Research brief 038

6.96% After Modeled Costs: Does Slowing Down Rescue Futures Trend?

Our six-market house test found a profitable slow rule and an unprofitable fast one. Execution and data limits still matter.

The idea worth investigating

The slow futures trend rule earned 6.96% annualized after modeled costs, with a 9.62% maximum drawdown at recorded session opens. The fastest rule lost 0.61% annualized under the same cost convention.

FPM six-market contract-level adaptation, February 14, 2020–December 31, 2025. Integer contracts, a 100% gross-notional cap, assumed one-tick slippage and $2.50 per contract per side; collateral earns no interest.

This retrospective simulation tests the daily trend rule, not the paper’s full global sample or order-flow mechanism. Historical fills, margin and tick changes remain unverified. The slower result is a research candidate, not a live track record.

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See what changes the investment case.

The headline is the starting point. The subscriber analysis takes you through:

  • The exact signal, sizing and contract-roll rules
  • Fast, intermediate and slow results under three cost assumptions
  • Where profits came from and the remaining tests before risking capital
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