· Signal Validation Lab v4.2.0
Disclaimer — Research cohort analysis — hypothetical illustration, not investment advice, not performance advertising. Classifications, not recommendations.

A Fama–French-style decile-cohort event study: does YUCLAW's composite signal score carry forward information about subsequent realized returns? Cohorts are grouped by score decile or signal label and tracked as equal-weighted research cohorts. Derived statistics only — no raw prices. This is an event study, not portfolio management.

Panel 1 · Forward (Out-of-Sample)LOOK-AHEAD-FREE
is_backfill = false · Day 0 = 2026-05-18 · the honest panel
⚠ Early forward period — 16 trading days. Not yet statistically meaningful.

Forward Day 0 = 2026-05-18; signals 2026-05-20 → 2026-06-11. A 16-trading-day out-of-sample window is far too short for any statistical inference — this is a directional illustration shown for transparency as the forward record accrues, not evidence of skill.

0%-2.3%+9.1%Top decile +6.3%Bottom decile -0.7%SPY +0.4%
CohortCumulative returnMax drawdownVolatility (periodic)Hit-rate vs SPYn (min/med/max)
Top-decile cohort (by composite score) ⚠ thin+6.27%-3.83%2.21%40%1/8/8
Bottom-decile cohort (by composite score) ⚠ thin-0.66%-6.50%1.24%40%1/8/8
SPY benchmark (broad-market reference)+0.39%-4.49%1.03%
Top-minus-bottom cohort spread (research spread statistic — not a position, not tradeable)
cumulative +6.74% · max drawdown -3.48%
0%-6.8%+7.6%Top−Bottom spread +6.7%
Panel 2 · In-Sample ReplayPARAMETRIC LOOK-AHEAD
is_backfill = true · 13 rebalances · 80 trading days · signals 2026-02-18 → 2026-05-13

⚠ The evidence-extraction model's training cutoff overlaps this window — in-sample results carry an unavoidable parametric look-ahead bias and are systematically optimistic. A replay, not a forecast.

Decile cohorts vs SPY (primary, robust ~8-name cohorts)
0%-4.5%+19.8%Top decile +19.8%Bottom decile +8.5%SPY +7.5%
CohortCumulative returnMax drawdownVolatility (periodic)Hit-rate vs SPYn (min/med/max)
Top-decile cohort (by composite score)+19.79%-3.34%2.40%62%8/8/8
Bottom-decile cohort (by composite score)+8.50%-6.09%3.51%54%8/8/8
SPY benchmark (broad-market reference)+7.50%-5.47%1.87%
Top-minus-bottom cohort spread (research spread statistic — not a position, not tradeable)
cumulative +8.41% · max drawdown -12.84%
0%-2.0%+16.4%Top−Bottom spread +8.4%
Label cohorts vs SPY (secondary — small, variable membership; illustrative only)
0%-4.5%+81.2%Bullish-labeled +70.4%Cautious-labeled +17.4%SPY +7.5%
CohortCumulative returnMax drawdownVolatility (periodic)Hit-rate vs SPYn (min/med/max)
Bullish-labeled cohort (STRONG_BULLISH + BULLISH) ⚠ thin+70.44%-5.92%8.28%46%1/3/10
Cautious-labeled cohort (WEAKENING / NEGATIVE_EVENT / BEARISH_WATCH / RISK_ALERT)+17.43%-5.36%3.11%77%4/12/26
SPY benchmark (broad-market reference)+7.50%-5.47%1.87%

⚠ Label cohorts can be as small as a single name on some dates (see n column); small-n figures are statistically noisy and shown for illustration only. The decile cohorts above are the robust comparison.

Methodology summary

Equal-weighted cohorts, rebalanced at each signal date, ranked by composite total_score; top/bottom decile (~10%). Returns are close-to-close from internal price_history (derived statistics only — raw prices never shown). Benchmark: SPY. Two panels (forward OOS, in-sample replay) are never blended. Annualized figures are intentionally omitted — annualizing a ~3-month window is misleading; cumulative return over N trading days is shown instead. Full methodology, including the in-sample look-ahead disclosure and the forward-window data limitation, is in methodology/validation_lab.md.

Disclaimer — Hypothetical research illustration. Not investment advice, not performance advertising, not an offer of any product. Research classifications, not recommendations. Past results — in-sample or forward-tracked — do not predict future performance.