Multi-Symbol Strategies

Most strategies start with a single symbol, but Arconomy's strategy builder lets you trade across multiple symbols within a single strategy. This is essential for portfolio-level trading, pairs trading, sector rotation, and diversification. This page explains how to add symbols, manage shared versus symbol-specific rules, and walks through building a multi-symbol strategy from scratch.

Why Trade Multiple Symbols?

Trading a single symbol concentrates all your risk in one instrument. Multi-symbol strategies address this by:

• Diversifying risk -- Spreading exposure across uncorrelated instruments reduces the impact of any single adverse move
• Increasing opportunity -- More symbols mean more potential trade setups, improving capital efficiency
• Enabling relative strategies -- Some strategies compare performance between instruments (e.g., pairs trading, momentum ranking) and require multiple symbols by design
• Portfolio-level backtesting -- You can see how your strategy performs across an entire portfolio, including the effects of capital allocation and concurrent positions

Adding Symbols to a Strategy

To add symbols to your strategy:

1. Open the Strategy Settings panel by clicking the gear icon in the canvas toolbar or pressing Cmd/Ctrl + ,.
2. Navigate to the Symbols tab.
3. Click + Add Symbol and type the symbol name or search by instrument name. You can search by ticker (e.g., "AAPL"), full name (e.g., "Apple Inc"), or ISIN.
4. Select the symbol from the search results. It will appear in your symbol list.
5. Repeat for each additional symbol you want to include.

You can add up to 50 symbols per strategy on the Professional plan and up to 10 symbols on the Standard plan. Each symbol uses the same timeframe as the strategy's primary timeframe, though individual rules can reference alternative timeframes.

Removing Symbols

To remove a symbol, hover over it in the symbol list and click the X button. If any symbol-specific rules reference that symbol, you will be prompted to confirm the deletion -- those rules will be removed along with the symbol.

Shared Rules vs. Symbol-Specific Rules

When working with multiple symbols, each rule on the canvas can operate in one of two modes:

Shared Rules

A shared rule applies the same logic to every symbol in the strategy. This is the default mode. When you add a Moving Average Crossover entry rule as a shared rule, it evaluates the same crossover condition on each symbol independently -- if AAPL crosses above its 50 EMA and MSFT has not, only AAPL generates an entry signal.

Shared rules are indicated by a globe icon on the node card. Most rules should be shared, as they provide consistent logic across all symbols.

Symbol-Specific Rules

A symbol-specific rule applies only to one designated symbol. This is useful when you need different logic or parameters for different instruments. For example, you might want a tighter stop loss on a volatile stock and a wider stop on a stable ETF.

To make a rule symbol-specific:

1. Select the rule node on the canvas.
2. In the configuration panel, find the Symbol Scope dropdown at the top.
3. Change it from All Symbols to a specific symbol.

Symbol-specific rules are indicated by a pin icon and the symbol ticker on the node card.

Mixing Shared and Symbol-Specific Rules

You can freely mix both types on the same canvas. A common pattern is to use shared entry and exit rules (so every symbol uses the same logic) but symbol-specific risk rules (so each instrument has tailored position sizing or stop distances). For example:

Shared:   RSI Entry (period=14, oversold=30)       -- applies to all symbols
Shared:   MACD Exit (signal crossover)             -- applies to all symbols
Shared:   Trend Filter (200 EMA)                   -- applies to all symbols
Specific: Stop Loss for AAPL (2x ATR)              -- only AAPL
Specific: Stop Loss for TSLA (3x ATR)              -- only TSLA (higher volatility)
Shared:   Position Size (1% risk per trade)         -- applies to all symbols

Common Use Cases

Portfolio Momentum Strategy

Trade a basket of stocks using the same momentum-based entry and exit rules. Each symbol is evaluated independently, and risk rules control overall portfolio exposure. This is the most common multi-symbol approach -- you define the logic once and let it run across all your instruments.

Sector Rotation

Add ETFs representing different sectors (e.g., XLK for technology, XLF for financials, XLE for energy). Use relative strength or momentum ranking rules to rotate into the strongest sectors and out of the weakest. Filter rules can restrict the maximum number of sectors held at any time.

Pairs Trading

Add two correlated symbols and use spread-based rules to detect when the price ratio deviates from its historical mean. Entry rules trigger when the spread widens beyond a threshold, and exit rules trigger when it reverts. Symbol-specific rules control the long and short legs of the pair.

Index Diversification

Import all constituents of an index (e.g., ASX 50) and apply the same strategy to each. Risk rules limit the total number of concurrent positions and cap exposure to any single instrument. This tests how your strategy performs as a systematic, diversified portfolio rather than on a single stock.

Walkthrough: Building a Multi-Symbol Strategy

This walkthrough creates a simple multi-symbol momentum strategy that trades three tech stocks using the same entry and exit logic.

Step 1: Create a New Strategy

Click New Strategy from the dashboard. Name it "Tech Momentum Portfolio" and select a 1-day timeframe.

Step 2: Add Symbols

Open Strategy Settings > Symbols and add three symbols: AAPL, MSFT, and GOOGL. Close the settings panel to return to the canvas.

Step 3: Add a Shared Entry Rule

Press A to open the rules library. Search for "Moving Average Crossover" and drag it onto the canvas. Configure it with:

• Fast MA: 20-period EMA
• Slow MA: 50-period EMA
• Direction: Bullish crossover (fast crosses above slow)

Leave the Symbol Scope set to All Symbols. This rule will now evaluate the EMA crossover independently on AAPL, MSFT, and GOOGL.

Step 4: Add a Shared Exit Rule

Add an "RSI Overbought Exit" rule from the library. Configure it with RSI period 14 and overbought threshold 70. Connect the entry rule's output to the exit rule's signal input. Leave the scope as All Symbols.

Step 5: Add a Shared Risk Rule

Add a "Percentage Risk Position Sizing" rule. Set it to risk 1% of account equity per trade with a maximum of 3 concurrent positions. This ensures that even though three symbols can generate signals, the strategy will never hold more than 3 positions at once.

Step 6: Add a Shared Stop Loss

Add a "Trailing Stop" rule. Set the trail distance to 2x ATR(14). Connect it to the risk management rule. This stop applies equally to all symbols.

Step 7: Backtest

Click Run Backtest in the toolbar. Set the date range to the past 2 years. The backtest will evaluate the strategy across all three symbols simultaneously, showing combined portfolio performance and individual per-symbol results.

Capital Allocation Across Symbols

When trading multiple symbols, capital allocation determines how much of your account is available for each instrument. Arconomy supports three allocation modes, configured in Strategy Settings > Capital:

• Equal allocation -- Each symbol receives an equal share of the total capital. With 3 symbols, each can use up to one-third.
• Risk-based allocation -- Capital is allocated based on each symbol's volatility. Lower-volatility instruments receive more capital, higher-volatility instruments less, so that each position contributes roughly equal risk.
• Custom allocation -- You specify the exact percentage or dollar amount allocated to each symbol.