📈 Ladder Backtester Ladder strategy vs. buy & hold

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CSCO · Cisco Systems, Inc. #32

2023-06-14T00:00 → 2026-06-12T00:00 · fmp · 1d · scale QQQ reserve · created 2026-06-14T20:35

Strategy return 85.25% $18,525
Buy & hold return 137.64% $23,764
S&P 500 (SPY) 69.67% $16,967
Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) 97.14% $19,714
Strategy − Buy&Hold -52.39 pp $-5,239
Trades 57 / 84 buys / sells
Start price (B)50.9600 Target (Z)none
Capital (A)10,000 First step (C)7,000
Steps (N)8 Threshold (X)2.0%

Annualized & capital-efficiency metrics (3.00 yr)

Strategy CAGR 22.86% whole pot, annualized
Buy & hold CAGR 33.51% all-in at t0, annualized
Money-weighted IRR 22.86% on capital while deployed
Avg capital deployed 40.1% rest sat idle in cash

CAGR grows the whole pot A, so idle ladder cash dilutes it. IRR counts only dollars actually in the market over time, so it runs higher — the gap is the cash drag, which Avg capital deployed measures directly. IRR only "counts" if that idle cash earns its opportunity cost elsewhere.

Strategy vs benchmarks — returns & drawdown

Series XIRR Max drawdown Downside capture
Ladder strategy 22.86% -21.30%
Buy & hold 33.51% -21.99% 86%
S&P 500 (SPY) 19.30% -19.00% 102%
Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) 25.43% -22.88% 92%

Max drawdown is the bad-market headline — how deep each fell from its high. Downside capture is the bear-market analog to alpha: of a benchmark's loss in its down periods, the share the strategy absorbed (under 100% = protective, negative = the strategy gained while the benchmark fell).

Portfolio value: strategy vs. buy & hold

⬇ Equity CSV

Price & trades

Trade log (142)

