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20-Day Momentum + Trailing Stop on ROM

ProShares Ultra Technology: 2x daily leveraged technology sector. Backtest 2021-01-04 to 2026-10-02, $10,000 starting capital, computed by the same engine that runs live DeployQuant strategies.

Result: momentum breakout on ROM turned $10,000 into $20,497 (105.0% total, 13.3% CAGR): it trailed buy-and-hold by 16.9% per year, with a maximum drawdown 30.5 points shallower than holding (36.2% vs 66.8%).
13.3%CAGR
30.2%buy & hold CAGR
−36.2%max drawdown
0.58Sharpe ratio
33round trips
42%win rate
■ momentum breakout   ■ buy & hold, $10,000 invested 2021-01-04

Year by year

Yearmomentum breakoutbuy & hold
202120.8%81.7%
2022−27.4%−63.0%
202359.7%125.8%
2024−20.9%31.1%
202541.4%35.5%
202630.9%75.0%

Month by month

YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
20210.0%−5.8%0.0%6.4%−5.9%9.9%7.6%9.8%−8.2%4.1%3.3%0.0%
20220.0%0.0%3.8%−20.8%0.0%0.0%5.4%−6.2%0.0%0.0%−5.0%−6.0%
20233.6%−1.7%8.3%−1.1%17.0%11.4%4.2%−6.3%0.0%0.0%6.8%7.8%
2024−11.9%−0.5%−3.3%−6.8%−6.8%13.1%−0.9%−1.8%7.3%−3.0%0.0%−6.3%
2025−2.4%0.0%0.0%0.0%13.8%19.6%6.8%−5.3%3.5%12.3%−6.9%−2.7%
2026−0.8%−2.7%0.0%16.6%35.6%−12.9%−9.3%−4.6%9.4%4.1%––

Every trade

momentum breakout on ROM made 33 closed round trips and one position still open at the end of the test, an average hold of 30 days, an average winner of 14.99%, an average loser of −6.73%, a profit factor of 1.42, a longest losing streak of 4. It held a position at the close on 48.2% of trading days.

EntryEntry priceExitExit priceReturnDays held
2021-02-03$39.592021-02-23$37.23−6.0%20
2021-04-05$39.632021-05-04$39.690.1%29
2021-06-11$43.522021-09-20$52.0319.6%101
2021-10-27$56.082021-11-26$60.417.7%30
2022-03-24$47.872022-04-06$47.54−0.7%13
2022-04-06$47.742022-04-11$42.87−10.2%5
2022-04-12$43.872022-04-22$40.26−8.2%10
2022-07-19$30.562022-07-26$30.42−0.5%7
2022-07-28$33.212022-08-22$35.516.9%25
2022-08-23$34.742022-08-29$32.26−7.1%6
2022-11-14$26.622022-11-29$25.27−5.1%15
2022-12-01$27.862022-12-06$25.42−8.8%5
2022-12-07$25.252022-12-15$25.972.9%8
2023-01-24$26.702023-02-10$28.827.9%17
2023-02-13$29.602023-02-21$27.94−5.6%8
2023-03-22$31.882023-08-04$43.7137.1%135
2023-11-13$45.752024-01-05$48.025.0%53
2024-01-23$57.102024-02-21$54.87−3.9%29
2024-03-21$62.622024-04-15$56.32−10.1%25
2024-05-16$62.502024-05-31$58.13−7.0%15
2024-06-03$61.432024-07-17$69.0312.4%44
2024-08-28$65.442024-09-03$58.82−10.1%6
2024-09-04$56.952024-10-31$64.7613.7%57
2024-12-04$74.192025-01-10$67.79−8.6%37
2025-05-05$55.572025-08-20$76.9338.4%107
2025-09-19$89.422025-11-06$96.948.4%48
2025-12-22$97.072026-02-03$91.04−6.2%43
2026-04-14$95.552026-05-19$127.7133.7%35
2026-05-20$133.232026-06-05$154.6416.1%16
2026-06-05$154.802026-06-09$139.40−9.9%4
2026-06-16$157.002026-06-23$145.85−7.1%7
2026-06-23$145.502026-07-02$140.40−3.5%9
2026-08-14$152.912026-08-21$138.61−9.3%7
2026-08-26$138.11open–20.0%–

Prices are adjusted for splits and dividends, so they sit below the quotes printed at the time. An open position is marked at the last close.

