100 Trading Strategies (Free) 2024 — Backtests And Performance

31 min readMar 26, 2024

Our trading strategies are backtested and published with rules in plain English and code in multiple platform code languages.

We have compiled a list with all the trading strategies we have published since our start in 2012 (plus relevant trading strategy articles). It contains links to many hundreds of trading strategies plus articles about indicators and trading strategy-specific articles. Many of these are completely free.

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S&P 500 trading strategies (ES and SPY)

S&P 500 is the world’s most followed stock index. You can trade it either via futures (@ES) or the oldest ETF still trading (SPY). Below we have compiled the SP 500 trading strategies we have covered since we started this blog:

Here you can find all our S&P 500 trading strategies and SPY trading strategies (more than 50 trading strategies).

Swing trading strategies

Swing trading involves buying (or shorting) an asset and holding it for a few days, perhaps up to a few weeks. The aim is, of course, to buy low and sell high, or vice versa if you go short. Swing trading is the most popular form of trading there is. Below are a few examples of swing trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Strategies for Swing trading.

Volatility trading strategies

Most traders and investors shun volatility, but you can use it to your advantage, but it requires systematic thinking and testing. Below we have summarized our most important volatility trading strategies:

Here you can find all our volatility strategies.

Mean reversion trading strategies

A mean-reverting strategy assumes any trends and moves will reverse and return to the mean. In statistics, this term is called regression to the mean.

Any data or observations that are on the tails of a normal distribution are most likely abnormalities that will sooner or later turn around a revert to the mean. At least, that’s the idea (most of the time).

Since the start of derivatives trading, in the early 80’s, mean reversion trading strategies have worked very well for US stocks. Below we have a few examples of mean reversion strategies:

Here you can find all our Mean reversion strategies.

Nasdaq trading strategies (@NQ Futures and QQQ ETF)

Nasdaq 100 is, together with S&P 500, the most-watched equity index in the world. You can trade the index via QQQ (which is an ETF), or with futures (@NQ). There exist three two different @NQ contracts: E-mini and Micro.

Here you can find all our Nasdaq futures trading strategies and qqq trading strategies.

Overnight trading strategies

The overnight edge is from the close of the stock exchange until the open the next day (and we can argue until the close of the next day). It’s an edge that works for stocks and partially for gold. Below are a few overnight trading strategies for you that take advantage of this edge:

Here you can find all our overnight trading strategies and a deeper explanation of how to make money on the overnight edge.

Day trading strategies

Day trading is popular, and that’s probably understandable. It’s scalable, and if you are successful you can make a lot of money in a short period of time. But unfortunately, most end up losing money. We know, because we day traded full-time for 17 years and we witnessed a lot of traders come and go (but we made money, though).

Here you can find all our day trading strategies.

Fixed Income Trading Strategies

Fixed Income can be a great complement to stock trading strategies. And just like stocks, they have a great advantage: they have a tailwind, ie. they go up over time. Here is a few of our fixed income trading strategies.

Here you can find all our Fixed Income Strategies.

Candlestick strategies (patterns and formations)

Candlestick formations and patterns are popular, but almost never backtested with strict trading rules. We have compiled all candlestick patterns and coded them with strict rules. We backtested all patterns and compiled our research into a backtested encyclopedia of candlestick patterns. It turns out that many candlestick patterns are very profitable!

Here you can find all our Candlestick Patterns and strategies, in addition to a much more detailed description of candlestick trading.

Treasuries and bonds trading strategies

Bonds can be a great complement to stock trading strategies. And just like stocks, they have a great advantage: they have a tailwind, ie. they go up over time.

Here you can find all our bond trading strategies.

Technical Indicator strategies

There are a zillion trading indicators, but we have covered many. Below are just a few of the ones we have explained and coded into specific trading rules:

Here you can find all our technical indicator and trading indicator strategies.

Russell 2000 trading strategies (IWM)

Russell 2000 behaves differently compared to S&P 500 and can thus be complementary to many other stock trading strategies. We have compiled a few Russell 2000 trading strategies:

Click here for more: IWM Trading Strategies and Russell 2000 strategies.

Seasonality Trading Strategies in Stocks

We like seasonal patterns. In the stock market, there are many of them. In this section, we have covered all we know: around 50 patterns. If you are willing to take the time, you can find many tradable seasonal trading strategies:

Here you can find all our seasonal trading strategies.

Stock and sector rotation strategies (momentum)

Rotation strategies are popular, but many tend to be curve fitted and don’t last long. Below we have a few sector rotation strategies that has been profitable for quite a few years:

Here you can find all our Sector rotation trading strategies.

