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JoeForkeyBolo

01/28/25 11:49 PM

#47574 RE: mindful1 #47573

Both Buy and Sell SAFE and Minimum Share Transaction values are based on the current Share Value in my spreadsheets, in keeping with Lichello's AIM model. I ran some comparisons on historical data using Tom's (OldAIMGuy) suggestion of using these values based on Portfolio Control in lieu of Share Value, and found no change to the overall returns. It made the transaction size more consistent whether price was rising or falling, and while that seems like it would produce better results, it doesn't. It benefits on one side of a trade and detracts on the other side (as compared to Lichello's use of current share value), so the results effectively offset each other.

Lichello used the same SAFE factor for both buys and sells in his original model. Split-SAFE allows us to tweak the algorithm a bit to try to improve results of the original model in certain market conditions. One example Tom suggested that has significantly improved returns in my backtesting is increasing Buy SAFE by 5% for each purchase, and resetting to the original value on the first sell. This is used only on investments such as some 3x leveraged ETFs whose historical chart shows large (>60%) declines in share prices during market downturns, where maintaining the initial Buy SAFE value will result in cash depletion. The adjustments allow the cash to be conserved a bit more and allow lower-priced buys, and it significantly helps Black Swan trading if cash is depleted near the bottom of the trend. Running out of cash at or near the bottom is the ideal AIM scenario and will result in maximum gains when the price recovers.

In most of my testing, the 5% Minimum Transaction Size improves annual returns about 0.5-1.5% but almost doubles the number of transactions. In a few tests, the 10% setting resulted in slightly higher returns. In my testing on an investment that had Buy/Sell/Min set at 10/10/10 and it traded sideways and had no trades for several months, I'd temporarily change to 5/5/5 to generate a few trades and return to 10/10/10 when prices started moving away from the narrow band. It's better to have a few trades in these circumstances than months of no activity. It's a similar strategy to the Black Swan trading during periods of cash depletion. Every little bit of AIM trading helps the overall return.

I'll run a few backtests on what I consider the poster child of a mostly upward trajectory ETF, the TQQQ - 3x-leveraged Nasdaq-100 Index. This one is hard for AIM to beat the buy-and-hold strategy, or if AIM wins it's not by a lot. I'll run the standard 10/10/10 scenario over 5 years and a couple where SAFE values are adjusted. I'll post the results when I'm done. Hopefully that will help answer your question and offer the board some additional insight.

Tom and others have offered their experiences and how they use the SAFE factors. As has already been discussed, often the strategy used depends on one's goals and the investments selected. Highly volatile investments like 3x-leveraged ETFs could employ different strategies than a non-leveraged equity or ETF investment. Some might want to significantly raise the Sell SAFE factor to restrict selling in a rising stare price when cash is excessive, where others may prefer to spin off some of that excess cash and share value into another AIM-managed investment.

One thing to remember when adjusting SAFE or MIN factors in my spreadsheets.... it only impacts future transactions. It will cause all prior transaction calculations to look strange, but since the 4 blue columns for manual entry documenting each completed transaction is unchanged, it has no impact on AIM function and overall results. I expect the same is true in other AIM spreadsheets.

I'll report back when I finish backtesting TQQQ. Or is there a specific investment you would like to see tested that is better suited to your questions?
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JoeForkeyBolo

01/29/25 12:30 AM

#47575 RE: mindful1 #47573

A bit more on your question...

Also the suggested 5% of stock to buy or sell is determined by the initial stock value or the current stock value?


As AIM management progresses, the current stock value grows. If one started with a $10,000 investment and Minimum Transaction Size was 10%, each transaction size is approximately $1,000 at the beginning. If at some point the stock value reaches $30,000, each transaction is now about $3,000.

This makes sense since we want our transactions to grow as the investment grows. If it was based on initial investment amount, each transaction in this example would only be 3.3% when stock value reached $30,000, and only 2% when it reached $50,000. By maintaining minimum transaction size based on stock value, it grows along with the investment. Otherwise it would start to limit investment growth. Lichello likely considered this and made the correct choice.
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JoeForkeyBolo

01/29/25 11:13 AM

#47577 RE: mindful1 #47573

I elected to use AAPL - Apple Inc. for the AIM testing instead of TQQQ because it was a better choice given the upward trajectory with very limited declines in share price.



Chart, historical prices and dividend data obtained from:
https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/aapl

Assumptions:
•  Test period:  1/2/20 – 1/28/25
•  $50,000 initial investment
•  All dividends reinvested at closing price on date paid
•  Preemptive AIM model used with limit orders
•  Maximum of one transaction per day
•  Cash balance earns interest at 3% annually (0.25% per month)
•  Interest estimated based on average cash balance over test period
•  Initial purchase price:  $74.36 (same used in Stoculator comparison)
•  Historical data corrected for 4-to-1 stock split in 2020

NOTE:  Historical dividend data required manual correction for stock split for three values (identified in Dividend History file). Split-adjusted values used in spreadsheet calculations.


–––––––––– TEST CASE 1 (Baseline) ––––––––––
10% Buy SAFE • 10% Sell SAFE • 10% Minimum • 50% Equity / 50% Cash

Buys: 4
Sells: 12
Average Monthly Cash: $25,598
Estimated Interest: $3,904
Ending Portfolio Value: $96,184
Ending Cash Position: $61,481
Overall AIM Return: 92.4%
Overall B/H Return: 232%


–––––––––– TEST CASE 2 ––––––––––
0% Buy SAFE • 20% Sell SAFE • 10% Minimum • 50% Equity / 50% Cash

Buys: 6
Sells: 12
Average Monthly Cash: $26,142
Estimated Interest: $3,987
Ending Portfolio Value: $108,105
Ending Cash Position: $66,528
Overall AIM Return: 116%
Overall B/H Return: 232%


–––––––––– TEST CASE 3 ––––––––––
0% Buy SAFE • 20% Sell SAFE • 10% Minimum • 80% Equity / 20% Cash (AIM-HI Ratio)

Buys: 5
Sells: 10
Average Monthly Cash: $21,174
Estimated Interest: $3,229
Ending Portfolio Value: $1258,968
Ending Cash Position: $65,296
Overall AIM Return: 152%
Overall B/H Return: 232%
NOTE: The AIM model ran out of cash in this scenario during the early 2020 Covid-19 market decline. Black Swan trading was utilized for a 3-month period until share price recovered.


AAPL is a great example of a stock where Buy-and-Hold wins over every AIM scenario. However, this testing does show improvement in overall AIM returns with the Buy and Sell SAFE adjustments suggested.

The testing spreadsheet, historical prices, dividends, and Stoculator.com results for the testing period are available at this link if anyone is interested.
AIM Testing - AAPL