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Can my bots beat the MSCI World?

Three paper-trading bots, five strategies each, $100,000 of virtual money per strategy. No real money, no recommendation: an experiment I let run in public.

MU · best bot +68.0% Mean-Reversion SOL · best bot +5.7% The Thinker GOOGL · best bot +0.2% The Thinker MSCI World -1.6% 8 of 15 strategies ahead

MU · Micron Technology · NASDAQ hours

Since 2026-09-02 · updated 2026-11-01 15:45 UTC

Best strategy beats the MSCI World
$191,042 $59,630
  • Best strategy
  • Buy & hold MU
  • MSCI World
  • Other strategies
StrategyValueReturn
Mean-Reversion$167,992+68.0%
Momentum$100,000+0.0%
The Thinker$83,091-16.9%
The Reader$82,855-17.1%
Trend-Following$78,424-21.6%
Buy & hold MU$126,648+26.6%
MSCI World (URTH)$98,385-1.6%
Trade history · last 25 closed trades
ClosedStrategyBuySellReturnExit
2026-10-31Trend-Following (short) $884.89 $884.27 -0.1% Time-out
2026-10-31The Thinker (short) $884.89 $884.27 -0.1% Time-out
2026-10-30Mean-Reversion (long) $884.27 $872.40 -1.3% Stop-loss
2026-10-30Mean-Reversion (long) $953.65 $884.27 -7.3% Stop-loss
2026-10-29Trend-Following (long) $971.15 $947.42 -2.4% Stop-loss
2026-10-29Mean-Reversion (short) $953.65 $959.34 +0.6% Time-out
2026-10-29The Thinker (short) $953.65 $959.34 +0.6% Time-out
2026-10-28Trend-Following (long) $924.21 $975.53 +5.6% Time-out
2026-10-27Trend-Following (long) $893.93 $924.21 +3.4% Time-out
2026-10-27Mean-Reversion (short) $924.21 $893.93 -3.4% Time-out
2026-10-27The Thinker (long) $893.93 $924.21 +3.4% Time-out
2026-10-23Mean-Reversion (long) $859.30 $888.15 +3.4% Time-out
2026-10-22Mean-Reversion (long) $881.93 $870.67 -1.3% Stop-loss
2026-10-22Trend-Following (short) $894.72 $899.27 +0.5% Time-out
2026-10-22The Thinker (short) $894.72 $899.27 +0.5% Time-out
2026-10-21Mean-Reversion (long) $884.49 $919.29 +3.9% Time-out
2026-10-21Trend-Following (short) $926.54 $888.30 -4.3% Time-out
2026-10-21The Thinker (short) $926.54 $888.30 -4.3% Time-out
2026-10-20Mean-Reversion (short) $884.49 $914.01 +3.2% Time-out
2026-10-17Mean-Reversion (long) $884.00 $878.67 -0.6% Time-out
2026-10-17The Thinker (long) $884.00 $878.67 -0.6% Time-out
2026-10-16Trend-Following (short) $892.79 $904.75 +1.3% Time-out
2026-10-16Mean-Reversion (long) $874.43 $903.59 +3.3% Time-out
2026-10-16The Thinker (long) $874.43 $903.59 +3.3% Time-out
2026-10-15Mean-Reversion (long) $921.39 $874.43 -5.1% Stop-loss

SOL · Solana · 24/7 crypto

Since 2026-09-02 · updated 2026-11-01 15:45 UTC

Best strategy beats the MSCI World
$153,692 $93,594
  • Best strategy
  • Buy & hold SOL
  • MSCI World
  • Other strategies
StrategyValueReturn
The Thinker (long)$105,697+5.7%
The Reader$103,291+3.3%
Momentum (short)$99,699-0.3%
Trend-Following (short)$99,325-0.7%
Mean-Reversion (long)$97,122-2.9%
Buy & hold SOL$115,371+15.4%
MSCI World (URTH)$98,385-1.6%
Trade history · last 25 closed trades
ClosedStrategyBuySellReturnExit
2026-10-30Mean-Reversion (short) $96.65 $100.84 +4.2% Time-out
2026-10-30Momentum (short) $98.06 $99.84 +1.8% Time-out
2026-10-30The Thinker (short) $98.06 $99.84 +1.8% Time-out
2026-10-30Trend-Following (long) $102.37 $93.93 -8.2% Stop-loss
2026-10-28Trend-Following (long) $101.86 $102.13 +0.3% Time-out
2026-10-27Mean-Reversion (long) $101.44 $99.84 -1.6% Time-out
2026-10-26The Thinker (long) $103.70 $100.78 -2.8% Time-out
2026-10-25Trend-Following (long) $104.85 $101.50 -3.2% Time-out
2026-10-24Mean-Reversion (short) $102.02 $106.73 +4.4% Time-out
2026-10-23The Reader (long) $106.69 $104.03 -2.5% Time-out
2026-10-23The Thinker (short) $104.99 $106.10 +1.0% Time-out
2026-10-22Trend-Following (short) $104.29 $104.30 +0.0% Time-out
2026-10-21Mean-Reversion (short) $106.11 $104.71 -1.3% Time-out
2026-10-20The Thinker (short) $104.26 $104.47 +0.2% Time-out
2026-10-20The Reader (short) $104.01 $105.03 +1.0% Time-out
2026-10-19Trend-Following (short) $104.69 $105.63 +0.9% Time-out
2026-10-18Mean-Reversion (long) $101.93 $103.77 +1.8% Time-out
2026-10-17The Thinker (short) $104.47 $106.05 +1.5% Time-out
2026-10-16The Reader (long) $107.72 $104.06 -3.4% Time-out
2026-10-16Trend-Following (short) $105.46 $106.24 +0.7% Time-out
2026-10-14Mean-Reversion (long) $110.34 $104.10 -5.7% Time-out
2026-10-14Momentum (short) $104.07 $110.98 +6.2% Time-out
2026-10-14The Thinker (short) $107.17 $109.78 +2.4% Time-out
2026-10-13The Reader (short) $107.72 $110.39 +2.4% Time-out
2026-10-13Trend-Following (long) $110.09 $108.57 -1.4% Time-out