⬇ Trades CSV
# WhenActionPriceShares Amount Shares held Cash bal. Portfolio
1 2023-06-14T00:00 INITIAL 50.9600 137.3626 7,000.00 137.3626 3,000.00 10,000.00
2 2023-06-16T00:00 SELL 52.0700 7.2018 375.00 130.1608 3,391.64 10,169.12
3 2023-06-21T00:00 BUY 50.8500 7.3746 375.00 137.5354 2,961.06 9,954.73
4 2023-07-11T00:00 SELL 52.1200 7.1949 375.00 130.3405 3,387.36 10,180.71
5 2023-07-12T00:00 BUY 50.7400 7.3906 375.00 137.7311 3,055.14 10,043.62
6 2023-07-19T00:00 SELL 52.4300 7.1524 375.00 130.5787 3,535.28 10,381.52
7 2023-07-25T00:00 SELL 53.6000 6.9963 375.00 123.5824 3,847.30 10,471.32
8 2023-07-28T00:00 BUY 52.0900 7.1991 375.00 130.7815 3,520.04 10,332.45
9 2023-08-03T00:00 SELL 53.1500 7.0555 375.00 123.7260 3,806.09 10,382.13
10 2023-08-17T00:00 SELL 54.7300 6.8518 375.00 116.8742 4,026.22 10,422.74
11 2023-08-23T00:00 SELL 55.9800 6.6988 375.00 110.1754 4,519.45 10,687.07
12 2023-08-31T00:00 SELL 57.3500 6.5388 375.00 103.6366 5,003.18 10,946.74
13 2023-09-15T00:00 BUY 56.0400 6.6916 375.00 110.3282 4,533.14 10,715.94
14 2023-09-21T00:00 BUY 53.3400 7.0304 375.00 117.3586 3,999.83 10,259.74
15 2023-10-23T00:00 BUY 52.2000 7.1839 375.00 124.5425 3,600.35 10,101.47
16 2023-11-06T00:00 SELL 53.2900 7.0370 375.00 117.5055 4,112.41 10,374.29
17 2023-11-09T00:00 BUY 52.0000 7.2115 375.00 124.7171 3,746.99 10,232.28
18 2023-11-14T00:00 SELL 53.1700 7.0528 375.00 117.6642 4,276.50 10,532.71
19 2023-11-16T00:00 BUY 48.0400 7.8060 375.00 125.4702 3,908.38 9,935.97
20 2023-12-11T00:00 SELL 49.3900 7.5926 375.00 117.8776 4,380.30 10,202.27
21 2023-12-27T00:00 SELL 50.4400 7.4346 375.00 110.4430 4,932.27 10,503.02
22 2024-01-22T00:00 SELL 51.5700 7.2717 375.00 103.1714 5,429.89 10,750.43
23 2024-01-31T00:00 BUY 50.1800 7.4731 375.00 110.6445 4,993.60 10,545.74
24 2024-02-15T00:00 BUY 49.0600 7.6437 375.00 118.2882 4,828.66 10,631.88
25 2024-02-28T00:00 BUY 48.0600 7.8027 375.00 126.0909 4,462.11 10,522.03
26 2024-03-04T00:00 SELL 49.1300 7.6328 375.00 118.4581 4,926.80 10,746.65
27 2024-03-11T00:00 SELL 50.2200 7.4671 375.00 110.9909 5,228.24 10,802.20
28 2024-03-15T00:00 BUY 48.9300 7.6640 375.00 118.6550 4,811.76 10,617.55
29 2024-03-28T00:00 SELL 49.9100 7.5135 375.00 111.1414 5,298.65 10,845.72
30 2024-04-03T00:00 BUY 48.7400 7.6939 375.00 118.8353 4,900.86 10,692.89
31 2024-04-09T00:00 SELL 50.0100 7.4985 375.00 111.3368 5,277.30 10,845.25
32 2024-04-12T00:00 BUY 48.4900 7.7336 375.00 119.0704 4,855.04 10,628.76
33 2024-04-30T00:00 BUY 46.9800 7.9821 375.00 127.0525 4,328.50 10,297.42
34 2024-05-08T00:00 SELL 48.0000 7.8125 375.00 119.2400 4,861.21 10,584.73
35 2024-05-15T00:00 SELL 49.6700 7.5498 375.00 111.6902 5,378.05 10,925.70
36 2024-05-16T00:00 BUY 48.3400 7.7576 375.00 119.4477 4,992.12 10,766.22
37 2024-05-20T00:00 BUY 47.1300 7.9567 375.00 127.4044 4,649.48 10,654.05
38 2024-05-29T00:00 BUY 46.0800 8.1380 375.00 135.5424 4,290.12 10,535.92
39 2024-06-04T00:00 SELL 47.4200 7.9081 375.00 127.6344 4,645.67 10,698.09
40 2024-06-05T00:00 BUY 46.0200 8.1486 375.00 135.7830 4,364.32 10,613.06
41 2024-06-21T00:00 SELL 47.2900 7.9298 375.00 127.8532 4,896.09 10,942.27
42 2024-07-08T00:00 BUY 46.0600 8.1416 375.00 135.9948 4,696.06 10,959.98
43 2024-07-12T00:00 SELL 47.3800 7.9147 375.00 128.0801 5,047.26 11,115.69
44 2024-07-17T00:00 SELL 48.5200 7.7288 375.00 120.3513 5,289.15 11,128.59
45 2024-07-19T00:00 BUY 47.3200 7.9248 375.00 128.2760 4,842.46 10,912.48
46 2024-07-23T00:00 BUY 46.3600 8.0889 375.00 136.3649 4,522.28 10,844.16
47 2024-07-26T00:00 SELL 47.8800 7.8321 375.00 128.5328 4,731.21 10,885.36
