The round numbering is partly for exactly the reason you named: it forces a name onto every change. When a result comes out wrong, the temptation to quietly shift a threshold is real, and having to call it R28 and re-run the full validation raises the cost of doing that on a whim.

Perhaps a changelog would close the loop though? Right now, R27 is visible in config and referenced in the metrics, but there's no page that says "R27 changed X because Y, here's what the backtest/walk-forward showed before and after." That's the missing accountability layer, and probably more useful to a skeptical reader than any amount of methodology prose.

On stock picking: the system is rules-based and mechanical, not discretionary. The "folly" argument applies most strongly to human judgment calls, which this attempts to remove. I literally wanted to reduce bias and get a better vantage point.

On beating the index: 14 years of backtested data with walk-forward validation suggest it's possible for this specific strategy. Whether it holds going forward, nobody knows. We publish the ten best and worst precisely because we're not claiming certainty.

1/ This will bring worse returns, but I'm willing to accept the loss in order to forward values I support

2/ This will bring better returns, since the market underrates risks from bad ESG companies (e.g. the long-term return on capital for coal companies will be worse than the market expects)

People marketing ESG funds (or anti-ESG, same rule applies) usually emphasise the second.

> Anyone claiming they can consistently beat any large index is just delusional, aren't they?

This is obviously not true. RenTech would like a word.

On the bull run, alpha here is measured against SPY, which ran the same period. The claim is relative outperformance, not that we picked a rising tide. The window also includes 2020 and 2022, not great for momentum strategies. Signals that showed near-zero predictive value in statistical validation are zeroed out of the scoring.

Paper trading is already running against live signals. The daily reports are public and free, no subscription needed to check. Methodology is at https://jumpstartsignal.com/how-it-works/ if you want the detail on what's actually being validated.