Mean reversion · daily rule · Financials
Bollinger Reversion on IGM Financial
What the play says
IGM 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 IGM over exactly the same dates, after costs.
| Play, since 2005 | Hold, since 2005 | Play, 5 yrs | Hold, 5 yrs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual return | +3.1% | +9.3% | +11.8% | +18.5% |
| Total return | +94% | +587% | +74% | +133% |
| Worst drawdown | −53.9% | −51.7% | −13.2% | −32.6% |
| Volatility | 13.8% | 23.2% | 11.1% | 21.8% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.16 | 0.42 | 0.72 | 0.71 |
| Time invested | 22% | 100% | ||
| Switches per year | 8.6 | 0 |
Every call, graded
Right on 120 of 189 closed calls (63%). In calls averaged +0.7%; out calls saw IGM move +2.1% on average.
| Called | Call | Price | Until | IGM moved | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8, 2026 | IN | C$80.08 | now | +1.8% | open |
| Feb 17, 2026 | OUT | C$65.28 | Oct 8, 2026 | +22.7% | ✕ wrong |
| Feb 11, 2026 | IN | C$60.47 | Feb 17, 2026 | +8.0% | ✓ right |
| Jun 30, 2025 | OUT | C$41.11 | Feb 11, 2026 | +47.1% | ✕ wrong |
| Jun 11, 2025 | IN | C$40.79 | Jun 30, 2025 | +0.8% | ✓ right |
| Apr 23, 2025 | OUT | C$40.33 | Jun 11, 2025 | +1.1% | ✕ wrong |
| Apr 4, 2025 | IN | C$38.72 | Apr 23, 2025 | +4.2% | ✓ right |
| Mar 19, 2025 | OUT | C$41.58 | Apr 4, 2025 | −6.9% | ✓ right |
| Mar 11, 2025 | IN | C$40.46 | Mar 19, 2025 | +2.8% | ✓ right |
| Jan 23, 2025 | OUT | C$42.53 | Mar 11, 2025 | −4.9% | ✓ right |
| Dec 17, 2024 | IN | C$42.89 | Jan 23, 2025 | −0.8% | ✕ wrong |
| Aug 16, 2024 | OUT | C$34.78 | Dec 17, 2024 | +23.3% | ✕ 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 190 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.