White Knuckle (Carter)
White Knuckle (Carter) is a tactical asset allocation strategy reviewed on a monthly cadence. Its hypothetical backtest runs through 2026-07-23. BestFolio supplies the public rule or approach and backtest context; current signals, allocations, and paid interactive data remain restricted to Pro access. The recorded 2021 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical. Users review each scheduled signal and place any resulting trades in their own brokerage. BestFolio does not execute trades or provide personalized investment advice.
- Cadence
- Monthly
- Backtest data through
- 2026-07-23
- History boundary
- The recorded 2021 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical.
- Rule / approach
- 1. Core (50%): inverse-vol weight SPXL, TQQQ, TMF using 20-day volatility 2. Rotation (50%): best 3-month return from EUO, IVOL, UUP, USDU, YCS, SPXL, TQQQ, TMF
- BestFolio supplies
- the public rule or approach and backtest context; current signals, allocations, and paid interactive data remain restricted to Pro access
- Customer action
- Review each scheduled signal and place any required trades in your own brokerage; BestFolio does not execute orders.
- Costs and exclusions
- net of a modeled one-way transaction cost (10 bps, scaled up to 3x under stress); taxes, fund-expense drift, or market impact are not modeled
- Freshness
- The latest available backtest ends 2026-07-23. A run timestamp is not exposed here, so no stronger freshness claim is made.
- Next expected action
- First trading day of August; scheduled 2026-08-03 at 09:30 ET. Review the published signal before placing any trade.
White Knuckle (Carter) at a glance
White Knuckle (Carter) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy by David Alan Carter across Leveraged US Equity, Leveraged Nasdaq, Leveraged Long Treasuries, Currency Hedges, rebalanced monthly. Backtested 2019-09-30 to 2026-07-23 (6.8 years): 17.0% CAGR, 0.64 Sharpe, -46.3% max drawdown, 38.5% volatility.
- Type
- Tactical (TAA)
- Author
- David Alan Carter
- Rebalancing
- Monthly
- Risk
- Moderate
- Period
- 2019-09-30 to 2026-07-23
- CAGR
- 17.0%
- Sharpe
- 0.64
- Max Drawdown
- -46.3%
- Volatility
- 38.5%
White Knuckle (Carter) — Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy
Carter's White Knuckle strategy splits 50/50: a core sleeve (inverse-vol weighted among SPXL, TQQQ, TMF) and a rotation sleeve (best 3-month return from 8 candidates including hedge assets like EUO, IVOL, UUP).
White Knuckle (Carter): frequently asked questions
- What is White Knuckle (Carter)?
- Leveraged dual-engine portfolio: 50% inverse-volatility risk parity across 3x ETFs (SPXL/TQQQ/TMF) plus 50% momentum rotation among 8 hedge candidates. High-conviction leveraged approach. Monthly rebalancing.
- Who created the White Knuckle (Carter) strategy?
- White Knuckle (Carter) was developed by David Alan Carter. It is based on Carter, D.A. White Knuckle.
- What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of White Knuckle (Carter)?
- Backtested from 2019-09-30 to 2026-07-23, White Knuckle (Carter) returned 17.0% CAGR with a -46.3% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 0.64. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
- How often is White Knuckle (Carter) rebalanced?
- White Knuckle (Carter) is rebalanced monthly. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
- Is White Knuckle (Carter) a tactical asset allocation strategy?
- Yes. White Knuckle (Carter) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy: it adjusts its holdings based on market signals each period rather than holding a fixed allocation.
Backtest Performance (2019-09-30 to 2026-07-23)
| Metric | White Knuckle (Carter) |
|---|---|
| CAGR | 17.0% |
| Max Drawdown | -46.3% |
| Sharpe | 0.64 |
| Sortino | 1.15 |
| Volatility | 38.5% |
| Calmar | 0.37 |
| Total Return | 188.0% |
| Backtest Period | 6.8 years |
Strategy Details
- Type
- Tactical (TAA)
- Rebalancing
- monthly
- Risk Level
- moderate
- Variants
- 1
- Author
- David Alan Carter
- Source
- Carter, D.A. White Knuckle
Asset Classes
- Leveraged US Equity
- Leveraged Nasdaq
- Leveraged Long Treasuries
- Currency Hedges
- Volatility
Categories
Further reading
New to this approach? Read what tactical asset allocation is and how it works.
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