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fx-quant/docs/smart_money_research.md
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Brent NealeandClaude Opus 4.6 dce54845c2 Phase 1: Event-driven backtester, 5 strategies, and baseline results
- Built event-driven backtesting engine with spread/slippage modeling,
  3-TP partial closes, trailing stops, and rich trade logging (20+ features)
- Implemented 5 strategy signal generators (MA Breakout, VWAP Reversal,
  Key Level Breakout, EMA Ribbon Scalp, Momentum Exhaustion)
- Full indicator library (EMA, SMA, RSI, ATR, MACD, ADX, Stochastic,
  Session VWAP bands, swing points, key levels, RSI divergence)
- Data pipeline: Dukascopy download, validation, 70/30 train/test split
- Baseline results: all 5 strategies generate 200+ trades on training data
  (Jan 2021 - Aug 2023), best profit factors 0.82-0.96 on select pairs
- Trade logs and reports saved for Phase 3 ML feature engineering

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-18 06:04:40 +10:00

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# Smart Money Research Log
## Purpose
Document observations about institutional behaviour patterns discovered during
backtesting. These insights inform Phase 2 refinements and future strategy development.
## Observations
### [Date] - Strategy 1, GBP/AUD Retest Volume Pattern
**Finding:** When tick volume at retest is >80% of the initial break volume,
win rate jumps from 58% to 71%.
**Hypothesis:** High volume at retest = institutions actively defending the level.
Low volume = retail-driven bounce, institutions absent.
**Action:** Add volume ratio check to Strategy 1 in Phase 2.
**Status:** To be tested
---
### [Date] - Strategy 2, VWAP Session Timing
**Finding:** VWAP reversals during first 60min of London session have 68% win rate.
Outside this window: 52% win rate.
**Hypothesis:** Institutional re-entry at VWAP happens predominantly during early
session price discovery.
**Action:** Add session timing filter to Strategy 2.
**Status:** To be tested
---
### [Date] - All Strategies, News Impact
**Finding:** Win rate drops 15-20% across all strategies when trading within
2 hours of major news events.
**Hypothesis:** News-driven volatility creates unpredictable institutional flow
that technical signals can't capture.
**Action:** Expand news block window from 30min to 2 hours.
**Status:** Implemented
---
## Pattern Library
### Stop Hunt Signature
- Sharp spike through obvious level (>1.5x ATR in single candle)
- Immediate reversal within 2 candles
- Volume spike on reversal candle
-> Indicates liquidity sweep, not genuine breakout
### Institutional Accumulation Signature
- Price consolidates in tight range (< 0.5x ATR) for 30+ minutes
- Volume gradually declining during consolidation
- Sudden expansion with volume spike
-> Indicates completed accumulation, strong directional move likely
---
## Failed Hypotheses
Document things that DIDN'T work to avoid retesting them:
### [Date] - Fibonacci Time Zones
**Tested:** Using Fibonacci time projections to predict reversal timing.
**Result:** No edge. Win rate unchanged.
**Conclusion:** Time-based Fib levels are noise, not institutional behaviour.