The Research Library
Learn to backtest like a quant desk
Plain-English guides and free tools for building trading strategies and proving the edge is real — the honest method behind QUANTHEON Lab, with nothing to install.
Guides
What is overfitting?
Overfitting is why most backtests lie. Learn what overfitting is, how to spot it, and the four tests that prove an edge is real: out-of-sample, Walk-Forward, Monte-Carlo and the Deflated Sharpe ratio.
How to backtest a strategy
A step-by-step guide to backtesting a trading strategy honestly — with no code. Define rules, use realistic costs and slippage, read the right metrics, and validate out-of-sample so the result isn't overfit.
Walk-Forward analysis
Walk-Forward analysis re-optimizes on a rolling in-sample window and trades the next unseen segment, stitching a 100% out-of-sample equity curve. Learn how it works, anchored vs rolling, and how to read the result.
Monte-Carlo simulation
Monte-Carlo simulation reshuffles your trades hundreds or thousands of times to estimate how much of a backtest was luck — the probability of profit, plausible drawdowns and risk of ruin. Learn how to read it.
Free calculators
Sharpe ratio calculator
Free Sharpe ratio calculator. Enter annualized return, risk-free rate and volatility to get the Sharpe ratio instantly, with a plain-English verdict. Learn what a good Sharpe ratio is and why it can mislead.
Max drawdown calculator
Free maximum drawdown calculator. Paste an equity curve and get the max drawdown %, the peak and trough, and a plain-English verdict on how painful the strategy would have been to hold.
Position size calculator
Free position size calculator. Enter your account size, risk per trade, entry and stop-loss to get the exact number of shares to trade and the cash you're risking. Plain-English risk management.
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