Trading is difficult. If it was easy, everyone would do it. To excel at trading is even that much harder. Successfully competing against some of societies’ smartest and most ambitious requires employing a trading strategy that gives one an edge. Without it, one can only hope for mediocrity. Boston & Zechiel Management has two trading programs that aim for that edge in order to differentiate ourselves from the other successful trading programs in the managed future space.
We view the equity markets through the rhythm of cycles, similar to that of the ocean tides. Both have repeatable and predictable patterns. Our edge is the ability to find actionable (profitable) patterns in the stock market on an annual time frame.
Our Annual Cycle Trading Strategy (ACTS) is a long-only, hedged, equity index trading system that seeks to hold long positions during the positive portion of the market cycle, and then liquidate those positions when the negative portion of the market cycle has begun. On average, the programs are long for about 6 months of the year.
The Conservative Variant, launched in 2009, has traded 5 cycles with an annualized return of +13.74%. That’s an average cycle return of 13.74% in 6 months, using only a 6.5% margin-to-equity ratio, coupled with rare monthly drawdowns.
Compared to the BTop50 Index the results are even more impressive. Consider that a Conservative Variant investor’s account would be +77% higher since inception vs. a -3% return from investing in the BTop50 Index during the same period.
This program is ideal for a blended portfolio where assets can be reallocated when the strategy is flat, or simply overlaid on other programs due to the low margin. The program can also normalize volatility when included with a blend of CTA’s.
We routinely analyze our strategies for improvements and thoroughly back-test the results to determine whether any modifications are overall positive in all types of market conditions. The most recent change, beginning this summer, is the merging of our annual cycle with our four year cycle strategy, improving cycle entry and exit points.
In terms of forming business partnerships with brokers, we realize that due to our low trading volume, our system may not be ideal; however, we are agreeable to lucrative fee sharing terms that properly compensate each party for their contributions. We intend to be trading decades from now and want to foster long-term relationships.
If this very broad overview of our programs might be a fit with your firm, we invite you to contact us and we will be happy to discuss further details.
Jeremy Boston
Principal
Boston & Zechiel Management, LLC
(847) 463-2931
