Run your first backtest
This quickstart shows you how to build a portfolio idea and run it through the Backtester to get a full performance report. It covers choosing holdings, setting a period and capital, picking weights and a strategy, selecting a benchmark, and reading the result. The Backtester is available to Free, Pro Lite, and Pro accounts.
Before you begin
- Sign in to your account. The Backtester opens to Free, Pro Lite, and Pro members.
- Decide what you want to test. You can type tickers by hand or pull holdings from one of your own portfolios, a model portfolio, or a combination of portfolios.
- Know the ticker symbols you want, for example AAPL, MSFT, KO, or an exchange-traded fund such as SPY, QQQ, or VTI. Equities and funds can be mixed freely.
Steps
Open the Backtester
Go to the Backtester. The input form is a five-step funnel down the left side, with an Advanced panel below it.
Choose a source
In Step 1, leave the source on Custom and search for tickers to add, or switch the source to one of your own portfolios, a model portfolio, or a combination of portfolios to pull holdings in automatically.
Set the period and capital
In Step 2, give the run a name, pick a start and end date, and set the starting dollar amount. The default starting amount is 100,000.
Choose weights
In Step 3, keep Equal weight, or switch to Custom percent and set each holding's percentage. Custom weights must total 100 percent before you can save them.
Choose a strategy
In Step 4, pick a rebalance frequency (the default is Quarterly) and decide whether dividends are reinvested (the default is on). Optionally switch from Static to Dynamic to rotate into the top names by a chosen metric.
Pick a benchmark
In Step 5, enter a ticker to compare against, such as SPY, QQQ, or VTI. The default is SPY.
Optional: open the Advanced panel
Set commission, slippage, the rebalance method, drift tolerance, or a dividend tax rate. The defaults match standard behavior, so an untouched Advanced panel does not change the result.
Run the backtest
Select Run backtest. A progress indicator shows while the simulation runs, which usually takes tens of seconds depending on how many holdings and how long the range. When it finishes, the full report appears in the right-hand panel.