Largest drawdowns

PeakLow pointDepthDays to lowRecoveredDays to recover
2022-03-292022-12-07−36.2%2532023-07-18223
2026-06-022026-08-21−33.1%80not yet–
2023-12-282024-09-06−28.9%2532025-06-25292

Buy-and-hold's deepest drawdown ran from 2021-12-27 to 2022-11-03 and reached −66.8%.

With trading costs

The headline run fills at the bar price. These runs charge slippage on every fill.

Slippage per fillCAGRMax drawdownFinal valueSharpe
None (headline)13.3%−36.2%$20,4970.58
5 basis points12.7%−36.8%$19,8880.56
10 basis points12.1%−37.3%$19,2290.54

Changing the parameters

VersionCAGRMax drawdownRound tripsWin rateFinal value
Published rules13.3%−36.2%3342%$20,497
5% trailing stop16.8%−31.2%8343%$24,343
15% trailing stop16.8%−29.5%1850%$24,421
20% return entry6.3%−30.3%1937%$14,225

How ROM behaved

MeasureROM
Data in this test2021-01-04 to 2026-10-02 (1444 sessions)
Total return, buy and hold381.1%
Annualized volatility52.1%
Deepest drawdown−67.6% (2021-12-27 to 2022-11-03)
Up days55.9%
Average daily range3.41%
Average overnight gap1.41%
Correlation to SPY0.90
Correlation to QQQ0.97
Correlation to TLT0.07
Sessions above the 200-day average70.7%
Crossings of the 200-day average36
Falls of 10% or more from a 20-day high53

The rules

Buy after a +10% four-week burst and let a 10% trailing stop manage the exit.

  1. WHEN the market opens · IF not invested AND the 20-day return > +10% · THEN buy with 98% of the sleeve
  2. WHILE invested · a managed trailing stop follows 10% below the position's high-water mark

Momentum entry, trailing-stop exit. A +10% gain over 20 sessions marks a burst of momentum. The template buys the strength and exits on a 10% trailing stop that ratchets up beneath the highest close and never moves down. There is no profit target, so winners run until the trail is hit.

Good for: high-momentum assets where trends extend, such as semiconductor and leveraged tech ETFs.
Watch out: buying strength means buying high; when a burst immediately reverses, the trail exits about 10% below the entry.

Run momentum breakout on ROM yourself, free →

Build it from blocks (or type it in English), backtest it on 5.7 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

Did momentum breakout beat buy-and-hold on ROM?

Over 2021-01-04 to 2026-10-02, momentum breakout on ROM returned 13.3% annualized vs 30.2% for buy-and-hold: it trailed buy-and-hold by 16.9% per year, with a maximum drawdown 30.5 points shallower than holding (36.2% vs 66.8%).

How many trades did it make?

33 completed round trips over 5.7 years (67 fills), with 42% of round trips closing profitably.

How does the trailing stop work in the backtest?

The stop sits 10% below the highest price since entry and only ratchets up. When a bar trades through it, the position sells at the stop, or at the open if the price gaps below it. Trailing-stop exits can be backtested now; deploying them live is not available yet.

Related

20-Day Momentum + Trailing Stop on all 59 ETFsfull results table All strategies on ROM12 templates compared RSI(14) Mean Reversion on ROMsame ETF, different rulesRSI(2) Dip Snapback on ROMsame ETF, different rules

Backtests are hypothetical, computed by DeployQuant's engine on minute-resolution consolidated US market data (2021-01-04 to 2026-10-02, $10,000 starting capital, no margin, no fees or slippage in the headline run; buy-and-hold puts 98% of the account in at the first open, as the templates do) and do not guarantee future results. Nothing on this page is investment advice. Live trading involves risk of loss.