XLF trading strategies, backtested
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund — S&P 500 banks, insurers and asset managers. Every DeployQuant template run on XLF over 5.5 years of minute data, same engine, same window, sorted by return.
| Strategy | CAGR | max DD | Sharpe | trades | win rate | final value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSI(14) Mean Reversion | 12.7% | −18.7% | 0.97 | 20 | 85% | $19,412 |
| First-to-Last Day of Month | 12.7% | −23.4% | 0.78 | 67 | 58% | $19,373 |
| RSI(2) Dip Snapback | 9.6% | −14.5% | 0.80 | 154 | 62% | $16,558 |
| Weekly Entry + 7% Target | 8.7% | −31.6% | 0.59 | 98 | 26% | $15,836 |
| EMA 12/26 Trend | 7.5% | −17.7% | 0.67 | 24 | 58% | $14,930 |
| 20-Day Momentum + Trailing Stop | 7.3% | −17.6% | 0.61 | 5 | 60% | $14,736 |
| Drawdown Dip Buyer + 8% Target | 7.0% | −16.0% | 0.63 | 5 | 100% | $14,574 |
| Golden Cross (SMA 50/200) | 4.6% | −17.9% | 0.40 | 4 | 25% | $12,820 |
| SMA 10/50 Trend | 4.1% | −27.3% | 0.40 | 18 | 44% | $12,506 |
| SMA-200 Trend + 15% Trailing Stop | 3.6% | −28.0% | 0.33 | 4 | 50% | $12,137 |
| 3-Month Momentum Switch | 3.2% | −23.1% | 0.34 | 14 | 57% | $11,900 |
| 200-Day SMA Regime Filter | 3.0% | −22.0% | 0.30 | 19 | 16% | $11,779 |
| Buy & hold XLF | 14.1% | −25.5% | 0.83 | — | — | $20,689 |
Build it from blocks (or type it in English), backtest it on 5.5 years of minute data in seconds, tweak any parameter, then paper trade it on live data. No card, no broker needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
What was the best strategy for XLF?
Of the 12 templates tested on XLF over 2021-01-04–2026-07-17, the strongest by CAGR was RSI mean reversion at 12.7% (max drawdown 18.7%), versus 14.1% for buy-and-hold. Best-in-hindsight is not a forecast — check drawdowns and trade counts before drawing conclusions.
Did any strategy beat buying and holding XLF?
0 of 12 templates beat XLF buy-and-hold (14.1% CAGR) on this window; 9 of 12 had a shallower maximum drawdown than holding (25.5%).
Other sector etfs
Backtests are hypothetical, computed by DeployQuant's engine on minute-resolution consolidated US market data (2021-01-04 to 2026-07-17, $10,000 starting capital, no margin, fees and slippage not modeled) and do not guarantee future results. Nothing on this page is investment advice. Live trading involves risk of loss.