Apex Momentum
Our best ideas, ranked by momentum. Apex Momentum holds the ten strongest names drawn from the combined conviction holdings of Core 20, Tepper Tactical, and Market Masters, rebalanced every quarter. Higher returns, a wilder ride.
All figures are backtested → · benchmark: S&P 500 TR
Growth of $10,000
Data through May 18, 2026•Log scale
Performance
LiveAll three windows use the same data source as the chart. YTD spans the most recent rebalance; the rebalance window is one holdings composition only.
Year by Year Returns
Data through May 18, 2026
Annual returns vs S&P 500 TR. Green beats the benchmark, red trails it.
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Risk and reward
Both reads below are computed from the strategy's realized return history, not from a snapshot of today's holdings. The score only moves when the strategy's real behavior changes.
Over its full record this strategy has been paid for the risk it takes relative to the S&P 500. The last 12 months have run cooler than that record. Right of center means the strategy earned more return per unit of downside than the S&P 500 over the window. The last 12 months marker is a rear view read of the strategy, not a forecast.
In its worst historical year Apex Momentum fell about -15%, and its deepest drawdown was -34.1%.
On the same scale: cash sits near 2, investment grade bonds near 18, a 60/40 mix near 45, and the S&P 500 near 72. Every portfolio we publish is a 100% equity, concentrated book, so each one is aggressive relative to a blended account. Size it to your own tolerance by blending in safer assets.
Rolling 3 year window. Above the dashed line: paid for the risk versus S&P 500. Below: not paid.
Rolling 3 year window on the same 0 to 100 scale. Risk breathes with market regimes; a snapshot score would hide that arc.
Why not just buy the momentum ETF?
Fair question. MTUM is the iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF, the standard way to own momentum as a factor. It ranks the whole large cap universe. Apex Momentum applies a similar discipline to a far smaller universe: the combined conviction holdings of our core models. Same idea, more selective inputs. Here is the head to head since MTUM launched in 2013.
The gap did not come from taking wilder swings. Over this window the deepest drawdowns of all three were within a point of one another. The difference came from the inputs: ranking ten conviction names instead of several hundred index constituents. The risk worth naming: a ten stock book can trail badly when momentum concentrates somewhere our models do not own, and a factor this popular can get crowded.
Growth of $10,000, total return, 2013-04-30 through 2026-05-18, log scale. Apex Momentum is hypothetical backtested performance; MTUM and S&P 500 figures are from public market data over the same window. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Returns by Rebalance Period
How each set of holdings performed in its own window. Different time period than YTD — YTD covers Jan 1 forward and spans rebalances; each row below covers a single holdings composition.
| Period | Dates | Days | Portfolio | S&P 500 TR | Alpha |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current (from Q2 2026)Live | May 18, 2026 → Jul 20, 2026 | 63 | +3.6% | +0.7% | +2.9% |
Q1 2026 | Feb 18, 2026 → May 17, 2026 | 88 | +10.7% | +8.0% | +2.7% |
Q4 2025 | Nov 17, 2025 → Feb 17, 2026 | 92 | -13.4% | +2.9% | -16.3% |
Q3 2025 | Aug 15, 2025 → Nov 16, 2025 | 93 | +6.0% | +4.7% | +1.3% |
Key Characteristics
- •The ten strongest-momentum names from across our core models
- •Rules-based selection, re-ranked and rebalanced every quarter
- •Draws on the same elite institutional conviction holdings as Core 20, Tepper, and Market Masters
- •Built to ride market leadership, not to minimize risk
- •A concentrated growth sleeve, best paired with a diversified core
Rebalance Schedule
Apex Momentum rebalances four times a year, on the 20th to 25th of February, May, August, and November — anchored to the SEC 13F filing cycle so we can act on the latest institutional disclosures. Pro members get the trade list by email the moment we publish.
Apex Momentum vs S&P 500
Sector weights as of 2026-05-04. Posture is one of several lenses we use to read a portfolio — never used in isolation.