Momentum trading strategies

Momentum is one of several anomalies that have persisted for decades. In short, a momentum strategy involves exploiting recent momentum by buying strong stocks and selling weak stocks. Empirically, this has worked on time frames from 3 to 12 months. Shorter and longer time frames have not been very consistent. This means that a stock that has risen for the last 3 months, is more likely to continue rising over the next 3 months.

We have backtested a few momentum trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Momentum trading strategies.

Trend following trading strategies (indicator)

Trend following is synonymous with huge gains and gut-wrenching drawdowns. Below we have a few backtested trend following indicator trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Trend following strategies.

Larry Connors Trading Strategies

Larry Connors is a famous strategy researcher. We have no idea if he’s a trader, but he has published several books on stocks and ETFs. Some of it is useful. Here are some Larry Connors trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Larry Connors Trading Strategies.

Trend reversal trading strategies

Who doesn’t dream of selling the top and buying the bottom? For those traders, trend reversals are the main topic in any conversation. However, it’s easier said than done.

Nevertheless, below are a few trend reversal trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Trend reversal trading strategies.

Sentiment Indicator Trading Strategies

When the last optimists turn pessimists we have a bottom. At least, that’s what the saying says. Below are a few sentiment trading strategies that try to capture and fade optimism and pessimism.

Here you can find all our Sentiment indicator trading strategies.

Moving average strategies

Moving averages are popular among retail traders despite many of their inherent flaws with them. The biggest disadvantage is that it leads to many whipsaws and a low win rate. We know from empirical evidence that a low win rate makes many traders abandon a trading strategy. That said, Paul Tudor Jones presumably uses the 200-day moving average as a trend filter for much of his trading.

Below are a few moving average trading strategies — all with one or more backtests. The landing page below the examples contains more than 25 moving average articles:

Here you can find all our Moving average strategies.

Macro Economy Trading Strategies

We believe it’s close to impossible to predict macro and the economy, and they are better used as indicators for the stock market. Below we have backtested some interesting macroeconomy trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Macro Economy Trading Strategies.

Bear market trading strategies

There is no reason to fear a bear market. As a matter of fact, if you’re a short-term trader or a long-term investor you should be happy for a bear market. Why? Long has worked just as well in bear markets as in bull markets. And in a bear market, short strategies suddenly start working.

But what if you’re a long-term investor? If you are a future net buyer of stocks, you’d prefer to buy cheap — not expensive. Capisce?

Here you can find all our Bear market trading strategies.

Gold trading strategies

Make no mistake: gold is a very hard asset class to trade. If you find a good trading strategy, you better put it into incubation before you risk your capital. Most gold trading strategies end up in the graveyard. Why? We can only guess, but we assume the main reason is that gold tends to be heavily influenced by macro and politics.

However, gold has a long-term tailwind of rising prices, just like stocks and bonds. Thus, not all hope is lost:

Here you can find all our Gold trading strategies.

Market-neutral trading strategies

Jim Simons and his Medallion Fund most likely trade a lot of market-neutral trading strategies. If so, perhaps it’s worth looking into this type of strategy.

Here you can find all our Market-neutral trading strategies.

Breakout trading strategies

Oh, the sweet breakout! But watch out, it depends on which asset you are trading. Stock indexes tend to revert to the mean, and so do bonds. You might have better luck on other asset classes, but breakout trading strategies are not easy to make money on:

Here you can find all our Breakout trading strategies.

Volatility indicator strategies

When volatility picks up, volatility indicators can be useful, for example, the VIX indicator. In the links below we explain a few volatility indicator strategies:

Here you can find all our volatility trading strategies with an article that looks more at the importance of volatility.

Oscillating indicator strategies

The stock market has been prone to mean reversion since futures trading picked up in the early 1980s. Jim Simons, the man behind the Medallion Fund, presumably said that mean reversion is “low-hanging fruit”. Below you find the most obvious and used oscillating indicator strategies:

Here you can find all our Oscillating Indicators Trading Strategies.

Price action trading strategies

Price action refers to the price of a security, and it’s the foundation of most (if not all) technical analysis (head and shoulders, double bottoms, etc.). Because we like to quantify and backtest, we don’t have a huge list of this type of strategies.

That said, many discretionary traders spend all their time and effort on price action trading strategies.

Here you can find all our Price action trading strategies.

