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STOCK RANKINGS, FACTORS & BACKTESTED STRATEGIES

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Stock Ranking Systems & Backtested Strategies

Published stock ranking systems and backtested strategies for quality, valuation, dividend income, momentum, and defensive resilience.

Find My Moat is building backtested stock ranking systems for investors who want structured idea discovery. The published systems include Quality Stocks, Undervalued Stocks, Dividend Stocks, Defensive Stocks, and Momentum Stocks: transparent rankings that blend business strength, valuation, dividend safety, price momentum, durability, and risk controls.

For research and educational purposes only · Not financial advice

Each strategy page identifies its factor groups and weights, scoring direction, investable universe, latest data date, benchmark, current holdings, rebalance schedule, trading-cost assumptions, and backtest limitations.

The Ranking Systems

  1. 01

    Quality Stocks

    High quality stocks ranked by profitability, margins, free cash flow quality, durability, solvency, and accounting quality.

    Annualized Return
    14.59%
    Sharpe Ratio
    0.82
    Max Drawdown
    -47.06%
    Alpha
    3.11%
    Ranking composition
    Profitability25%Margins15%FCF Quality20%Durability15%Solvency15%Accounting10%
    Backtested growthModelS&P 500 (SPY:USA)
    Period
    2006-01-01 - 2026-07-13
    Benchmark
    S&P 500
    Universe
    NA & Europe
    Number of Positions
    500
    Rebalance Frequency
    Every 4 Weeks
    Annual Turnover
    15.15%
    Overall Winners
    50.33%
    Correlation to S&P 500
    0.95
  2. 02

    Undervalued Stocks

    Undervalued stocks from the NA & Europe universe, ranked with a multi-measure value system and quality controls.

    Annualized Return
    10.44%
    Sharpe Ratio
    0.58
    Max Drawdown
    -49.73%
    Alpha
    1.84%
    Ranking composition
    Valuation50%Quality20%Earnings Quality15%Financial Strength10%Conservative Investment5%
    Backtested growthModelRussell 1000 Value (IWD:USA)
    Period
    2006-01-01 - 2026-07-13
    Benchmark
    Russell 1000 Value
    Universe
    NA & Europe
    Number of Positions
    500
    Rebalance Frequency
    Every 26 Weeks
    Annual Turnover
    15.24%
    Overall Winners
    57.97%
    Correlation to Benchmark
    0.92
  3. 03

    Dividend Stocks

    Dividend stocks ranked by payout yield, payout sustainability, dividend growth, quality, balance-sheet safety, risk control, and reasonable valuation.

    Annualized Return
    10.59%
    Sharpe Ratio
    0.74
    Max Drawdown
    -41.44%
    Alpha
    4.32%
    Ranking composition
    Dividend35%Quality25%Safety20%Risk12%Valuation8%
    Backtested growthModelDividend Stocks (DVY:USA)
    Period
    2006-01-01 - 2026-07-13
    Benchmark
    Dividend Stocks
    Universe
    NA & Europe
    Number of Positions
    100
    Rebalance Frequency
    Every 52 Weeks
    Annual Turnover
    24.32%
    Overall Winners
    59.01%
    Correlation to Benchmark
    0.78
  4. 04

    Defensive Stocks

    Defensive stocks ranked by low volatility, low beta, intermediate momentum, durable profitability, balance sheet resilience, conservative valuation and payout, and restrained asset growth from the NA & Europe universe.

    Annualized Return
    10.88%
    Sharpe Ratio
    0.74
    Max Drawdown
    -40.76%
    Alpha
    1.24%
    Ranking composition
    Defensive Risk Profile35%Business Quality25%Balance Sheet Resilience20%Conservative Value & Payout15%Conservative Investment5%
    Backtested growthModelMSCI Minimum Volatility (USMV:USA)
    Period
    2006-01-01 - 2026-07-13
    Benchmark
    MSCI Minimum Volatility
    Universe
    NA & Europe
    Number of Positions
    100
    Rebalance Frequency
    Every 4 Weeks
    Annual Turnover
    12.47%
    Overall Winners
    65.48%
    Correlation to Benchmark
    0.95
  5. 05

    Momentum Stocks

    Momentum stocks ranked by total return momentum, relative momentum, trend confirmation, and risk-adjusted momentum from the NA & Europe universe.

    Annualized Return
    20.24%
    Sharpe Ratio
    0.81
    Max Drawdown
    -64.80%
    Alpha
    11.11%
    Ranking composition
    Total Return Momentum45%Relative Momentum25%Trend Confirmation20%Risk Adjusted Momentum10%
    Backtested growthModelMSCI Momentum (MTUM:USA)
    Period
    2006-01-01 - 2026-07-13
    Benchmark
    MSCI Momentum
    Universe
    NA & Europe
    Number of Positions
    25
    Rebalance Frequency
    Every 4 Weeks
    Annual Turnover
    192.77%
    Overall Winners
    41.10%
    Correlation to Benchmark
    0.57
  6. Premium
    06

    Conviction 10

    A concentrated 10-stock strategy from the NA & Europe universe, ranked across quality, value, growth, momentum, and sentiment.

