Investing rules before emotions take over

The platform helps you define investment rules, test them against historical data, and monitor them as market regimes change. Instead of asking what the market might do next, PortfolioLab helps you ask a more useful question:

What do my rules say now?

That question is at the heart of rule-based investing. It creates structure before uncertainty becomes stress — and turns tactical investing into a process you can understand, measure and follow.

Why PortfolioLab exists

The idea behind PortfolioLab started during the market crash of 2020.

Like many investors, I had long-term convictions. But when markets fell quickly and the news became louder, the real challenge was not theory. It was discipline.

What should I do now? Reduce exposure? Stay invested? Re-enter later? Based on what?

That experience made one thing clear: the worst moment to design an investment strategy is when you already need one.

PortfolioLab began as a private tool to solve that problem. A spreadsheet could hold an idea, but it could not continuously monitor the market, update signals, or show clearly what a rule called for today.

So I built the system I wanted to use myself: a platform for turning investment ideas into rules that can be tested, monitored and followed.

What PortfolioLab helps you do

PortfolioLab brings the core elements of a disciplined investment process into one place:

• define your own investment rules
• backtest how they would have behaved historically
• monitor current market data
• receive clear rule signals
• manage tactical allocation decisions with more structure

It is designed for investors who want more than market opinions — but less complexity than building and maintaining their own infrastructure.

Backtesting is often the first aha moment. It makes an idea measurable. It shows not only returns, but also trade-offs, drawdowns and periods where a rule would have been uncomfortable to follow.

Once a rule is live, signals turn that tested logic into a practical routine. Not because any rule can predict the future, but because a clear process is easier to follow than a vague intention.

The philosophy

PortfolioLab is built on a simple belief:

Investors do not need louder forecasts. They need better decision systems.

Markets will always be uncertain. No model removes risk. No backtest guarantees future returns. But rules can help investors create distance from the emotional pressure of the moment.

A good investment rule does not have to be perfect. It has to be explicit, testable and usable when conditions become difficult.

That is especially true in tactical asset allocation, where decisions about exposure, rotation and market regimes can quickly become subjective. PortfolioLab exists to make those decisions more transparent and disciplined — which is what the Fear Index was built to support.

Who is behind PortfolioLab

PortfolioLab is built and operated independently by Alex Williams in Bern, Switzerland.

My background is in engineering. I studied at ETH Zurich and have spent my career working with analytical models, complex systems and decision-making under uncertainty. Today, I work as a management consultant in the insurance industry in Zurich, close to questions of risk, capital and long-term financial decisions.

I built PortfolioLab because I wanted a more disciplined way to invest — one grounded in data, rules and repeatable processes rather than impulse. As someone drawn to quantitative investment strategies, I care about making ideas measurable before trusting them.

PortfolioLab is independent and self-funded. I write the articles, build the platform and answer support myself. That keeps the product focused, the communication direct and the incentives clear.

Formal provider details are available in the Impressum. Direct contact: hello@tacticalinvesting.ch, or support@tacticalinvesting.ch for account questions. Also on LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

The writing

The blog follows the same standard as the platform: transparent, reproducible and grounded in data.

When a chart or backtest appears, it comes from PortfolioLab. If a result is unflattering, it stays in. No invented statistics. No claims that cannot be checked against the tool.

The goal is not to publish market opinions for attention. The goal is to explore tactical investing, rule-based investing and market regimes in a way that helps investors think more clearly.

A clear boundary

PortfolioLab helps you define, test and monitor your own investment rules. It does not provide personalized investment advice, execute trades or act as a robo-advisor.

Every investment decision remains with the user. Legal details are covered in the Terms of Service.