Random indicator trading strategies

Some trading indicators are hard to put in a specific folder. We have gone through more or less all the trading indicators there are, and below you find plenty:

Here you can find all our technical indicator and trading indicator strategies.

DAX 40, Euro Stoxx50, and Bund trading strategies

DAX-40 and the German Bund are the Kingpins of European trading. The best part is that DAX in the very short-term behaves a bit different than @ES/SPY. This makes them somewhat attractive for short-term traders.

Here you can find all our Eurex Strategies, DAX Strategies, Stoxx50 strategies, and Bund trading strategies.

Short-selling trading strategies

Is it possible to make money short-selling? It is, but it’s very hard. Please have a look at our short strategy bundle, which contains 3 short strategies for three different ETFs. Short is not the opposite of long. Short is a completely different beast. In the stock market, you are fighting the long-term rising trend by going short, and the same applies to both bonds and gold. That said, when a volatile bear market comes, short works.

Here you can find all our Short selling trading strategies.

NIFTY 50 strategies

India has one of the largest stock exchanges in the world with thousands of listed companies. Below we have a few NIFTY 50 trading strategies:

Here you can find all our NIFTY 50 trading strategies.

Penny Stock Trading Strategies (OTC)

Penny stocks are the dreams of striking it rich. Unfortunately, you are more likely to end up in the poor house. Penny stocks have, as a group, negative returns! We believe you face better risk and reward by trading “regular” stocks and ETFs.

Here you can find all our Penny Stock Trading Strategies.

Meb Faber Portfolios And Strategies

Meb Faber is a very active money manager in social media. He’s the co-founder of Cambria, and has also published a lot of papers which are very easy to read even for amateurs. Below we present the most known Meb Faber Portfolio and strategies:

Here you can find all our Meb Faber Portfolios And Strategies.

Investment Portfolios And Asset Allocation

Most investors are better off investing more or less passively for the long term. We have covered the most known investment strategies, portfolios, and asset allocations. Below are the most obvious ones. Please press the link below for 20 more investment strategies:

Here you can find all our Investment Portfolios And Asset Allocation.

Market timing strategies

Most are unsuccessful market timers due to a number of reasons, one of them being not having a plan. Thus, most investors should not time the market. In this article, we look at some strategies that have historically proved to be successful market timing strategies:

Here you can find all our Market timing strategies.

Investment strategies

Instead of trading, you might be better off investing — more like buy and hold. You work, save, invest, and “forget about it”. You can spread your capital into broad and diverse ETFs or mutual funds. We have over 30 articles covering investment strategies:

Here you can find all our Investment Strategies.

Technical analysis trading strategies and classical chart pattern

Most technical indicators are not working, but some are good. Technical analysis is typically based on price action, and thus hard to quantify. We have gone through and explained more or less all technical indicators there are, and backtested where we managed to make specific trading rules:

Here you can find all our Technical analysis trading strategies.

Sector trading strategies

The S&P 500 Index is categorized into 11 sectors. Below we have a backtested trading strategy for each sector.

Here you can find all our Sector trading strategies.

Consumer staples trading strategies (XLP)

The stocks that can be labeled consumer staples have proven to offer diversification because they move differently than many of the other stock ETFs, thus providing a hedge.

The ETF with the ticker code XLP is a good trading vehicle. Below are a few examples of strategies:

Here you can find all our Consumer Staples Trading Strategies.

Utilities trading strategies (XLU)

The utility sector is a different beast. It’s a highly regulated sector and moves a lot less than the overall market. It’s also more influenced by the interest rates.

Here you can find all our Utilities trading strategies.

Factor investing strategies

Factor investing involves targeting specific documented drivers of return across asset classes. Some common factors include value (value has performed better than growth), Quality, Momentum (stocks are those that have been outperforming the market in recent months), Size (small caps have performed better than large caps), and volatility (low volatility stocks have outperformed volatile stocks).

Here you can find all our factor investing strategies.

Buy and hold strategies

A buy and hold strategy involves holding an asset (most likely stocks, bonds, or gold) believe over the long term. These assets have proven to rise over time, and thus maximizing returns by staying invested. A buy and hold investor does not try to time the market.

Here you can find all our Buy and hold strategies.

World markets trading strategies (International)

Even though stock markets might correlate in the short term, over time they move differently. We looked at a few world market trading strategies:

Here you can find all our World markets trading strategies.

AI, ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard trading strategies

Can you make money by using AI strategies? Not yet, we are skeptical. We have tried, but AI is still lacking. Below we have a few related articles:

Here you can find all our AI Trading Strategies.