    Annualized Return
    19.75%
    Sharpe Ratio
    0.77
    Max Drawdown
    -56.14%
    Alpha
    9.80%
    Ranking composition
    Quality20%Value20%Growth20%Momentum20%Sentiment20%
    Backtested growthModelS&P 500 (SPY:USA)
    Period
    2006-01-01 - 2026-06-26
    Benchmark
    S&P 500
    Universe
    NA & Europe
    Number of Positions
    10
    Rebalance Frequency
    Every Week
    Annual Turnover
    812.20%
    Overall Winners
    53.62%
    Correlation to S&P 500
    0.61

Methodology

01

How Rankings Work

A stock ranking system scores every company in a defined universe, then orders the list from strongest to weakest. Instead of asking whether a stock passes one rigid rule, the ranking weighs several signals at once: valuation, quality, balance sheet strength, growth, risk, and other traits that matter for the strategy.

That makes rankings more useful than simple screeners for many idea-generation workflows. A screener can exclude a good company because one metric barely misses a cutoff, or include a weak company because it passes a single cheapness test. A stock ranking system keeps the trade-offs visible and pushes the best overall combinations to the top.

Screeners
Binary pass/fail filters. Useful for narrowing a universe, but sensitive to arbitrary cutoffs.
Rankings
Relative scoring across many factors. Better for prioritizing which names deserve research first.
Backtested systems
Rankings paired with a universe, buy/sell rules, costs, and rebalance assumptions for testing.
02

Reading Backtests

A ranking on its own only tells you the order of stocks today. To show whether that order has actually been useful, each backtested screener is paired with an example simulated strategy that buys its top-ranked names, rebalances on a fixed schedule, and runs across roughly two decades of history.

The resulting performance is a reference, not a live track record or portfolio to copy. Each strategy page identifies the test period, universe, benchmark, rebalance rules, costs, and data safeguards behind its numbers.

A worked example
A simulated strategy holds the top-ranked names and rebalances them on a fixed schedule.
A performance reference
The equity curve shows how the ranking has behaved over time, so you can judge whether it held up.
Fully transparent
Each page lists the exact universe, buy/sell rules, costs, and rebalance assumptions.
03

Choosing the Universe

A universe is the defined set of stocks a ranking is allowed to score. Different strategies can use different universes depending on what they are trying to capture. The current public rankings use a liquid North American and Atlantic-market universe so the models compare tradeable stocks on cleaner terms.

Universes are shaped as much by what they exclude as by what they include. It is common to leave out groups whose financial statements do not translate cleanly into the ranking's metrics, for example early-stage biotech or certain financial stocks. Narrowing the universe this way keeps the score comparing like with like.

04

Limits & Caveats

A score is relative to the other stocks in that strategy's universe at the stated data date. A score of 90 does not mean 90% upside, a 90% chance of success, or that the company is suitable for every portfolio. Scores can move when company data or the comparison universe changes.

Backtests remain vulnerable to factor cycles, model-selection effects, data revisions, and differences between simulated and live execution. Spreads, slippage, liquidity, taxes, turnover, and investor behavior can materially reduce realized results. Treat the ranking as a research queue, then verify the company and its risks independently.

Backtested returns are hypothetical and do not guarantee future performance

Stock Rankings FAQ

What is a stock ranking system?

A stock ranking system scores every company in a defined universe and sorts the list from strongest to weakest, blending signals like profitability, cash flow quality, balance sheet strength, and risk.

How are stock rankings different from stock screeners?

A stock screener filters companies with binary rules, while a ranking system compares the survivors against each other. Useful when several imperfect but relevant factors must be weighed together.

Are these stock rankings stocks to buy?

No. These rankings are research shortlists, not personal recommendations. Use them to decide what deserves deeper due diligence, valuation work, risk review, and position-sizing decisions.

Why include backtested stock strategies?

A backtest shows how a ranking behaved under stated historical assumptions. Each strategy page publishes its test period, universe, benchmark, rebalance schedule, and trading-cost assumptions. No backtest is a live track record.

How often are the rankings updated?

The ranking pages are designed to refresh regularly. Each strategy page shows an as-of date for the latest ranking table, holdings, and performance data.

Why do different rankings use different universes?

Different strategies need different starting pools. Quality Stocks, Undervalued Stocks, Dividend Stocks, Defensive Stocks, and Momentum Stocks use liquid North American and Atlantic-market universes so the models compare cleaner, more tradeable data.

Which ranking should I start with?

Start with Quality Stocks for business strength, Undervalued Stocks for value, Dividend Stocks for income with safety checks, Defensive Stocks for lower-volatility resilience, or Momentum Stocks for trend and relative-strength research.

Keep exploring

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Investing BooksBooks behind value investing, quality investing, moats, and market behavior.
Live AnalyticsSee what users are clicking, searching, and voting for across the site.
Research ToolsFind screeners, data platforms, portfolio trackers, and research tools.

Feedback

Spot something confusing, stale, or worth improving? Send feedback on the ranking, strategy assumptions, holdings table, or explanation.

Research & Backtest Disclaimer

These rankings are research shortlists, not investment advice, personalized recommendations, or offers to buy or sell securities. They do not account for your objectives, risk tolerance, taxes, time horizon, portfolio, or personal financial situation.

Backtests and simulations are historical models, not live results or guarantees of future performance. Data, assumptions, transaction costs, liquidity, turnover, taxes, and implementation can materially change actual outcomes. Verify current company data and do your own due diligence before making any investment decision.