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Finaxion Research · Upper Bollinger band breakout · forex pairs · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does Upper Bollinger band breakout work on GBP/USD?

Upper Bollinger band breakout beats buy-and-hold on GBP/USD by +1.2 points a year over 23 years.

Total return
2.6%
Buy and hold
-21.2%
CAGR
0.1%
Sharpe
-2.12
Max drawdown
-10.3%
Trades
332
Out of sample
overfit
Years
23
0.7×0.9×1×1.2×200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242026
StrategyGBP/USD

Findings

  1. Upper Bollinger band breakout beats buy-and-hold on GBP/USD by +1.2 points a year over 23 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: -10.9 points a year.
  3. Total return +2.6% versus -21.2% for buy-and-hold, with 332 trades.
  4. The result does not hold out of sample: it is overfit.
  5. Maximum drawdown -10.3%.
  6. It beats in both halves of the history (split at 2015).
  7. It ranks #57 of 235 markets for this strategy by annual excess over the S&P 500.

Findings derived from the full panel. Each carries its number and its denominator; the computations are reproducible with artifact 0a2f2c1b7ca1.

Exactly what was tested

Long while the close is above the upper band (20, 2σ); flat when it drops back below.

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding GBP/USD over the same window, with round-trip costs per asset class. “Out of sample” is walk-forward: the rule is fit on one stretch and judged on the next. A result that beats in the full sample but not out of it is overfit. Full methodology in the protocol. How we test.

Open this backtest with its trades   Trades (CSV)

Every strategy on GBP/USD → · Full page for Upper Bollinger band breakout →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does Upper Bollinger band breakout work on GBP/USD?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact 0a2f2c1b7ca1. https://finaxion.app/en/research/bollinger-breakout/gbpusd

Not a recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results.