Member Roadmap
An Index Of Articles In Recommended Order
Welcome to “Systematic Trading With TradeQuantiX”. There are over 50 published articles in this newsletter and if you’re new, it can be a lot to take in. This roadmap puts everything in order so you know exactly where to start and what to read next.
It walks you through the foundations first, then the flagship portfolio development series where we build a multi-system portfolio from scratch. Then the deep dives into individual system research, and finally the methodology content.
You don’t have to follow it perfectly, but if you’re wondering “where do I even start?” this is your answer.
Start at the top, work your way down. By the end, you’ll have a complete picture of how I build, test, and manage a portfolio of systematic trading systems
Phase 1: The Intro (Who I Am + What This Is):
Before we get into systems and data, here’s who I am, what I believe, and what this whole thing is about.
My Systematic Trading Journey:
The full backstory. How I got into systematic trading, the mistakes I made early on (including losing over $20,000 in futures), and how I ended up where I am today with 25+ live systems.
A Necessary Read For Those Who Want To Begin Trading Systematically:
If you’re just getting started with systematic trading, this is your starting point. I walk through the core concepts, the tools you need, and the mindset shift from discretionary to systematic. Pretty much everything I wish someone told me on day one.
The Biggest Myths In Systematic Trading:
There’s a lot of nonsense floating around about systematic trading. This article tackles the biggest myths head on: the idea that you need to be a math genius, that more complexity means better results, that backtests tell the whole story. Spoiler alert: none of that is true.
You’re Stealing From Your Future Self:
This one is about the cost of inaction. Every day you spend tweaking indicators, or chasing the perfect system, or procrastinating in general is a day you’re not compounding real capital. I lay out why “good enough” systems traded today beat perfect systems traded never.
The TradeQuantiX Portfolio:
A full overview of my live portfolio: what systems I trade, how they’re structured, and how they work together. This gives you the big picture before we start building one from scratch in the next phase.
Phase 2: Portfolio Development Series (Build a Portfolio From Scratch):
This is the flagship series. 12 parts that take you from a blank slate to a fully constructed multi-system portfolio. We build it step by step, one system at a time, and I show the results at every stage so you can see exactly how each addition changes the overall performance.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 1:
We start at the very beginning. We cover why portfolios are important and the portfolio mindset. This article sets the foundation for everything that follows.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 2:
This article covers high level portfolio design considerations. All the things you need to think about before you start building the portfolio are spelled out here.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 3:
This is the first article where a system gets built. It’s a US mean reversion system and the article walks through in-sample and out-of-sample testing methods.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 4:
This is the second article where a system gets built. It’s a US momentum system and the article walks through the whole building process of the system.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 4.5:
I made a mistake in Part 4. This article is me owning it, explaining what went wrong, and fixing it.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 5:
We keep building. Another system is built for ASX trend following and I show some interesting robustness testing techniques.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 6:
This system built is a TSX momentum system. This article walks through the parameter optimization process.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 7:
Finally we put it all together and make a portfolio of 4 systems. This article walks through the portfolio development process and shows the magic of trading portfolios rather than only one trading system.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 8:
The portfolio grows again. I dig into adding some hedging and short side systems to smooth the portfolio equity curve.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 9:
This article covers some very nuanced portfolio considerations. Things that maybe don’t come to mind at first.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 10:
This article adds one more US ETF mean reversion system. The portfolio we have built so far was for multi-country equities, but we also wanted to build a US only portfolio and to do that we needed a few more US only systems.
Portfolio Development Series: Part 11:
This final article in this series walks through the US only portfolio. It shows what systems are included and the capital base needed to trade it.
Multi-Strategy Portfolio Allocation:
This article was an add on after the portfolio development series was completed. I was getting a lot of clarifying questions on how to allocate capital to trading systems, so I wrote this how-to article to help better explain the process.
Phase 3: Deep Dives (System Investigations + Research):
This is where we get into the weeds. Real systems, real research, real data. Each investigation takes a trading idea and puts it through the full process: hypothesis, backtest, analysis, and a verdict on whether it’s worthy of the portfolio.
Trading System Investigation Series 1: Part 1:
The first investigation series. I take a system idea from a free webinar, code it up, and run it through backtesting to see if it actually holds up. This is the “don’t blindly trust what you find on the internet” article.
Trading System Investigation Series 1: Part 2:
We dig deeper into the system from Part 1. I start testing variations and improvements to see if we can make it robust enough for real capital.
Trading System Investigation Series 1: Part 3:
Robustness testing. I show some examples of robustness tests and their results.
Trading System Investigation Series 1: Part 4:
I discuss some situations that may lead you to modify the system to be different than what I developed. This walks through how to make a system specific for your needs.
Trading System Investigation Series 2: Part 1:
A brand new system idea gets the full investigation treatment. I discuss the pros and cons to the system and code up the baseline results.