48 2024-08-02T00:00 BUY 46.6600 8.0369 375.00 136.5697 4,210.89 10,583.23
49 2024-08-05T00:00 BUY 44.7400 8.3818 375.00 144.9515 3,710.34 10,195.46
50 2024-08-08T00:00 SELL 45.8300 8.1824 375.00 136.7690 4,193.57 10,461.69
51 2024-08-12T00:00 BUY 44.8600 8.3593 375.00 145.1284 3,849.55 10,360.01
52 2024-08-15T00:00 SELL 48.5300 7.7272 375.00 137.4012 4,421.04 11,089.12
53 2024-08-19T00:00 SELL 49.9800 7.5030 375.00 129.8982 4,859.87 11,352.19
54 2024-09-06T00:00 BUY 48.5000 7.7320 375.00 137.6302 4,155.88 10,830.94
55 2024-09-12T00:00 SELL 49.6100 7.5590 375.00 130.0712 4,758.08 11,210.92
56 2024-09-16T00:00 SELL 51.0300 7.3486 375.00 122.7226 5,133.29 11,395.82
57 2024-09-23T00:00 SELL 52.1900 7.1853 375.00 115.5373 5,614.59 11,644.48
58 2024-10-09T00:00 SELL 53.5600 7.0015 375.00 108.5358 6,107.10 11,920.28
59 2024-10-16T00:00 SELL 56.3800 6.6513 375.00 101.8845 6,454.36 12,198.61
60 2024-10-31T00:00 BUY 54.7700 6.8468 375.00 108.7313 5,986.54 11,941.75
61 2024-11-05T00:00 SELL 56.1600 6.6774 375.00 102.0540 6,464.97 12,196.32
62 2024-11-06T00:00 SELL 57.8700 6.4800 375.00 95.5739 7,015.58 12,546.45
63 2024-11-13T00:00 SELL 59.1800 6.3366 375.00 89.2373 7,483.14 12,764.20
64 2024-11-14T00:00 BUY 57.9200 6.4744 375.00 95.7118 7,056.13 12,599.76
65 2024-11-26T00:00 SELL 59.5900 6.2930 375.00 89.4188 7,439.73 12,768.20
66 2024-12-16T00:00 BUY 58.3500 6.4267 375.00 95.8455 7,486.30 13,078.89
67 2024-12-24T00:00 SELL 59.8500 6.2657 375.00 89.5799 7,747.10 13,108.45
68 2025-01-22T00:00 SELL 61.6300 6.0847 375.00 83.4952 8,144.76 13,290.56
69 2025-01-27T00:00 BUY 59.0800 6.3473 375.00 89.8425 7,504.65 12,812.55
70 2025-01-30T00:00 SELL 60.4700 6.2014 375.00 83.6411 8,008.67 13,066.44
71 2025-02-05T00:00 SELL 62.5700 5.9933 375.00 77.6478 8,441.85 13,300.27
72 2025-02-13T00:00 SELL 63.8400 5.8741 375.00 71.7737 8,961.86 13,543.90
73 2025-03-10T00:00 BUY 62.0600 6.0425 375.00 77.8162 7,530.47 12,359.75
74 2025-03-11T00:00 BUY 60.6700 6.1810 375.00 83.9972 7,137.47 12,233.58
75 2025-04-03T00:00 BUY 57.3100 6.5434 375.00 90.5406 6,445.55 11,634.43
76 2025-04-04T00:00 BUY 54.5400 6.8757 375.00 97.4163 5,670.23 10,983.31
77 2025-04-08T00:00 BUY 53.1900 7.0502 375.00 104.4665 5,206.55 10,763.12
78 2025-04-09T00:00 SELL 58.1300 6.4511 375.00 98.0154 6,206.50 11,904.13
79 2025-04-10T00:00 BUY 56.5900 6.6266 375.00 104.6420 5,567.52 11,489.21
80 2025-04-21T00:00 BUY 54.3700 6.8972 375.00 111.5392 5,029.43 11,093.82
81 2025-04-23T00:00 SELL 55.6300 6.7410 375.00 104.7982 5,653.52 11,483.44
82 2025-04-28T00:00 SELL 56.8400 6.5975 375.00 98.2008 6,250.52 11,832.26
83 2025-05-01T00:00 SELL 58.1200 6.4522 375.00 91.7486 6,748.18 12,080.60
84 2025-05-02T00:00 SELL 59.3300 6.3206 375.00 85.4280 7,223.34 12,291.79
85 2025-05-12T00:00 SELL 61.6700 6.0808 375.00 79.3473 7,879.40 12,772.75
86 2025-05-15T00:00 SELL 64.2600 5.8357 375.00 73.5116 8,431.27 13,155.13
87 2025-06-06T00:00 SELL 66.0600 5.6767 375.00 67.8350 8,979.53 13,460.70
88 2025-06-11T00:00 BUY 64.1900 5.8420 375.00 73.6770 8,646.72 13,376.04
89 2025-06-16T00:00 SELL 65.5100 5.7243 375.00 67.9527 9,052.25 13,503.83
90 2025-06-23T00:00 SELL 67.3800 5.5654 375.00 62.3872 9,382.52 13,586.17
91 2025-06-26T00:00 SELL 68.9500 5.4387 375.00 56.9485 10,014.65 13,941.25
92 2025-07-15T00:00 BUY 67.1800 5.5820 375.00 62.5305 9,832.17 14,032.97
93 2025-07-23T00:00 SELL 68.6200 5.4649 375.00 57.0656 10,332.38 14,248.22
94 2025-08-01T00:00 BUY 67.1100 5.5878 375.00 62.6535 9,775.40 13,980.08
95 2025-08-04T00:00 SELL 68.4900 5.4753 375.00 57.1782 10,330.78 14,246.91
