Methodology

Volum Invest AS publishes systematic, quantitative investment signals. This page describes, in plain language, how those signals are produced. It is provided to satisfy the methodology-disclosure expectation under MAR Article 20 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/958.

What the model does

Each instrument in our universe is scored by a multi-factor composite model that combines several families of evidence:

• Momentum — the strength and direction of the price trend over short and longer horizons.
• Volume — whether trading participation is confirming or fading.
• Volatility — the level and trend of realised volatility.

These factors are combined into a single composite score, and instruments are ranked cross-sectionally (relative to one another) by that score. Buy, sell, and trim signals follow from where an instrument's score sits relative to the model's entry and exit thresholds. The process is fully systematic — no discretionary judgment is applied to individual signals.

The detailed factor definitions, transformations, weights, and threshold values are proprietary and are not disclosed.

What the signals mean, and over what horizon

• BUY — the model's entry conditions are live for that instrument.
• SELL — the model has exited the position; its exit conditions have fired.
• TRIM — price has reached the upper band. A partial reduction, not a full exit.

The model does not use a fixed holding period. A position opens when the entry conditions hold and stays open until an exit condition fires. There are five, and the first to trigger closes the position: the composite score falling below the exit threshold; a tightened exit floor that applies after 30 days to positions opened in specific market conditions; a shift into a high- or crisis-volatility regime; a defined break in trend on a position already in profit; and a combined market-wide volatility trigger.

The practical consequence is that holding periods vary widely between instruments and market regimes — some positions close within days, others run for months. Because there is no single representative figure, we publish the actual distribution rather than an average: every closed position on Signal History shows its own entry date, exit date, days held and exit reason. That page is the authoritative record of realised holding periods and covers all closed positions, not a selection.

Sensitivity of the results

The published figures depend on the model's threshold and weight settings, and they are not equally stable under every condition. Three sensitivities matter most to anyone reading the performance:

• Entry threshold. The score required to open a position directly controls how many positions the model takes and their average quality. Lowering it admits more positions at a lower average win rate; raising it does the reverse. Changes here move results materially in both directions.
• Market regime. Results differ substantially between rising and falling markets, and between calm and volatile ones. Performance measured over a period dominated by one regime should not be read as representative of the others.
• Universe composition. The score is cross-sectional — each instrument is ranked against the others scored that day — so results depend on which instruments are in the universe. Adding, removing or reweighting the universe changes the ranking, and therefore the signals.

Model results are also subject to regime change, data limitations and errors in third-party market data. The signals are recomputed continuously, and past settings are not a guarantee that current settings will perform similarly. See the Full Disclaimer.

Universe

The model covers a broad universe of roughly 1,500 liquid stocks across the United States, Canada, the Nordics and the rest of Europe, plus a dedicated set of approximately 70 ETFs spanning broad-market exposure, sector SPDRs, thematic and leveraged products, and international funds (including Asia-focused ETFs). Instruments are included based on data availability and liquidity; names without sufficient price history are excluded. The exact selection rules are proprietary.

Update frequency

Signals are recomputed every 15 minutes throughout the trading day, using the latest available market data.

Data sources

Price, volume, and volatility inputs are sourced from public market data via the Yahoo Finance (yfinance) interface, using dividend-adjusted open/high/low/close (OHLC) data. Backtests use the same data.

Performance

Unless a figure is explicitly labelled otherwise, historical performance shown on the site is backtested / hypothetical — it is produced by applying the current model rules to past data and does not represent signals that were published live at the time. Backtested performance has inherent limitations and is not a reliable indicator of future results. See the Full Disclaimer.

Changes to the methodology

The methodology evolves as the model is refined. This page describes the current methodology and will be updated to reflect material changes.

Last updated: 2026-08-12