TopDogTM Strategies vs. Dogs of the Dow

 Trend Following Stock Trading System Outperforms the Dow Dogs




 

Returns

Safety

Simplicity

Control

Examples



Welcome!
Market momentum has long been proven to be the best predictor of future price movements. SectorSurfer automates the process of selecting the best stock to own — no emotional bias!  Its high performance trend following sector rotation algorithms keep you in the best stocks during bull markets and its StormGuard TM algorithms move you to the safety of cash during prolonged bear markets. Only by owning the top trend leader and avoiding the trend laggards can you simultaneously improve returns and reduce the probability of loss. SectorSurfer evaluates your Strategies daily and sends an email Trade Alert when you have trades to make. We also have many high performance  mutual fund and ETF Strategies to choose from, or you can create your own Custom Strategy (see how here). If you prefer having personal professional advice, please contact one of our listed SectorSurfing Professional Financial Advisors.


TopDog Strategy Performance

SectorSurfer is a trend following trading system for stock investment. Each TopDog Strategy is based on a well known Stock Market Index and consists of a selection of up to 12 stocks from that index. It is SectorSurfer's job to determine which one stock, and only one stock, from the set of 12 to own at any given time. Simply by determining which of the stocks is the top trend leader and owning only that stock for the next month SectorSurfer achieves the performance depicted by the charts below.

To better understand how SectorSurfer Strategies achieve such high performance, please click each of the title-slides above (or the text below each thumbnail image) to review the topic's information in more detail. The charts below have numerous mouse-over hot spots that provide a brief popup text description of the chart object, and many chart objects can be clicked to link to a more complete description. For a more theoretical discussion, please review the Sector Rotation Theory page.
 
 

TopDog Market Index Strategies

TopDog LogoTopDog Stock Strategies
The table below contains numerous TopDog Strategy examples arranged by the market index its stocks belong to. SectorSurfer's trend following algorithm simultaneously improves returns and reduces risk by owning only the one best trending stock of the Strategy at any given time. While the popular Dogs of the Dow investment strategy suggests that an underdog with great dividends will likely lead the pack in the near future, many underdogs are not just temporarily out of favor, but have serious problems. It's never time to own an underdog until it actually becomes a TopDog trend leader. We recommend review of this material about stocks versus sectors to better understand why stock Strategies need occasional freshening.
 

     TopDog Stock Strategy Examples by Market Index -  (click chart thumbnail to enlarge)
Dow Jones Stocks S&P-100 Stocks Nadsaq-100 Stocks

DJ-65 Composite

S&P 100-a

Nasdaq 100-a

DJ-30 Industrials, DJIA Index

S&P 100-b

Nasdaq 100-b

DJ-20 Transports

S&P 100-c

Nasdaq 100-c

DJ-15 Utilities

S&P 100-d

Nasdaq 100-d

Note: Individual stocks are more volatile than mutual funds or ETFs as they are not diversified and carry more risk of sharp loss from news about quarterly earnings misses, management scandals, and other adverse events. We strongly recommend use of the Prudent Investor Rule with stock Strategies: To reduce portfolio risk and volatility, invest no more than 20% of your funds in any one stock. That translates into "Post-Surfing Diversification" — five or more Strategies each selecting one excellent stock.
 

Comparison To "Dogs of the Dow"
The chart to the right compares the TopDog DJ-65 Composite market index Strategy to the well-known "Dogs of the Dow" strategy performance as reported by TheStreet.com. The Dogs of the Dow trading system buys the Dow Jones Industrial stocks (DJIA Index) that are relatively low in price compared to their 52 week high, but which still pay relatively high dividends. Dogs of the Dow theory says these stocks will more likely perform better in the near future than their peers.

Our TopDog Strategies send the Dogs of the Dow back to the doghouse! A stock with TopDog leadership status is a much better predictor of future performance than is a stock suffering with underdog status. Dogs of the Dow theory presumes that stocks are often cyclically punished without cause and will recover. However, stocks are also punished for poor execution unrelated to market cycles. In the end, there is no justifiable reason to own a poor performing stock until it actually is trending higher at a stronger rate than its peers. Only the trend is your friend!

U.S. Stocks Available for Strategies:  NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX

Our database, from FastTrack, contains well over 3,000 U.S. Stocks from the three major exchanges, include many foreign stocks listed for trading on the U.S. markets as an ADR (American Depositary Receipt). Popular market index lists are shown below for reference. However, we generally do not make new stocks available until  they have about 3 years of data. SectorSurfer's algorithm cannot properly characterize a stock that has not seen a variety of market conditions, and you risk the possibility of unexpected Strategy behavior in the future. If you must have a stock with a shorter history, you may be in love with it for the wrong reason. The right reason is increasing the probability of higher returns and decreasing the probability of loss. Fresh hype is not a sound reason for a financial marriage — character matters.
 

