The first gate is the Edge Diagnostic: does the strategy show a credible edge worth investigating further? We look at expectancy, consistency, concentration, drawdown behavior and robustness before escalating into deeper market-state research. If the evidence does not support an edge, we should say so plainly.
Frequently asked questions
Bring us your trading results. Start asking why.
BackTest Forensics works with automated backtests and manual trade history. You do not need to know which research engine to ask for. We follow the evidence and start with the problem that matters most.
How it works
We do not throw every type of analysis at you at once.
Not every investigation needs every engine, but edge comes first. After the Edge Diagnostic, the next step depends on the evidence: execution, risk, timing, economic events, regime, GEX, market structure, order flow or another focused question.
Yes. For a manual trader, one of the first questions is often whether the setup itself is repeatable and whether the trades being taken match the setup the trader says they are trading. We try to separate a strategy problem from an execution problem before blaming the market.
Yes. With an automated strategy, we look at whether an edge exists, how stable it is, how entries and exits behave, where risk is coming from, and then whether changing market conditions help explain the results. The same evidence-first logic applies to both automated and manual trading.
It means you are not stuck with a one-way report. You can challenge a finding and make EdgeQuery defend the conclusion with evidence. Ask why it believes your strategy has—or does not have—an edge, what evidence supports that conclusion, what would change the conclusion, why one group of trades behaved differently, or whether another explanation fits the data better. The goal is to keep digging until the behavior makes sense. See the How to Interrogate Your Strategy page for examples.
What we look at
Start simple. Go deeper only when the evidence calls for it.
We may investigate whether an edge exists, whether that edge is stable, whether execution is hurting it, whether stops or sizing are causing trouble, whether losses cluster by time or direction, whether market conditions changed, and whether market structure helps explain what is left. We do not assume the most complicated explanation is the best one.
Yes. MAE is the largest move against a trade while it is open. MFE is the largest move in the trade's favor. We also look at when those moves happened, how long the trade stayed underwater, whether it recovered, how much opportunity was captured, and how much was given back before the exit.
Yes, when the required historical event data is available. The Economic Event Engine asks whether the strategy was actually in a trade when a scheduled release or central-bank event occurred, and what happened to those exposed trades. We do not label an entire day as bad simply because news happened earlier that morning.
Sometimes, but not by default. GEX is an advanced contextual input. We bring it in when the strategy already shows a meaningful edge and the evidence suggests GEX conditions may help explain a repeated performance pattern.
Depending on the question, BackTest Forensics can use the Gamma Exposure Engine, Volume Profile & Market Structure Engine, Order Flow & Spoof Detection Engine, Trend Quality & Regime Engine, and Economic Event Engine. Each engine investigates a different part of the market environment surrounding your trades, helping identify what conditions were present when the strategy performed well, failed, or changed behavior.
Because more data is not automatically more useful. If the Edge Diagnostic says the strategy has no stable expectancy, or if the real problem is sizing or execution, adding GEX, MBO or several market regimes can hide the simple answer and waste research credits. We go deeper only when the evidence supports it.
Questions and follow-ups
The report is the start of the investigation, not the end of it.
Yes. BackTest Forensics is designed around follow-up questions. During the beta, you can keep questioning the findings, compare changes, investigate new loss clusters and continue the same research conversation as your strategy develops.
No. The length of a question is a poor measure of how much research it requires. A six-word question can require a large new analysis, while a detailed explanation may make the work easier. Reasonable-use limits are based more on whether a question needs a materially new research job than on how many characters you type.
No. If the evidence says the next step is simply to fix a risk problem or collect more trades, we should say that. We only suggest another investigation when there is a useful unresolved question.
Research credits
Credits represent research usage.
Credits represent the amount and depth of research being performed. A focused Edge Diagnostic or event study uses less research capacity than a large MBO/order-flow investigation or a multi-engine forensic study.
Usage can vary with the size of the trade history, the depth of the question, the historical market data required, and whether several engines need to be combined. The Credit Guide shows estimated ranges rather than fixed prices.
Yes. Verified new accounts receive a one-time 10-credit signup grant. BackTest Forensics remains in beta, but beta no longer means the service is free. Additional research credits can be purchased from the Pricing page.
Submit your backtest or trade history, plus the question you want investigated. You do not need to provide strategy source code, broker passwords, API keys, or unrelated account information.
Data and privacy
Your strategy stays yours.
No. Many investigations can be performed from trade history and backtest outputs. You may provide extra strategy variables when they are useful, but proprietary formulas and source code are not required by default.
The current BackTest Forensics intake accepts CSV and XLSX trade-history or backtest files.
No. Never submit brokerage credentials, API keys, authentication tokens, private keys or account passwords. They are not needed for trading-result analysis.
BackTest Forensics is the trader-facing service. EdgeQuery IQ is the research and market-state intelligence underneath it.