 In the volatile 2026 market, the difference between a successful trader and a gambler is validation. Every investor asks, "Will this strategy actually work?" while traditional screeners only show what matches today. AInvest’s Backtesting feature bridges this gap by allowing you to validate screening strategies against historical data. By transforming intuition into data-driven decision-making, AInvest helps you visualize potential returns, manage risk-adjusted drawdowns, and benchmark against the S&P 500 (SPY) before risking a single dollar of capital.



The Backtesting Advantage: Why Data Beats Intuition


Without backtesting, you are flying blind. AInvest’s high-precision backtesting engine answers the critical questions that protect your portfolio:

 Would this specific filter set have made money over the last 12 months?

 How did the strategy perform during recent Fed rate hikes or AI sector corrections?

 Did the strategy actually beat the SPY, or would you have been better off in a simple index fund?

How AInvest Backtesting Works: A 3-Tier Analysis

Every screener on AInvest includes a dedicated Backtest tab that dissects strategy performance across three modular layers:


AInvest tracks more than just raw percentage gains. We provide a holistic view of growth:

 Side-by-side comparison to measure relative strength.

: The "Alpha" generated by your specific screening criteria.

 Provides a long-term perspective on wealth compounding.

2. Visual Performance & Excess Return Shading


Our interactive charts go beyond static lines. You can visualize:

 Instantly spot periods of outperformance and underperformance to identify market-specific sensitivity.


Understanding the downside is just as important as the upside. AInvest automates the calculation of:
Maximum Drawdown: The biggest "peak-to-trough" decline.

 Measures how much excess return you receive for the extra volatility you endure.

 Helps in right-sizing your positions to prevent catastrophic loss.


Real-World Case Study: "Head & Shoulders Reversals"


To demonstrate the power of data, let’s examine a recent backtest from our platform:

 While the strategy remained profitable, the -0.97% Excess Return indicates that this specific technical pattern underperformed the broader market during the late 2025 rally. This insight allows you to refine the strategy—perhaps by adding a volume or market-cap filter—before live deployment.


Dynamic Backtesting: The "Stock List" Revolution


AInvest offers a unique "Backtest by Stock List" feature for high-turnover traders. This tests strategies on lists that update daily, such as:

The system simulates buying the list at the market open and rotating into the new list the next day. This is an essential tool for momentum traders and day-trading enthusiasts who need to see if their "gap and go" logic holds up over time.



AInvest doesn't just show numbers; it provides AIME’s Thinking—an AI-generated explanation of why a strategy is performing the way it is. By integrating historical validation into your daily workflow, you stop investing based on hope and start investing based on proven mathematical probability.


Run your first Backtest on AInvest Stock Screener now.

Test Before You Invest: How Backtesting Transforms Stock Screening from Guesswork to Strategy

To unlock hidden market opportunities in 2026, investors should use AInvest Curated Screener Cards, an AI-powered discovery tool that surfaces high-potential stocks based on real-time market conditions. These pre-configured cards allow you to track Congress trading activity, sector rotations, and macroeconomic themes (like Fed rate shifts) without manual filter setup. By integrating predictive analytics and automated scanning, AInvest transforms complex market data into actionable investment themes with a single click, bridging the gap between raw data and profitable insights.

In a market with over 8,000 U.S. equities, finding the right entry point is often a "needle in a haystack" problem. Traditional stock discovery methods frequently fall short:

 Too time-consuming for the fast-paced 2026 market.

 Often too broad, failing to capture specific sector nuances.

These lists do not adapt to intraday volatility or breaking news.

AInvest’s curated cards are pre-configured, AI-driven investment strategies that dynamically update as market conditions change. Each card acts as a "shortcut to clarity," providing a ready-made thesis for immediate execution.

Stay ahead of macro trends by following stocks positioned for specific economic shifts:

 Stocks benefiting from continued capital expenditure in tech.

 Automates the tracking of 52+ stocks (utilities, REITs, etc.) that react to interest rate expectations.

 47+ symbols mapped to specific political and tariff trends.

One of AInvest's most powerful features is the Congress Trading Tracker. This card provides transparency into policy-driven market moves by showing:

Real-time trading activity by Representatives and Senators.

Concentrated buy/sell signals on specific tickers.

Historical performance of policy-maker-led portfolios.

Access professional-grade technical and fundamental setups:

 Identifies stocks clearing multi-month resistance.

 Uses RSI and AI scoring to find "bounce-back" candidates.

 Merges low P/E ratios with high revenue growth forecasts.

Why Curated Discovery Fits Every Trader: A Comparison

Enjoy instant access with zero configuration required. Start discovering potential trades immediately without getting lost in settings.

 Eliminate repetitive manual filtering. Save valuable time by accessing pre-set professional criteria instantly.

