- Sharpe ratio
- Return earned for each unit of ups and downs. Higher is better.
- Biggest fall from a peak
- The largest drop from a high point to a later low.
- Tested on past prices
- How the rules would have done on past prices, before any real money.
- Tested on separate stretches of past prices
- The same fixed rules were scored on several separate stretches of past prices. The lab chose its strategies after seeing these results.
- Rebalance
- When the strategy updates which stocks it holds.
- Value over time
- What one rupee put in at the start would be worth each day.
- Paper tracked
- Followed day by day with no real trades.
- Rules fixed in advance
- The test was written down before any results were seen.
- Only survivors counted
- Past results look better when failed companies are left out.
- Used future information
- A test that used data it could not have had at the time.
- The lab's market read
- The lab's own reading of whether the market is calm and rising, mixed, or stressed and falling. It is not the Market mood on Pulse, which is computed from different data.
- Safety switch
- A rule that cuts risk or moves to cash when things go badly.
- Borrowed money
- Investing more than the money put in. Gains and losses grow.
- Trend readings
- For each timeframe, the lab counts its price signals in three groups. The trend count is rising signals minus falling ones. The stretch count is signs the price fell unusually far, fast. The swings count is calming signals minus widening ones. The overall reading is their average. It describes recent prices, not what comes next.
- The lab's trend switch
- Rising trend when the index is above its long-run average; falling trend when it is below.
- Top band
- The stock sits in the highest of three bands on the lab's ranking. Bands describe past prices and company figures, not what comes next.
- Middle band
- The stock sits in the middle of three bands on the lab's ranking. Bands describe past prices and company figures, not what comes next.
- Bottom band
- The stock sits in the lowest of three bands on the lab's ranking. Bands describe past prices and company figures, not what comes next.
- Standing in the list
- How the stock ranks against the rest of the list. A fuller strip means it ranked above more of them.
- Standing in its sector
- How the stock ranks against others in its sector. A fuller strip means it ranked above more of them.
- Rising trend
- The lab reads the index's trend as rising on this date.
- Falling trend
- The lab reads the index's trend as falling on this date.
- Calm, rising market
- The lab reads the market as calm and rising on this date.
- Mixed, sideways market
- The lab reads the market as mixed, moving sideways, on this date.
- Stressed, falling market
- The lab reads the market as stressed and falling on this date.
- Strength against the index
- How the stock's price moved compared with the NIFTY 50 over recent months.
- Price momentum
- How much the stock's price rose or fell over several recent stretches.
- Price trend
- Whether the price sits above its longer-run averages, and whether those averages are rising.
- Calm price
- How calm the price's daily swings have been, and how far it sits below its recent high.
- Company figures
- A blend of the company's quality, valuation, growth and financial health figures.
- Out of date
- The company figures behind this input are older than the lab expects.
- Place in the list, by area
- Where this stock sits in this area against the list and its own sector, in fifths. It describes past prices and company figures, not what comes next.
- Top
- In the top fifth on this area, against the list and its own sector.
- Upper
- In the second fifth from the top on this area, against the list and its own sector.
- Middle
- In the middle fifth on this area, against the list and its own sector.
- Lower
- In the second fifth from the bottom on this area, against the list and its own sector.
- Bottom
- In the bottom fifth on this area, against the list and its own sector.
- Ranking agreement
- How well the ranking lined up with later returns. Zero is no better than chance, and one is a perfect order.
- Likely range
- A range that likely holds the true figure. It is set wide enough to be right nine times in ten.