Forex trading strategies (FX)

Forex trading (FX) is very popular among retail traders. One of the reasons is probably easy access and margin requirements. Do you have 100 USD, you are good to go. But unfortunately, most forex traders get washed out. Forex is very difficult to trade.

Here you can find all our Forex trading strategies.

CFD Trading Strategies

CFD trading is very popular among retail traders. One of the reasons is probably easy access and margin requirements. Do you have 100 USD, you are good to go. But unfortunately, most CFD traders get washed out. CFD is very difficult to trade.

Here you can find all our CFD Trading Strategies.

Quantitative trading strategies

A quantitative trading strategy is a trading strategy that uses mathematical and statistical analysis to identify and exploit patterns in the market. It’s rule-based, and the trading rules are backtested using dedicated trading software.

Having backtested and had one or many trading strategies in “incubation”, you can trade the strategies automatically, meaning the trading platform does all the work for you.

Automation is power. It gives you leverage to trade many strategies and you can diversify over different assets, time frames, and market directions.

Here you can find all our Quantitative Trading Strategies.

Pivot points trading strategies

Pivot points are calculated using the high, low, and closing prices of the previous trading session, and are mostly used to identify potential support and resistance levels. Does pivot points trading strategies work?

Exit trading strategies (when to sell)

When you sell might be just as important as when you buy, but frequently overlooked. For mean reversion strategies, we like to use the QS exit, an exit signal we have been using in live trading for over 10 years. In the article below, we also show you the potential boost of a trading strategy when the sell/exit variable is changed:

Here you can find all our Exit Trading Strategies.

Volume trading strategies

Is volume an important factor in trading? Most likely not, but it might be a valuable input among other variables. Here we have a few volume trading strategies:

Here you can find all our Volume trading strategies.

Oil trading strategies (Crude Oil)

We would like to have plenty of oil trading strategies, but the truth is that oil (and commodities) are very hard to trade. But if you manage to have a few of them, they might offer great diversification to your trading arsenal.

Here you can find all our Crude Oil trading strategies.

E-mini futures trading strategies

An E-mini trading strategy is a trading strategy that is used to trade E-mini futures contracts.

E-mini futures contracts are electronically traded futures contracts that are a fraction of the value of corresponding standard futures contracts. They started trading at the end of the 1990s.

They are available on a wide range of indexes, commodities, and currencies. There are even some Micro E-Mini contracts, for example for Nasdaq 100 (NQ) and S&P 500 (ES).

Bitcoin and crypto trading strategies

Buying and selling digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, has become “mainstream”. We suspect there are many more inefficiencies in the crypto market than in the regular markets, like stocks for example. That said, the crypto market is maturing.

Below we present a few crypto trading strategies that are still working decently:

Here you can find all our Crypto Strategies.

Sentiment trading strategies

Sentiment trading strategies are trading strategies that use market sentiment data to make trading decisions. Market sentiment is the overall attitude of investors towards a particular asset or market. It can be bullish, bearish, or neutral.

Traders can use sentiment data to identify trends and reversals. For example, if the market sentiment towards a particular stock is bullish, it is likely that the price of the stock will go down. On the other hand, if the market sentiment is bearish, it is likely that the price of the stock will go up.

Does it sound counterintuitive? The logic is that excessive optimism leads to exuberance and too high prices. Opposite, excessive pessimism leads to depressed prices and it might turn around when a few turn optimistic. However, it depends on the time frame. As always, backtest to find out what works or not!

Here you can find all our Sentiment trading strategies.

Options trading strategies

Options trading is a lot more complicated than “regular” trading. The reason is that options have limited life, and time decay and volatility are important factors in determining the price.

Here you can find all our Options Strategies.

Stock trading strategies

There are different strategies for trading single stocks. Here are some of the common stock strategies.

Dow Jones trading strategies

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), also commonly referred to as “the Dow Jones” or simply “the Dow,” is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The index is one of the most widely followed stock market indices in the world, and is often seen as a barometer of the overall US stock market.

Today, the index is not as important as it once was. S&P 500 is a much more important index.

Here you can find all our Dow Jones trading strategies.

ETF trading strategies

ETFs are baskets of securities that track a particular index or sector. They can be traded on exchanges like stocks, and offer a number of advantages over other types of investments, such as low fees and diversification.

Here you can find all our ETF trading strategies. Here are some more Strategies using ETFs.

Market Regime Indicators

Market regime indicators are designed to provide insights into when you should buy or sell. Is it really possible to time the market? Below we have a few such indicators. We remind you that all are backtested with specific trading rules:

Here you can find all our Market Regime Indicators.

