Monthly DCA into the top momentum ETF — rank, buy, hold, never sell
Strategy overview
Instead of rebalancing into laggards, this rules-based DCA model ranks a curated multi-region ETF universe on blended 3-month and 6-month momentum each month, deploys 100% of new contributions into the single top leader, and never sells—so diversification builds organically as leadership rotates.
Performance
OOS from Jan 1, 2026 (dashed line).
Key Performance Indicators
160.5%Total return (5.7 yr)
18.4%CAGR (5.7 yr)
18.6%Max drawdownVT 30.6% · SPY 25.2%
0.87Sharpe ratioSPY 0.79 · VT 0.64
1.55Sortino ratioSPY 1.27 · VT 0.99
MonthlyTrading frequency
—OOS start
$8K + $1.7K/moMin. capitalCovers $100/mo fees using 6.6% excess CAGR over VT (18.4% vs 11.8%), both annualized over the same 5.7-year backtest (Jan 2021 – Sep 2026). Based on backtest; not a guarantee.
Drawdowns
Backtest report
| Series | Total return | CAGR | Max DD (monthly) | Max DD (daily) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy | 160.46% | 18.42% | 18.56% | 29.65% |
| SPY (buy & hold) | 117.27% | 14.69% | 22.96% | 25.23% |
| VT (buy & hold) | 88.23% | 11.82% | 24.63% | 30.65% |