Research brief 039

10.36% Annualized: When Should Trend Following Yield to Buy-and-Hold?

A valuation-based switch reduced monthly drawdown in our house test. Its return advantage was much less convincing.

The idea worth investigating

10.36% annualized with a 40.88% maximum monthly drawdown, versus 10.29% and 50.31% for the market control. The tested idea switches between trend following and staying long the market as valuations change.

FPM US monthly house adaptation, June 1968–December 2023, with a full month of added information delay, 10bp per dollar traded and modeled short-borrow costs.

Retrospective simulation using revised macroeconomic data, not certified point-in-time inputs or live performance. Drawdowns use monthly marks. The return advantage remains statistically uncertain, and exact source replication is not claimed.

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See what changes the investment case.

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

  • The valuation-boundary formula and the paper’s explicit allocation switch
  • Matched market and momentum controls with costs and delayed signals
  • Why revised data, financing assumptions and drawdown frequency matter
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