ups and downs. Higher means a smoother ride for the return you got.
  • CAGR (compound annual growth rate): the average yearly growth.

The chart shows how $1 would have grown. The grey line is QQQ. Reading a backtest explains each number in more detail.

3. Use a template#

Choose Use this template on the pattern you want to try. This step needs an account, and creating one is free. Tactfolio makes a private copy that only you can see and opens it in the editor.

4. Find your way around the editor#

The editor has two halves:

  • The tree, on the left, holds the rules. Select a block to change it.
  • The backtest, on the right, reruns whenever the rules change. It shows growth, drawdown, holdings over time, and what the strategy holds today.

The backtest starts with all the history available. To compare it with the card, open the Window menu and choose 10Y.

5. Change one thing#

In Trend following, find the condition that compares QQQ with its 200-day moving average. Change 200 to 150 and watch the backtest update. Did the drawdown get better or worse?

Try a few more values, and notice how easy it is to find a number that looks best on the past. Why past results mislead explains why that number probably won't hold up.

6. Save#

Choose Save. Each save keeps a version, so you can keep experimenting without losing what worked. Your strategies are listed in your workspace.

Next steps#