ETFreplay blog | Comparing 2 Ultra-Simple ETF Backtests Side By Side

 The example below is pretty self-explanatory but in a nutshell it compares 2 strategies set side by side in detached browser windows. 

Strategy A on left uses 2 pieces:   1.  50% choose 1 of 3 ETFs using 11-month total return  2.  other 50% using 6-month returns on the same portfolio of ETFs, also choose 1…

Strategy B on right using 1 strategy:  using ONLY 11-month returns.

Rather than only highlight just the overall total return of each,  of high importance is looking at the year by year (Calendar) returns vs a benchmark.   The 100% 11-month strategy has seen years of large outperformance and underperformance.   The blended strategy would have been much easier to stick by and actually achieve the end result – in addition it added return over the period.    We know from many research papers that 3 – 12 month relative strength all have some level of validity long-term.   No matter what the very long-term backtest looks like for these 2 strategies, we cannot know for sure which one is going to do better over the next 10 years.   But we can glean information by studying different types of backtests and help make a judgment about what is happening now.    Indeed, backtests primary function is to help guide you to understand what is happening in the most recent (current) period.