S&P-100 Stocks:  

NASDAQ-100 Stocks:  

DJ-65 Composite Stocks:  

Hall of Fame User Strategies


Sharing Great Strategies
The Hall of Fame page is dedicated to sharing or finding high performance SectorSurfer Strategies developed by other SectorSurfers. It includes investment strategies for safety, mutual funds, stocks, ETFs. Strategies are ranked by their Score. Safety strategies rankings further consider return reliability and drawdown characteristics. Strategies are evaluated and ranked nightly according to posted rules.

Below are the top performers by category.        Click Here for Full Listing.

 

What Others Achieved

 Top Performers by Category     (click chart to enlarge)

Best Safety Strategy
Click to enlarge chart
Bond Buddies
by: r80pete
Best ETF Strategy
Click to enlarge chart
Vg7variation
by: ronaldper
Best Stocks Strategy
Click to enlarge chart
Moon Shot mod
by: hawaiianshirtsociety
Best Mutual Fund Strategy
Click to enlarge chart
Parsimonious focused
by: larsenms.trade
Best Ultra/Inverse Strategy
Click to enlarge chart
Running With Them Bulls DD
by: alexander247




Retired?  Employed Elsewhere?  Over 591/2?  
Upgrade your 401(k) to an IRA to Unleash SectorSurfer's True Sector Rotation Potential!

You can escape from the paltry performance of your 401(k)'s over-diversified funds by rolling them over into an IRA account where you'll have access to a wide variety of country and sector funds that will unleash the full performance potential of SectorSurfer's True Sector Rotation algorithms. Good returns are required to reduce "retirement risk," which is the risk at age 65 that your savings aren't sufficient and you may have to work longer or reduce your standard of living. While traditional diversification addresses the relatively short term investment risk, its paltry returns can lead to longer term retirement risk problems. Don't win a battle but lose the war.

Learn Here how to convert your 401(k) to an IRA. Then check out  the many excellent Safety Strategies on our Hall of Fame page.


We Believe:

• High performance investment software should be for everyone — not just big Wall Street firms.
• Diversification is not a justifiable reason to own poorly performing funds — they hurt your portfolio.
• Great investment advice isn't a fund sorting tool — it's automatically selecting this month's best fund.

How to Become a SectorSurfer

How We Work

How We Work




We'll do the Hard Work ...           
         ... While You go Have a Life!

How We Work

Resources

Validation  

Technology  

AAII Seminar

Find a Financial Advisor

Getting Started

Getting Started

• Study:  Returns, Safety,
Simplicity, Control, Examples

Review: Subscriptions,
Free vs Premium Strategies

• Ready? It Costs Nothing to Start - Let's Get Surfing!

Sign Up

Specific Quick-Start Instructions
Follow these steps to quickly set up your SectorSurfer account to use this Strategy  ...  (click to read more)

Click to Signup for a SectorSurfer account. It costs nothing to get started.1. Click the Signup Wizard button on the right to create your account. It costs nothing to open an account and experiment with custom strategies or make use our totally Free Strategies.  See Member Plans Page for details about Free and Premium Memberships.

    a) On the Create an Account screen specify your username, password, full name, and email address.
         Then click

    b) Next is the Account Information Screen. Complete the below steps and then click
      -  Section A: Optionally add a backup email address or cell text number for your Trade Alerts. Click the button.
      -  Section A: Optionally enter your Referrer's name to give them credit. Review the Referral-Name you'll give others.
      -  Section B: Review the subscription options and click checkbox to acknowledge having read it.
      -  Section C: Optionally order a subscription (required to receive Trade Alerts for this Strategy). Acknowledge the checkbox.

    c) Next is the Application Settings Screen to determine how you would like your Trade Alerts handled and then click
 
  
 You're Now Are a SectorSurfer! 


2. The My Strategies Page will automatically be your next destination. This is your definition list of personal Strategies.

    a) Please watch the short video demo. It will save you time and frustration. Click its icon in the upper left of the page.

    b) Note the other help resources in the upper left and bottom of the page.

    c)
Experiment with the Example Strategies provided. Mouse-over the icons and ticker symbols. Click things to see what they do.

    d) To import the above Strategy into your My Strategies execute the following steps:
       - Click the  icon in the 2nd row to get the Select a Strategy popup screen.
       - Scroll down until you see the Strategy name matching the above Strategy, then click its line to highlight it.
       - Then click the button near the bottom to import this Strategy into your personal list.
 
   Now You're Really SectorSurfing! 


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