RSL Momentum Rankings & Signal Research

The RSL system is based on the Relative Strength method developed by Robert Levy in the 1960s - not to be confused with the RSI (Relative Strength Index) by Welles Wilder. Levy's approach measures each security's price relative to its own moving average, then scales all values to 0-100 relative to the strongest symbol in the universe, which scores 100. A score of 85 means the security's RSL is 85% of the leader's RSL.

An RSL entry signal is generated when a symbol's RSL score crosses above 85 - its RSL has reached at least 85% of the strongest symbol's RSL. An RSL exit signal occurs when the score drops below 70. A hard stop at -10% is checked every trading day using the intraday low and protects against severe drawdowns regardless of the RSL score. After a hard stop the symbol is blocked: it can only be entered again once it has dropped below 85 on a weekly decision day and then crosses above 85 again (a new setup).

Before any entry signal is valid, at least 65% of the tracked universe must be trading above their 200-day moving average. This '2/3 rule' ensures new positions are only opened when the majority of the market is in an uptrend. When breadth falls below 40%, the system goes to full red and no new entries are considered.

Across 35 years of backtested data (1990 to 2026), the RSL system produced a positive average trade return in 26 years (74% of all years). The system performs best in sustained bull markets with clear trend momentum. In bear markets the market breadth filter significantly reduces signal frequency, limiting exposure when conditions deteriorate.

No. The backtest applies the rules to today's universe of 230 symbols across the whole history. Companies that were delisted, acquired or dropped out along the way are missing, and today's universe contains stocks that are tracked because they became important. Both effects make historical results look better than they could have been achieved in real time. The early years also rest on fewer symbols, because many of today's names were not listed yet. Read the long-term figures as a description of how the rules behaved on these symbols, not as an achievable track record.

The 135-day period is Robert Levy's original specification from his 1968 research. It captures intermediate-term momentum - long enough to filter out short-term noise, short enough to remain responsive to genuine trend changes. Our backtesting confirmed this period outperforms 21-day, 42-day, and 63-day variants across all tested entry and exit thresholds.

These are shorter-period RSL variants calculated over 21, 42, and 63 trading days respectively. They provide additional context for the momentum trend - when all four measures (RS21, RS42, RS63, RSL) are aligned above their thresholds, the RSL signal is considered strongest. The main system signal is based on the 135-day RSL.

The system produces a win rate of approximately 43.7% - fewer than half of all trades are profitable. The median trade returned -1.61%, so the typical trade is a small loss. The average return of 8.38% per trade comes from a small number of very large winners: without the single best trade (+2156%) the average is 7.01%. This is consistent with momentum investing, and it means the result depends on taking every signal - skipping trades risks missing the few that carry the system. The 10 best trades alone account for 48% of the summed return of all 1564 trades.

On the first trading day of every week (Monday, or the next trading day after a holiday), the current RSL rankings are locked as the weekly reference. The weekly signal table shows which symbols crossed the 85 threshold at the start of the week - these are the official entry signals. The daily table tracks movements relative to the weekly snapshot, showing rank gains and losses as the week progresses. Both tables reset every week.

Of the 1564 backtested signals (1990 to 2026), 609 triggered the -10% hard stop - representing 38.9% of all trades. Hard stops were most frequent in 2006 (60), 2021 (44), 1992 (40). The hard stop is essential precisely because momentum trades can fail quickly when market conditions deteriorate. In the backtest the hard stop is evaluated every trading day with the intraday low: the trade is closed at the stop price, or at the opening price if the stock gaps below the stop. Real fills can still differ, especially in fast markets.

Yes. The backtest assumes the -10% hard stop works like a stop order: it triggers intraday at 10% below the entry price, and after an overnight gap below the stop the position is closed at the opening price. You can only achieve this in live trading if the stop is actually placed as a stop order with your broker when you open the position; a stop that you only check manually after the close can lead to much larger losses. This is general information about how the system works and not investment advice.

TSI (Trend-Signal-Indikator) is the German-language term used for momentum ranking systems based on Robert Levy's Relative Strength method - the same mathematical foundation this site uses. Several German financial publishers offer TSI-based services for a German-speaking audience. relativestrengthresearch.com applies the same RSL calculation with its own 0-100 scoring and market breadth filtering, published in English for an international audience with 36 years of independently backtested data.

End-of-day price data is collected after midnight UTC following US market close. All RSL scores, rankings, market breadth, sector and theme statistics are then recalculated automatically. The last full recalculation was completed on 2026-10-09 at 18:07 UTC.

relativestrengthresearch.com is an independent research tool built and maintained by a private trader with over 35 years of experience in financial markets and market data infrastructure. Not affiliated with any broker, data vendor, or financial institution.

End-of-day OHLCV price data is sourced from publicly available market data providers. RSL calculation, RSL scoring, market breadth, and historical statistics are computed independently using proprietary algorithms. No AI is used in signal generation - all rules are deterministic and fully documented above. Data is collected and processed after midnight UTC, following US market close.

Disclaimer: Nothing on this site constitutes financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All trading involves risk. The RSL system parameters shown are the result of historical analysis and may not perform similarly in the future.

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