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Finaxion Research · Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles · single stocks · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles work on SW?

Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles does not beat buy-and-hold on SW: -16.1 points a year over 18 years.

Total return
-47.5%
Buy and hold
775.0%
CAGR
-3.5%
Sharpe
-0.08
Max drawdown
-93.0%
Trades
710
Out of sample
—
Years
18
1×200920112013201520172019202120232025
StrategySW

Findings

  1. Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles does not beat buy-and-hold on SW: -16.1 points a year over 18 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: -15.5 points a year.
  3. Total return -47.5% versus +775.0% for buy-and-hold, with 710 trades.
  4. Maximum drawdown -93.0%.
  5. It beat before 2017 and stopped afterwards.
  6. It ranks #177 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 2aad8ceec7e6.

Exactly what was tested

Long while the Heikin Ashi candle is bullish (HA close above HA open); exit on the first bearish candle.

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding SW 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 SW → · Full page for Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles work on SW?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact 2aad8ceec7e6. https://finaxion.app/en/research/heikin-ashi/sw

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