20-Day Momentum — Long/Flat Backtest

Real market data: data/spy.csv · 500 trading days (2024-06-24 → 2026-06-22) · Sharpe annualised by √252

CAGR
11.31%
Sharpe (252)
1.15
Max Drawdown
6.34%
Equity curve — 20-day momentum (long/flat) vs buy & hold 0.89x 1.01x 1.12x 1.23x 1.35x 1.46x Momentum strategy Buy & hold 2024-06-24 2025-06-24 2026-06-22

Strategy vs Buy & Hold

MetricMomentumBuy & Hold
CAGR11.31%18.69%
Sharpe (252)1.151.09
Max Drawdown6.34%18.76%

Rules. Each day, go long (100%) if the close is above the close 20 trading days ago, otherwise stay flat (0%, in cash). The position decided at day t's close is applied to the return realised from t to t+1, so there is no look-ahead bias. Returns assume no transaction costs.