How signals are scored

7 min read · updated 2026-06-11

Every signal run ranks your trading universe (the list of symbols your strategies may trade) with a four-factor tilt. Each symbol gets a raw value per factor, each factor’s scores are put on a common scale across all your symbols — so a momentum score and a value score are comparable — then weighted by your active strategy version and blended into one rank.

The four factors

FactorMeasuresComputed from
MomentumRecent strengthPrice change over roughly the past 3 months
Low volatilityCalmnessHow much the price actually swings, as a yearly rate, flipped — calmer stocks score higher
ValueCheapnessPrice compared with the past year’s earnings, flipped so cheaper stocks score higher; only profitable companies qualify
QualityBusiness strengthReturn on equity

A factor that can’t be computed for a symbol (missing company financial data, say) is treated as neutral rather than penalized. A symbol with no usable price history at all is excluded from the run — the tilt’s core is price-based, so a symbol we couldn’t price isn’t ranked on company financials alone.

Buy, hold, sell

The composite ranking splits into bands: the top of the universe reads buy, the bottom sell, and the middle hold — no order is generated for holds, and existing positions are left alone. A universe where every score ties (tiny lists, missing data) collapses to all-hold rather than forcing trades.