Mean reversion · daily rule · Industrials & materials
Bollinger Reversion on Aecon Group
What the play says
ARE with the play, last two years
Shading shows the play's call from the close that triggered it.
Growth of C$10,000 since 2005
Log scale. After trading costs, with T-bill interest while out.
The record
The play against buying and holding ARE over exactly the same dates, after costs.
| Play, since 2005 | Hold, since 2005 | Play, 5 yrs | Hold, 5 yrs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual return | +3.2% | +13.2% | +11.3% | +28.0% |
| Total return | +98% | +1,376% | +70% | +241% |
| Worst drawdown | −63.1% | −74.9% | −27.2% | −56.2% |
| Volatility | 21.2% | 35.8% | 20.1% | 39.9% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.17 | 0.48 | 0.44 | 0.72 |
| Time invested | 26% | 100% | ||
| Switches per year | 9.0 | 0 |
Every call, graded
Right on 129 of 196 closed calls (66%). In calls averaged +0.9%; out calls saw ARE move +3.9% on average.
| Called | Call | Price | Until | ARE moved | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2026 | OUT | C$44.89 | now | +20.6% | open |
| Jul 29, 2026 | IN | C$44.24 | Sep 4, 2026 | +1.5% | ✓ right |
| Aug 6, 2025 | OUT | C$19.32 | Jul 29, 2026 | +129.1% | ✕ wrong |
| Jul 22, 2025 | IN | C$18.96 | Aug 6, 2025 | +1.8% | ✓ right |
| May 1, 2025 | OUT | C$16.39 | Jul 22, 2025 | +15.7% | ✕ wrong |
| Apr 24, 2025 | IN | C$15.11 | May 1, 2025 | +8.5% | ✓ right |
| Apr 9, 2025 | OUT | C$17.17 | Apr 24, 2025 | −12.0% | ✓ right |
| Feb 28, 2025 | IN | C$21.50 | Apr 9, 2025 | −20.1% | ✕ wrong |
| Jan 23, 2025 | OUT | C$25.87 | Feb 28, 2025 | −16.9% | ✓ right |
| Jan 6, 2025 | IN | C$24.33 | Jan 23, 2025 | +6.4% | ✓ right |
| Dec 24, 2024 | OUT | C$26.14 | Jan 6, 2025 | −6.9% | ✓ right |
| Dec 9, 2024 | IN | C$25.69 | Dec 24, 2024 | +1.7% | ✓ right |
An in call is right when the price rose before the next call; an out call is right when it fell. The latest 12 of 197 calls shown.
How the play works
- In on a close below the lower band (20-day average − 2 standard deviations).
- Out on a close above the 20-day average.
This runs against Bollinger's advice that tags of the bands are not signals. It is shown because so many traders use it.
The case against
Valeriy Zakamulin tested moving-average timing on up to 155 years of U.S. stock data and found no statistically significant edge in the second half of that record. The rules earned their keep in a few severe bear markets and lagged buy and hold for long stretches in between.