February 2026: +8.66%, European sectors and energies carried; broad participation
Published retrospectively: this report and the others for November 2025 to April 2026 were first published together on 9 and 10 May 2026, after the months they cover.
Live, real-capital, fully systematic. Live track record → · Methodology →
The numbers
| This month | YTD | Since inception | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return | +8.66% | +13.79% | +11.20% |
| Sharpe (ann.) | +3.31 | +3.14 | +1.62 |
| Max drawdown (in window) | −5.36% | −5.79% | −5.79% |
| Hit rate (daily) | 66.7% | 60.9% | 55.3% |
| Drawdown state at MTD | −0.3% from peak |
What drove it
Top contributors
- GASOILINE — +2.09% (energies). The largest contributor; gasoline ran with the broader energy bid for most of the month.
- EU-MEDIA — +1.47% (equity sectors). European media sector long worked alongside the rest of the European exposure.
- EU-UTILS — +1.07% (equity sectors). Utilities sector continued the trend it began contributing to in January.
- IBEX — +0.94% (equity index). Spanish index long — the third European exposure in the top five.
- BUXL — +0.89% (rates). Long German long-end rates added a non-equity, non-energy contribution.
Worst contributors
- DOW — −0.49% (equity index). Largest detractor; only US equity-index position in negative territory while European indexes worked.
- PLN — −0.41% (FX). Second consecutive month PLN appears in the worst-five list.
- US2 — −0.33% (rates). Two-year US rates short against a moderately bid front-end.
- MILLWHEAT — −0.19% (ags). Small ag drag without a clean narrative.
- SOFR — −0.18% (rates). Front-end US rates exposure on the wrong side of a slightly hawkish tape.
Asset class attribution: European exposures dominated — three of the top five (EU-MEDIA, EU-UTILS, IBEX) came from European sectors and indexes. Energies (GASOILINE) and rates (BUXL) rounded out the top five. The losses were small and scattered across four asset classes; no single drag exceeded 0.5%, and the worst contributor (DOW) was less than a quarter of the size of the best (GASOILINE). 37 instruments produced non-zero contribution this month.
How the rules performed
Rule-family attribution is not yet available for February — daily_attribution.rule_contributions was empty for the days in this window. This section will become quantitative once the persistence pipeline has accumulated a full month of data.
What changed
No methodology or operational changes this month.
Current positioning
- Annualised portfolio risk: —
- Margin usage: —
Looking forward
February finished −0.3% from peak — effectively at high-water for the first time since November. The December–January drawdown was fully recovered; YTD stands at +13.79% with a +3.14 daily Sharpe, both flattered by two consecutive strong months. The inception-to-date Sharpe of +1.62 is the right reference. Hit rate jumped to 66.7%, the highest in the captured window, and broad participation (37 instruments) is healthier than concentrated single-sleeve dominance. The European tilt was load-bearing; an unwind of European positioning in March would be the cleanest test of whether February was regime or rotation.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. Returns are calculated from broker-reported account values, so they reflect execution prices and any commissions, fees, financing charges, interest and currency effects included in those values. Cost breakdowns shown separately are estimates. These returns do not deduct advisory fees that would apply to a client account. The account shown is the operator's own (proprietary) capital. Full methodology and disclaimers on the live dashboard.
Plaintape LLC is registered with the CFTC as a Commodity Trading Advisor (NFA ID 0580378) and its NFA membership application is pending. The firm is not yet accepting client accounts. Registration does not imply that the CFTC or NFA has approved or endorsed the firm, its trading program, or the material on this site. Registration-status note added 2026-08-09; it describes the firm's status today, not its status during the period reported above.