96 2025-08-07T00:00 SELL 69.9000 5.3648 375.00 51.8134 10,799.91 14,421.67
97 2025-08-08T00:00 SELL 71.7900 5.2236 375.00 46.5898 11,275.65 14,620.34
98 2025-08-14T00:00 BUY 69.3000 5.4113 375.00 52.0011 11,005.45 14,609.13
99 2025-08-15T00:00 BUY 66.2000 5.6647 375.00 57.6658 10,582.06 14,399.53
100 2025-08-26T00:00 SELL 68.3900 5.4833 375.00 52.1825 10,870.36 14,439.12
101 2025-09-05T00:00 BUY 66.9000 5.6054 375.00 57.7879 10,560.85 14,426.86
102 2025-09-18T00:00 SELL 68.6800 5.4601 375.00 52.3278 11,288.95 14,882.82
103 2025-09-26T00:00 BUY 67.2200 5.5787 375.00 57.9065 10,926.27 14,818.74
104 2025-10-01T00:00 SELL 68.7500 5.4545 375.00 52.4519 11,434.74 15,040.81
105 2025-10-08T00:00 SELL 70.3300 5.3320 375.00 47.1199 11,964.98 15,278.93
106 2025-10-10T00:00 BUY 67.9400 5.5196 375.00 52.6395 11,160.65 14,736.98
107 2025-10-15T00:00 SELL 69.5200 5.3941 375.00 47.2454 11,776.47 15,060.97
108 2025-10-27T00:00 SELL 71.3900 5.2528 375.00 41.9925 12,657.36 15,655.21
109 2025-10-30T00:00 SELL 72.9100 5.1433 375.00 36.8492 12,991.25 15,677.93
110 2025-11-03T00:00 SELL 74.4500 5.0369 375.00 31.8123 13,491.38 15,859.80
111 2025-11-04T00:00 BUY 72.3200 5.1853 375.00 36.9976 12,842.53 15,518.19
112 2025-11-12T00:00 SELL 73.9600 5.0703 375.00 31.9272 13,255.48 15,616.82
113 2025-11-13T00:00 SELL 77.3800 4.8462 375.00 27.0810 13,359.86 15,455.39
114 2025-11-20T00:00 BUY 75.4400 4.9708 375.00 32.0519 12,485.73 14,903.72
115 2025-12-03T00:00 SELL 77.7500 4.8232 375.00 27.2287 13,667.64 15,784.68
116 2025-12-09T00:00 SELL 79.5100 4.7164 375.00 22.5123 14,076.18 15,866.14
117 2025-12-12T00:00 BUY 77.8000 4.8201 375.00 27.3324 13,443.78 15,570.24
118 2025-12-17T00:00 BUY 76.0000 4.9342 375.00 32.2666 12,779.36 15,231.62
119 2025-12-19T00:00 SELL 78.4200 4.7819 375.00 27.4846 13,508.53 15,663.88
120 2026-01-02T00:00 BUY 76.0400 4.9316 375.00 32.4163 13,047.50 15,512.43
121 2026-01-08T00:00 BUY 73.9600 5.0703 375.00 37.4866 12,828.91 15,601.41
122 2026-01-13T00:00 SELL 75.4700 4.9689 375.00 32.5177 13,323.21 15,777.32
123 2026-01-20T00:00 BUY 73.3500 5.1125 375.00 37.6302 12,561.43 15,321.60
124 2026-01-26T00:00 SELL 77.0100 4.8695 375.00 32.7607 13,295.88 15,818.78
125 2026-01-27T00:00 SELL 78.6800 4.7661 375.00 27.9945 13,791.41 15,994.03
126 2026-02-02T00:00 SELL 80.6400 4.6503 375.00 23.3442 14,057.37 15,939.85
127 2026-02-03T00:00 SELL 83.1100 4.5121 375.00 18.8322 14,216.40 15,781.54
128 2026-02-04T00:00 BUY 81.1600 4.6205 375.00 23.4527 13,593.05 15,496.47
129 2026-02-06T00:00 SELL 84.8200 4.4211 375.00 19.0315 14,055.57 15,669.82
130 2026-02-09T00:00 SELL 86.7800 4.3213 375.00 14.7103 14,538.23 15,814.79
131 2026-02-12T00:00 BUY 75.0000 5.0000 375.00 19.7103 13,839.49 15,317.76
132 2026-02-13T00:00 SELL 76.8500 4.8796 375.00 14.8306 14,243.98 15,383.71
133 2026-02-19T00:00 SELL 78.5600 4.7734 375.00 10.0572 14,655.66 15,445.75
134 2026-03-04T00:00 SELL 80.8700 4.6371 375.00 5.4201 15,207.46 15,645.79
135 2026-03-06T00:00 BUY 78.6400 4.7686 375.00 10.1887 14,558.56 15,359.80
136 2026-03-09T00:00 BUY 76.2100 4.9206 375.00 15.1093 14,378.00 15,529.48
137 2026-03-11T00:00 SELL 78.1000 4.8015 375.00 10.3078 14,751.35 15,556.38
138 2026-03-24T00:00 SELL 80.8600 4.6376 375.00 5.6701 14,550.80 15,009.28
139 2026-03-30T00:00 BUY 77.0400 4.8676 375.00 10.5377 13,535.44 14,347.27
140 2026-04-02T00:00 SELL 79.0200 4.7456 375.00 5.7921 14,557.78 15,015.47
141 2026-04-07T00:00 SELL 80.6800 4.6480 375.00 1.1441 15,022.62 15,114.92
142 2026-04-08T00:00 SELL 83.7000 1.1441 95.76 0.0000 15,565.03 15,565.03