Does Parabolic SAR flip actually work on SPY? We tested it
We ran Parabolic SAR flip on SPY through walk-forward testing and a 100-run random-entry gauntlet. 3 of 4 unseen periods positive. Beat 82 of 100 random-entry runs.
You gave up raw return for a higher win rate and a shallower drawdown. This setup is about timing and staying out of trouble, not beating the index.
Equity curve over Aug 2016 to Jul 2026. Hover any point for its value. Turn on buy and hold to compare.
The same rules, tested on 28 tickers. Edge held on 10. We ship it on those.
Show every ticker we tested
This strategy made money, turning a 99% total return over 85 trades, and the ride was moderately steady with a Sharpe ratio above 1. The worst pain came from a single long drawdown of 13.54% that stretched from late 2021 to early 2023, which is a significant period of losses. The result is not just driven by a few lucky trades, since the win rate is a solid 60% and the average trade gained 0.84%. The entry timing is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, because the real entries beat 82% of random entry runs, meaning the setup is good at picking when to get in. The edge also shows up consistently across different market periods, as the strategy was profitable in three out of four walk forward test periods, so the performance is not from one lucky stretch.
Every verdict on this page comes from the same process. How we test.
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