TradingView trading strategies (Pine Script)

TradingView is a relatively new trading platform and was founded in 2011. According to Wikipedia it is among the 150 biggest websites in the world and has over 10 million active monthly users. The coding language is called Pine Script.

We have written a few articles where we have shown you both the basics and how you can backtest using Pine Script:

Here you can find all our TradingView trading strategies.

Exotic, Diverse & Alternative Trading Strategies

Many trading strategies and indicators are difficult to label. Let’s call them “exotic or alternative”. Below, you see a few examples of them. However, we have many more — please click on the link below thearticles.

Here you can find all our Exotic, Diverse & Alternative Trading Strategies.

Commodity trading strategies

Commodity trading might offer substantial diversification benefits. However, commodities are very difficult to trade. Below, we have summarized just a few of the commodities we have backtested. Please clink on the link to the landing page (below) to see our full list.

Here you find all our Commodity Trading Strategies.

Micro E-mini Futures Trading Strategies

A Micro E-mini trading strategy is a trading strategy that is used to trade Micro E-mini futures contracts.

A micro E-mini futures contract is a smaller version of a standard E-mini futures contract. It is one-tenth the size of an E-mini contract, which means that it has a smaller contract value and requires less margin to trade.

Micro E-mini futures contracts are available on a variety of underlying assets, including stock market indexes, commodities, and currencies. They are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).

Micro E-mini futures contracts are designed to make futures trading more accessible to a wider range of participants, including retail investors and smaller institutions. The reason is simple: less margin and more retail traders can trade them, thus good for those with small accounts.

Here you can find all our Micro E-Mini Trading Strategies

Derivatives trading strategies

Derivatives Trading Strategy — What Is It? (Backtest And Example)

CTA, hedge fund, and Macro trading strategies

Python trading strategies

Python is a general-purpose programming language that is used for a wide variety of tasks, including web development, data science, machine learning, backtesting, trading, and artificial intelligence. It is a popular language for beginners because it is relatively easy to learn and has a large community of users and developers. It has gained a lot of traction over the last years and is widely popular among traders.

Python is a high-level language, which means that it is closer to human language than to machine language. This makes it easier to read and write Python code. Python is also an interpreted language, which means that the code is executed line by line as it is read. This makes it easy to debug and test Python code.

Here you can find all our Python trading strategies.

Value Vs. Growth trading strategies

Value and growth stocks are not correlated, depending on the macro element. During economic expansion growth stocks tend to do better and vice versa. However, according to Kenneth French, the famous academic, value stocks have performed better than growth since 1928. We present a rotation strategy that rotates between value and growth:

Different trading strategies

Many trading strategies are hard to put in a certain box. These strategies aere listed below. For a full list, please click on the link to the landing page.

Here you can find all our mixed and different trading strategies.

Gann, Fibonacci, and Elliot Wave strategy

Dividend investing strategies

Here you can find all our Dividend investing strategies.

Long-term trading strategies

A long-term trading strategy is a trading strategy that involves holding positions for an extended period of time, typically months or years. It’s the strategy that is closest to a buy and hold strategy.

Here you can find all our long term trading strategies.

Single stock strategy

Here you can find all our Single stock strategies.

Youtube Trading Strategies

Check out our YouTube Channel with hundreds of videos about trading and investment strategies.

Our Best Trading Strategies

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Futures trading strategies

What are you looking for in a Swing trading strategy?

In Swing trading strategies you should look for consistent profits, more like an income, but that is very tough to achieve. Some kind of lump-sum and erratic profits are inevitable. Most likely just a few days per month will generate most of the profits. The rest of the time you are scraping by and looking to avoid losses and disasters.

Trading is much like a slow grind where you have to show up day in and day out for years with some occasional big wins.

That said, you want a steady rising equity curve from the left to the right. You want a profit factor that is somewhere between 1.75 and 3. Likewise, you can have a look at the Sharpe Ratio of your trading strategy as well. Below is a an example of a trading strategy with a low profit factor:

Opposite, below is an example of a potentially good trading strategy with a high profit factor:

Because of the behavioral mistakes you are most likely to commit, most traders should make strategies that give the smoothest returns you can get. However, be aware of curve fitting!

We provide you with a last chart that shows you examples of drawdowns:

However, because of little or negative correlation between strategies, you might not be looking for the specific best trading strategies. Investment strategies can still be useful if they independently are not the best, but they complement each other.

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