Does it actually work?
We publish our own strategy audit so you can see what works, what doesn't, and what we won't ship until it's proven. The audit re-runs every Monday from a 30,000+ row database of historical picks with realized returns.
Hold real-money launch
Real-money mirror gated. Score quintile spread is weak; close-to-close returns underperform SPY. Strong intraday alpha (3.7% avg max-run) is being captured by the new exit ladder. Edge needs ≥1pp confirmed on Q5−Q1 + walk-forward validation before flipping live.
Eight gates before real-money launch
Live status — refreshed every 60 seconds from /audit/gate_status.json (cron writes every 15 min). When all 8 are green and the operator signs, real-money mirror flips on automatically.
- Score Q5−Q1 spread ≥ 1pp
- Walk-forward validator built
- Per-spoke alpha attribution
- DINOv2 chart-similarity (Phase 1)
- Conviction × outcome join repaired
- Intraday-exit ladder measured
- Infrastructure trust ≥95%
- Operator reviewed report
What this audit covered
Five independent analyses ran against our scanner:
| Analysis | Source | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative SQL audit | 30,878 rows of outcome_facts | Per-list, per-form, per-quintile alpha vs SPY |
| Strategy + math review | Claude-authored deep review | Critique of scoring math, sizing, regime gates |
| Institutional review | Multi-role (macro/equity/risk/crypto/quant) Claude-authored | What a 7-person desk would change |
| Gap analysis | awesome-ai-in-finance taxonomy | Top-5 highest-leverage gaps to close |
| Chart pattern similarity | DINOv2-small (Meta), 22M params | Embeddings of top 25 picks; nearest-neighbor lookup ready |
Read the full report
Everything's public. Methodology, raw numbers, every finding.
Open full report →Why we publish this
Most newsletters tell you their strategy works without showing the math. Catalyst Edge publishes the math because the audit work itself is the moat — the answer to "should I trust this signal?" is in this file, not a marketing page. When all eight gates are green, the verdict flips to Cleared and the real-money mirror unlocks for Pro subscribers (no upcharge — included in the existing $39/mo tier).
Audit regenerated weekly (Monday 06:00 UTC) from outcome_facts in production Postgres. Source code: audit/01_quant_analysis.py · audit/02_awesome_ai_gap.py · audit/03_aggregate_report.py. Last run: 2026-05-18 10:00 UTC.