Trading System Investigation Series 2: Part 2:
I continue from part 1 to modify the system and run tests such as parameter sensitivity analysis and out-of-sample validation.
Trading System Investigation Series 3:
We develop a momentum / trend system that looks at both momentum and volatility factors, The system trades both factors to diversify and spread risk across different market factors.
Increasing Robustness & Smoothing Returns: Re-engineering The 2-ETF Trading Strategy:
I take a strategy presented elsewhere and put my own twist on it. The goal: make it more robust and less risky. A good example of how take a system and make it your own.
Digging Up An Old Trading System From The Graveyard: Part 1:
I was going through old files and found some systems I had shelved a while back. This is me pulling one out, dusting it off, and testing whether it deserves a second chance with fresh eyes and updated data.
Digging Up An Old Trading System From The Graveyard: Part 2:
The conclusion. After re-testing and re-evaluating, does this old system earn its way back into the portfolio? Or does it go back in the trash?
Investigating a Simple Trend Idea: Part 1:
A simple trend following concept gets the full systematic treatment. I start with the basic idea, explain the mechanism behind it, and run the initial backtests to understand the system.
Investigating a Simple Trend Idea: Part 2:
Continuing the trend investigation and implementing robustness. Then running through many robustness tests to understand if this idea is worthy of portfolio allocation.
All Weather Portfolio Research: Part 1:
Can you build a portfolio that performs in all market conditions? I dig into the All Weather concept, pull the research, and start testing different implementations with real data.
All Weather Portfolio Research: Part 2:
Continuing the All Weather research. This time I create my own All Weather portfolio variant.
All Weather Portfolio Research: Part 3:
The final installment. I test out some ideas suggested by subscribers. We go other those results here.
Case Study: Dividend Investing: Part 1:
Dividend investing is one of those topics everyone has an opinion on. Some love it some hate it. This article goes over the pros and cons of having a dividend portolfio.
Case Study: Dividend Investing: Part 2:
The deeper dive into dividend investing. I test a systematic approach to harvesting dividends via a trend following system.
Market Effect Research: Holiday Seasonality:
Do stocks actually perform differently around holidays? I pull the data, test the effect across multiple markets and time periods, and give you the honest answer on whether holiday seasonality is a real, tradeable edge.
Phase 4: Methodology (Robustness, Risk, and Portfolio Thinking):
This is the stuff that separates traders who survive from traders who give up. Luck, curve fitting, regime filters, volatility targeting, and the hard questions about whether your systems are actually robust or just lucky.
Luck By Design: Part 1:
How much of your backtest performance is skill and how much is luck? This series tackles that question head on. Part 1 introduces the concept and explains why most traders massively underestimate the role of randomness.
Luck By Design: Part 2:
We go deeper into luck in backtests. I show specific techniques for removing luck from a system by developing a simple mean reversion system that mitigates luck.
Luck By Design: Part 3:
The conclusion of the luck series. I walk through a similar luck mitigation process as shown in part two, but specifically for a momentum system.
Conquering Curve Fitting: A Game Changing Technique for Robust Systematic Trading:
Curve fitting is the silent killer of systematic trading systems. This article covers a technique I use to dramatically reduce the risk of overfitting. If you take one thing away from this newsletter, understanding curve fitting might be the most valuable.
Most Systematic Traders Use Regime Filters Improperly:
Regime filters are one of the most misused tools in systematic trading. I break down what most people get wrong, why optimizing regime filters is dangerous, and how to think about regime filters properly.
Your Trading System Might Be Broken...:
How do you know when a live system has stopped working? This article covers the signals I would watch for and how to make the decision to pull a system from live trading.
Volatility Targeting 101: Enforcing Equal Risk:
If you’re running multiple systems, they need to contribute equal risk to the portfolio. Volatility targeting is how you enforce that. I walk through the concept, the math, and the practical implementation.
Why Would I Trade A Losing System?:
This one throws people off. Why would anyone deliberately trade a system that loses money? The answer has everything to do with portfolio level thinking and non-correlation. A losing system can actually make your portfolio better. I show exactly how.
Browse Anytime (No Specific Order Required):
These don’t need to be read in sequence. Check them out whenever you’re curious.
Portfolio Performance Updates:
Periodic snapshots of how the live portfolio is performing. Real numbers, real equity curves, and honest commentary on what’s going well and what isn’t.
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 9/10/2024:
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 9/21/2024:
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 10/6/2024:
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 11/3/2024:
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 2/17/2025:
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 5/14/2025:
TradeQuantiX Portfolio Update: 6/30/2025:
2025: A Year In Review:
Guest Posts:
These are posts where I collaborated with another trader. Again, this can be read at any time in any order.
TradeQuantiX and The Rogue Quant: Part 1:
A collaboration with The Rogue Quant. We discuss two different approaches to systematic trading. If you want to see how other practitioners think about the same problems, this is a good read.