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Finaxion Research · Parabolic SAR: follow the dots · single stocks · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does Parabolic SAR: follow the dots work on RL?

Parabolic SAR: follow the dots does not beat buy-and-hold on RL: -11.3 points a year over 29 years.

Total return
-37.9%
Buy and hold
×15
CAGR
-1.6%
Sharpe
-0.07
Max drawdown
-66.2%
Trades
644
Out of sample
overfit
Years
29
1×10×1998200120042007201020132016201920222025
StrategyRL

Findings

  1. Parabolic SAR: follow the dots does not beat buy-and-hold on RL: -11.3 points a year over 29 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: -11.1 points a year.
  3. Total return -37.9% versus ×15 for buy-and-hold, with 644 trades.
  4. The result does not hold out of sample: it is overfit.
  5. Maximum drawdown -66.2%.
  6. It beats in neither half of the history (split at 2012).
  7. It ranks #175 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 566419a0cec8.

Exactly what was tested

Long while the close is above the SAR (0.02, 0.02, 0.2); exit when the close drops below the SAR.

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding RL 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 RL → · Full page for Parabolic SAR: follow the dots →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does Parabolic SAR: follow the dots work on RL?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact 566419a0cec8. https://finaxion.app/en/research/parabolic-sar/rl

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