Retail Investor5 min read

How a retail investor improved returns 32% using Gilito signals

A self-directed investor replaced manual chart analysis with Gilito's ranked strategy signals, achieving significantly better risk-adjusted returns over 12 months.

+32%

Risk-adjusted improvement

1.2

Sharpe ratio (from 0.4)

-14%

Max drawdown (from -22%)

15 min

Daily analysis time

The challenge

Marcus, a self-directed investor managing a $150K portfolio, was spending 2-3 hours every morning scanning charts and reading analyst opinions. Despite the effort, his stock picks underperformed the S&P 500 for two consecutive years. He lacked a systematic framework for evaluating which technical setups actually worked for each asset, leading to inconsistent entry/exit timing and emotional decision-making during volatile periods.

The solution

Marcus started using Gilito's daily strategy rankings to identify high-conviction signals across his watchlist of 40 stocks and ETFs. Instead of relying on gut feeling, he followed Gilito's top-ranked strategies for each asset, using the portfolio-aware feature to avoid over-concentration. He set up custom alerts for signal changes and regime shifts, allowing him to react quickly without constant screen time. The transparent methodology — showing exactly which strategy combination was generating each signal — gave him the confidence to stick with the system even during drawdowns.

The results

Over 12 months, Marcus's portfolio outperformed his previous approach by 32% on a risk-adjusted basis. His Sharpe ratio improved from 0.4 to 1.2, and his maximum drawdown decreased from 22% to 14%. Morning analysis time dropped from 2-3 hours to 15 minutes.

Gilito gave me a systematic edge I couldn't build on my own. The transparency in methodology means I actually understand why each signal is generated.

Marcus Chen, Retail Investor
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