Systems2follow - Traders insights

Monthly review ESST April 2026

Written by Henry Van Ginkel | May 15, 2026 3:16:23 PM

Dear Investor,

After a challenging March with risk reduction and a marked correction, we saw a strong rebound in U.S. equity markets in April. The indices recovered from oversold levels and closed the month with solid gains.

The S&P 500 rose 10.42% and recorded YTD gains of 5.64%.
Our strategy ESST achieved a return of 1.6% in April 2026. As of Jan. 1, 2026 (YTD), the cumulative return is 10.05%.

In the March Monthly Review, I explained in detail how our Exclusive Signals work. As described then, the algorithm uses three independent market indicators. Currently, all three indicators give a clear buy signal.

In addition, the algorithm includes a strict "health measurement" of each individual stock. Only when a stock meets all the criteria does it qualify for inclusion in the portfolio.

In last Friday's weekly scan, this yielded a list of about 80 potential buy candidates. Remarkably, not a single stock met the required health standards. The week before, the picture was identical. This prompted a thorough review of the health module.

Last weekend and the following Monday I therefore worked intensively on optimizing this measurement. Using historical, actually realized data from our strategy as of the end of 2019, I tested and refined the parameters several times. The result is a significantly more robust version of the health measurement. This improvement applies not only to ESST, but to all three systems acted within Systems2Follow. After consulting with Simeon, I implemented the modifications directly in the algorithms.

The ranking of stocks within the algorithm remains unchanged and has proven to be very effective over the years. Numbers 1 and 2 in the ranking historically show a average weekly gain of 1.16%. Number 3 performs average 0.99% per week, while number 4 comes out at 0.77% per week. From number 5 onward, expected performance continues to decline.

The month of May is off to a strong start. We hope this positive momentum can continue in the coming period.