Mean reversion · daily rule · Industrials & rentals
Bollinger Reversion on Carrier Global
What the play says
CARR with the play, last two years
Shading shows the play's call from the close that triggered it.
Growth of $10,000 since 2020
Log scale. After trading costs, with T-bill interest while out.
The record
The play against buying and holding CARR over exactly the same dates, after costs.
| Play, since 2020 | Hold, since 2020 | Play, 5 yrs | Hold, 5 yrs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual return | +7.2% | +25.6% | +9.8% | +3.1% |
| Total return | +57% | +336% | +59% | +16% |
| Worst drawdown | −18.0% | −40.8% | −18.0% | −39.7% |
| Volatility | 14.8% | 33.0% | 16.5% | 32.3% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.34 | 0.77 | 0.42 | 0.14 |
| Time invested | 23% | 100% | ||
| Switches per year | 8.3 | 0 |
Every call, graded
Right on 35 of 54 closed calls (65%). In calls averaged +1.3%; out calls saw CARR move +8.0% on average.
| Called | Call | Price | Until | CARR moved | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | OUT | $56.10 | now | −1.9% | open |
| Jul 28, 2026 | IN | $63.16 | Oct 6, 2026 | −11.2% | ✕ wrong |
| Jul 27, 2026 | OUT | $69.33 | Jul 28, 2026 | −8.9% | ✓ right |
| Jul 8, 2026 | IN | $66.50 | Jul 27, 2026 | +4.3% | ✓ right |
| Mar 25, 2026 | OUT | $58.83 | Jul 8, 2026 | +13.0% | ✕ wrong |
| Mar 6, 2026 | IN | $57.93 | Mar 25, 2026 | +1.5% | ✓ right |
| Dec 3, 2025 | OUT | $54.00 | Mar 6, 2026 | +7.3% | ✕ wrong |
| Nov 14, 2025 | IN | $53.49 | Dec 3, 2025 | +1.0% | ✓ right |
| Oct 21, 2025 | OUT | $58.91 | Nov 14, 2025 | −9.2% | ✓ right |
| Sep 2, 2025 | IN | $62.54 | Oct 21, 2025 | −5.8% | ✕ wrong |
| Aug 22, 2025 | OUT | $66.72 | Sep 2, 2025 | −6.3% | ✓ right |
| Jul 29, 2025 | IN | $70.58 | Aug 22, 2025 | −5.5% | ✕ wrong |
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 55 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.