Research
Notes on process, risk and the craft of trading.
Perspectives from the SFZ Capital team on building durable trading processes. Educational in nature — not investment advice or recommendations.
Why Maximum Drawdown Matters More Than Peak Return
Gross return is easy to present. Drawdown is what you actually live through — and it is the more honest measure of a strategy.
Overfitting: The Risk You Cannot See in the Backtest
A strategy can have a perfect backtest and no edge whatsoever. Understanding overfitting — and how to detect it — is one of the most important skills in systematic trading.
Position Sizing: The Variable Most Traders Underestimate
Entry signals get most of the attention. Position sizing is where most of the edge — and most of the risk — actually lives.
The Equity Curve as a Diagnostic Tool
Most traders look at the equity curve to measure success. The better use is as a diagnostic — a way to read what a strategy is actually doing beneath the surface.
Discipline Over Prediction: Why Process Beats Forecasting
Markets reward repeatable process far more reliably than they reward forecasts. A look at why systematic discipline is the durable edge.
Reading a Backtest Honestly
A backtest is a hypothesis, not a promise. How to interpret historical results without deceiving yourself.
Risk Is the Only Input You Control
You cannot choose your returns, but you can choose your risk. Why position sizing is the real strategy.
Market reads
Curated external sources.
A short list of publications we consider essential context for anyone building and trading systematic strategies. These are independent sources — SFZ Capital has no commercial relationship with them.
Markets & Finance — Wall Street Journal
In-depth coverage of equity markets, fixed income, currencies and commodities. Essential reading for the macro context behind price action.
Business & Economy — The New York Times
Long-form reporting on business strategy, economic policy and the forces reshaping global finance and market structure.
Markets Data & News — Yahoo Finance
Real-time quotes, earnings calendars, analyst ratings and breaking financial news — a practical reference for monitoring the instruments you trade.