Backtest the rules you actually saved
A backtest replays a saved strategy against available historical data. It is most useful for checking logic, trade sequence, exposure, and sensitivity—not predicting future returns.
Finish the strategy definition first. Confirm its universe, entries, sizing, exits, schedules, portfolio limits, and asset-specific settings from the strategy Overview. A material edit creates a new test hypothesis, so rerun the relevant periods after saving.
Run a backtest
- Open Strategies, select the strategy, and review the saved configuration on Overview.
- Open the Backtest tab and choose a historical period supported by the strategy and available data.
- Start the run. Investfly shows queued or running progress; you can stop an active run if the definition or date range is wrong.
- After completion, review the portfolio curve, summary metrics, closed trades, and any errors or warnings together.
Interpret the result in layers
| Evidence | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Trade list | Did the strategy enter, size, scale, and exit when the saved rules say it should? |
| Portfolio path | Were gains concentrated in one short interval, and how deep or persistent were declines? |
| Counts and win/loss metrics | Is the sample large enough to be informative, and are a few outliers driving the outcome? |
| Risk-adjusted metrics | Do the reported values remain coherent across relevant periods and assumptions? |
| Warnings and missing data | Could unavailable history, sparse bars, or a modeled instrument invalidate the comparison? |
Compare periods without overfitting
Test more than one market environment and keep at least one period outside the tuning process. If a small parameter change completely reverses the result, treat the strategy as fragile. Prefer a rule set you can explain over one selected only because it maximized a historical metric.
Daily bars, intraday bars, schedules, pending limits, futures contracts, and options structures can have different timing and pricing assumptions. Compare only runs whose data and configuration make the comparison meaningful.
Move from history to forward observation
A completed backtest is one checkpoint. Next, deploy the saved strategy to an Investfly virtual portfolio and observe current signals, pending orders, fills, state transitions, and exits with simulated funds. If you later choose an eligible broker account, repeat the compatibility and risk review before authorization.
Need a strategy first? Follow How to Create a Trading Strategy or compare the no-code trading bot builder with the Python algorithmic trading platform.