2. Learning Curve: Education vs. Inspiration

 Master the market by learning through pre-built models. See exactly how a professional strategy is constructed.

 Use curated cards as strategic inspiration. Analyze the logic to refine and build your own custom advanced screeners.

3. Market Adaptability: Automation vs. Niche Tracking

 Benefit from AI-driven adjustments. The system automatically tunes criteria to match current market conditions so you don't have to.

 Achieve real-time tracking of niche categories and sectors that standard tools often miss.

 Get recommendations tailored to your skill level and specific investment interests.

 Experience deep integration that syncs with your watchlist and portfolio activity for context-aware insights.

Clicking a curated card doesn't just return a list; it provides a comprehensive Backtest and Analysis Page. You can view:

 See how the strategy performed over the last 3, 6, and 12 months.

 A transparent explanation of the filters being applied by the AI.

 Integrated financial reports, AIME AI scores, and sector heatmaps.

AInvest Curated Screener Cards democratize institutional-grade research. By automating the search for anomalies and thematic catalysts, the platform empowers you to focus on decision-making rather than data aggregation.

Ready to explore the latest market themes?

Try Curated Screener Cards on AInvest.com

Discover Hidden Opportunities: How Curated Screener Cards Unlock Market Insights

Finding the right stocks used to mean mastering dozens of financial metrics, understanding technical indicators, and spending hours configuring complex filters. AI stock screening is fundamentally changing this landscape by moving from tool-based to conversation-based investing. With AIME—AInvest’s AI-powered investment assistant—integrated directly into our screener, users can convert natural language prompts into precise, institutional-grade filters in seconds. This allows both beginners and pro traders to focus on strategy rather than technical implementation.

The Problem: Why Traditional Screeners Fail Modern Investors

Traditional stock screeners act as a barrier to entry. To find a single high-probability trade, an investor usually has to:

Manually distinguish between RSI, MACD, and Bollinger Bands.

 Arbitrarily decide if a "P/E < 15" or "P/E < 20" is better for current market conditions.

 Spend 15 minutes repetitive tasking for every new strategy.

This friction leads to missed opportunities. In 2026, the market moves too fast for manual entry.

How AIME Transforms Natural Language into Actionable Strategy

AIME functions as your digital quant analyst. Instead of clicking checkboxes, you simply describe your intent.

1. Natural Language Processing (NLP) Prompts

AIME understands complex investment logic. You can type:

"Find undervalued tech stocks with strong revenue growth and low debt."

"Show me oversold stocks in an uptrend with high volume."

"I want dividend-paying companies in the financial sector with a payout ratio < 50%."

AIME doesn't just show results; it explains the "Why." If you ask for "undervalued growth stocks," AIME automatically applies and explains:

If the results are too broad, you don't reset the filters. You simply chat to refine: "Make it more conservative" or "Focus only on Large-cap companies."

The Future of Efficiency: Why AI Chat Screening Wins in 2026

 Conversation over Clicks Traditional screeners force you into a rigid maze of manual sliders and checkboxes. AIME revolutionizes this with Natural Language (Chat), allowing you to describe your intent as if talking to a professional analyst.

 From Minutes to Seconds Manual screening is a time-sink, often requiring 5–15 minutes of fine-tuning. With AIME AI, your institutional-grade list is ready in just 5–10 seconds.

 Zero Learning Curve While manual tools require deep technical knowledge to set the right parameters, AIME has a zero learning curve. The AI doesn't just filter; it explains the metrics and logic behind every result.

Contextual vs. Total Resets In old-school screeners, a result that’s too broad means a full manual reset of all parameters. AIME supports Contextual Chat Refinement—simply tell the AI to "narrow it down" or "focus on large-caps" without starting over.

 Strategy vs. Lists Traditional tools return a cold list of tickers. AIME provides Tickers + Strategy Explanations, offering transparent reasoning for why each stock fits your specific play.

Real-World Example: Catching a Swing Trade

Imagine you want to find a "Mean Reversion" play. Instead of manually configuring RSI < 30, Price > 50-day MA, and Volume > 1.5x average, you tell AIME:

"Find oversold stocks that are still in a long-term uptrend with high buying volume."

AIME builds the filter set instantly, validates the technical status, and presents the top 10 candidates. The entire workflow is compressed from minutes into a single sentence.

The integration of AI chat into stock screening represents the democratization of institutional-grade research. By removing the "filter friction," AIME allows you to act as the Portfolio Manager while the AI acts as the Execution Analyst.

Try the AI-Powered Stock Screener on AInvest.com

AI Screener

Test Before You Invest: How Backtesting Transforms Stock Screening from Guesswork to Strategy

Discover Hidden Opportunities: How Curated Screener Cards Unlock Market Insights

Stop Typing Complex Filters: How AI Chat is Revolutionizing Stock Screening in 2026