GOOGL · Alphabet · NASDAQ hours

Since 2026-09-02 · updated 2026-11-01 15:45 UTC

Best strategy beats the MSCI World
$102,515 $71,940
  • Best strategy
  • Buy & hold GOOGL
  • MSCI World
  • Other strategies
StrategyValueReturn
The Thinker$100,201+0.2%
Momentum$100,089+0.1%
The Reader$98,221-1.8%
Mean-Reversion$97,849-2.2%
Trend-Following$96,888-3.1%
Buy & hold GOOGL$73,546-26.5%
MSCI World (URTH)$98,385-1.6%
Trade history · last 25 closed trades
ClosedStrategyBuySellReturnExit
2026-10-31Mean-Reversion (long) $277.88 $279.76 +0.7% Time-out
2026-10-31Trend-Following (short) $279.76 $281.37 +0.6% Time-out
2026-10-31The Thinker (short) $279.76 $281.37 +0.6% Time-out
2026-10-30Trend-Following (short) $281.37 $287.89 +2.3% Time-out
2026-10-30Mean-Reversion (long) $287.89 $281.37 -2.3% Time-out
2026-10-30The Thinker (short) $281.37 $287.89 +2.3% Time-out
2026-10-29Trend-Following (long) $323.80 $287.89 -11.1% Stop-loss
2026-10-28Mean-Reversion (short) $324.15 $319.50 -1.5% Time-out
2026-10-27Trend-Following (short) $320.43 $320.07 -0.1% Time-out
2026-10-27Mean-Reversion (long) $319.46 $318.86 -0.2% Time-out
2026-10-24Mean-Reversion (long) $320.79 $320.27 -0.2% Time-out
2026-10-24Trend-Following (short) $320.27 $322.83 +0.8% Time-out
2026-10-23Mean-Reversion (long) $331.04 $321.35 -2.9% Time-out
2026-10-23The Thinker (long) $330.52 $321.36 -2.8% Time-out
2026-10-22Trend-Following (short) $323.05 $333.53 +3.1% Time-out
2026-10-22Mean-Reversion (long) $332.44 $331.04 -0.4% Time-out
2026-10-21The Thinker (short) $333.06 $341.59 +2.5% Time-out
2026-10-21Mean-Reversion (long) $342.83 $332.44 -3.0% Time-out
2026-10-20Trend-Following (long) $344.74 $339.38 -1.6% Time-out
2026-10-20Mean-Reversion (short) $342.83 $344.18 +0.4% Time-out
2026-10-17Mean-Reversion (long) $344.18 $340.59 -1.0% Time-out
2026-10-16Trend-Following (long) $349.33 $343.31 -1.7% Time-out
2026-10-15Mean-Reversion (long) $350.72 $347.87 -0.8% Time-out
2026-10-15The Thinker (short) $348.48 $357.96 +2.6% Time-out
2026-10-14Trend-Following (long) $354.33 $354.73 +0.1% Time-out

How it works

  • Trend-Following: EMA 9/21/50 crossover, rides strong trends.
  • Mean-Reversion: RSI and Bollinger Bands, fades extremes.
  • Momentum: MACD plus volume, catches breakouts.
  • The Reader: trades on the tone of recent cowlpane articles.
  • The Thinker: detects the market regime (ADX, volume) and picks the best-fitting strategy.

A long trade buys first and sells later; a short trade sells first and buys back later. Every trade ends one of three ways: take-profit (target reached), stop-loss (including the trailing stop) or time-out (the maximum holding time ran out).

Long and short positions with trailing stops, on real market data. Paper trading only: no real money is involved and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything. The page is updated several times a day.