Strategy Builder

• Use Strategy Builder when you want to switch between different holdings based on a signal or rule set.
• Use Signal Analyzer first if you still need to test whether an indicator has a relationship with a later outcome.
• Use Portfolio Backtest when the portfolio does not change state based on signals.

• Allocation rule: a named asset mix whose weights sum to 100%.
• Signal: a boolean condition that determines whether a rule is active.
• Rule order: rules are checked from top to bottom. The first rule whose signal is true becomes active.
• Fallback rule: the last rule should have no condition. It is used when no earlier rule is active.
• Trading frequency: how often the engine can switch between rules.

1. Add a Risk-On rule with the assets you want to hold when the signal is true.
2. Add a fallback rule with the assets you want to hold when the signal is false.
3. Choose one signal, such as price above or below a moving average.
4. Set the date range, principal, benchmark, and trading frequency.
5. Run the analysis and review the equity curve, transition count, drawdowns, and rule timeline.

A good first build is one risk-on rule, one fallback rule, and one signal. Add more conditions only when the research question requires them.

• Date range: historical sample used in the run.
• Principal: starting portfolio value.
• Benchmark: reference series used for comparison.
• Trading frequency: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual switching cadence.
• Trading costs and slippage: implementation costs applied to rule transitions.
• Cashflows: recurring or one-time contributions and withdrawals.

Strategy Builder supports atomic signals and composite operators:

• Trend: moving average and related price-based rules
• Momentum: return momentum, composite momentum, and relative strength
• Volatility and risk: VIX, volatility, RSI, drawdown, and correlation rules
• Macro and calendar: yield curve and date-based filters
• Composites: AND, OR, and NOT over other signals

• Equity Curve: portfolio and benchmark value through time.
• Trading Stats: transition count, time in each rule, and trading costs.
• Metrics: return and risk summary statistics.
• Monthly Returns Heatmap: monthly and annual return breakdowns.
• Rule Attribution: return contribution by rule.
• Condition Stability: signal and rule behavior through time.
• Signal History: historical time-series of each atomic signal's numeric indicator value and boolean state. Threshold lines and transition markers show how signal evaluations align with rule changes. Uses the same evaluation path as the backtest, so charted values match the decisions the engine made.
• Current Status: latest fully-observed rule, signal state, and active weights. Use this to confirm the strategy is doing what you expect on the latest data.

For a step-by-step debugging workflow, see Debug A Tactical Strategy below.

When a tactical strategy produces unexpected results, work through these steps:

1. Open the Strategy Builder with the strategy loaded.
2. Check the Condition Stability panel. Frequent switching may indicate a noisy signal or a threshold set too close to the boundary.
3. Check the Rule Attribution panel. If one rule contributes most of the return, the other rules may not be firing at useful times.
4. Check the Trading Stats panel. High transition counts combined with trading costs may erode performance.
5. Open Signal Analyzer and test the signal in isolation to see whether it has forward predictive value for the target asset.

The typical signal-to-strategy workflow moves through three tools:

1. Signal Analyzer: test whether an indicator predicts a later outcome. Evaluate hit rate, return spread, and forward-return distributions by signal regime.
2. Strategy Builder: if the signal shows predictive value, build a tactical strategy that switches allocations based on that signal. Review transition behavior and rule attribution.
3. Portfolio Backtest: load the tactical strategy into a portfolio allocation and run a full historical backtest with cashflows, rebalancing, and optional tax-aware accounting.

See Signal Analyzer and Portfolio Backtest for the individual tool references.