SPY ETF Micro-Rebalancing in Action: Real-World Results & Trade Confirmations
See Micro-Rebalancing Transform Market Volatility into Systematic Gains with S&P 500 ETF and SPY Stock
Skeptical about Micro-Rebalancing's real-world application? This page provides concrete evidence of the system working with SPY—the world's most popular S&P 500 ETF.
Real Results, Not Theory
Watch as we walk through actual SPY stock trades executed using the Micro-Rebalancing system. This isn't hypothetical backtesting or cherry-picked examples—these are authentic trade confirmations matched to our tracking spreadsheet entries. The following is an excerpt fromChapter 7 of the book: The Art of the Micro-Rebalance: The New Financial Frontier
Scroll down past the excerpt for confirmations and spreadsheet entries.
Real-World SPY Results (Excerpt)
Getting the playing field level to make a fair comparison will be somewhat convoluted. First, we will need to establish a cost basis for all of the shares purchased in the MR model, assume the Buy & Hold strategy performed the same sales and sold the entire position to take profit on February 18th, 2022, which would have been great timing and fortunate indeed seeing how and impending crash was only a couple months away.
Something to consider right from the start- MR captured the gains AND will retain its interest in the position to continue profiting. The Buy & Hold investor sells the entire position to receive the earnings.
We must also ignore some of MR’s more subtle advantages, for instance, it uses previously extracted profit to purchase more shares, not necessarily new money added to the position. This is only one of the many “hidden” advantages of MR.
First, we will add up all the major buys and sells performed in the MR account up until February 18th, 2022.
The following are all of the buys and sales made with the intention to change TA for SPY, not regular micro-rebalances.
This initial testing phase began utilizing MR with 100 shares of SPY ETF on September 9th, 2020, and continued until February 18th, 2022, as seen in this example.
However, MR testing on the SPY was ultimately extended to July of 2023 along with many other positions, some of which are available in the appendix or at IndexRebalancing.com. Trade confirmations are also available on the site to verify results further.
Referring to the above data from the spreadsheet tracker, shares purchased and sold are identified in the 7th column marked in the green rectangle. Yellows are buys and orange indicates a sale. The total number of shares purchased comes to 616.
NOTE: Remember, the trades listed above do NOT include the ordinary micro-rebalances that are performed almost daily. The transactions above were only deliberate purchases with the intent of changing the Target Allocation (TA).
The total amount of investment used to purchase the 616 shares was $238,206.78. We can divide $238,206.78 by 616 shares to obtain a cost basis of $386.70 per share.
Now we must factor in the two sales executed on May, 4th, 2021, and July 16th, 2021. The sale on May 4th was for 100 shares that were sold at $413.70, for a gain of $27.00 per share, multiplied by 100 shares we get $2700 profit for that round lot trade for the Buy&Hold strategy (Remember MR has been pulling profits all along while Buy & Hold, up until now, has none). The sale on July 16th was executed at $431.40 for 75 shares of SPY, producing a healthy gain of $44.70 per share. $44.70 multiplied by 75 equals a $3352.50 overall gain for the block of 75 shares. When combined with the previous sale, we created a $6052.50 gain on those 175 shares of SPY for both models, MR and B&H.
However, we still have 441 shares to contend with. On February 18th, 2022, MR executed a normal sale for the amount of $435.38 per share, to finish what appears to have been a down week, yielding -1.42%.
Uncovering this information makes the rest of the B&H calculation easy. 441 shares of SPY multiplied by $435.38 a share is $192,187.80. Subtract the cost basis of $170,534.70 (441 X $386.70 initial cost) and we can see profits on those 441 is $192,187.80-$170.534.70= $21,653.10.
The last calculation to make is to add the $6052.50 profits from the two earlier sales on May 4th and July 16th to $21,653.10, and we get a final real return for the B&H model of $27,703.60.
Buy & Hold returned a total gain of $27,703.60 in our example. They also had to sell all of their shares to do it, no longer maintaining an interest in SPY.
Also, bear in mind this model benefitted greatly from fortunate maneuvers within the position which were meant to enhance MR and would not have been typical of the average B&H strategy unless the investor was active and reading market sentiment well.
MR
|
Metric |
Buy & Hold |
Micro-Rebalancing |
||
|
Profit Extracted |
$27,703 |
$42,233 |
||
|
% Outperformance |
- |
|
||
|
Position Value After |
0 |
$152,000+ |
Micro-Rebalancing boasts a real-world gain of $36,180.93—cash pulled straight from the system through daily, disciplined trades. The Actively Managed Position (AMP) discipline of MR outperformed Buy & Hold by a margin of $8477.33 or 35.59% better.
That’s $36,180.93 locked in by February 2022, beating Buy & Hold’s $27,703.60 by $8,477.33—a 35.59% edge from micro-rebalances alone. That should grab your attention and prove MR’s grip on SPY once you check the numbers. But that’s just the start—keep reading to see how MR stacked up a grand total of $42,233.43.
Here’s the breakdown: that $36k comes from small, relentless moves—buying when SPY dips below my Target Allocation (TA), selling when it climbs above, tracked in the Total Return column (green, far right) of the Spreadsheet Tracker, free at IndexRebalancing.com.
Then there’s more: two big sales—$6,052.50 from May and July 2021—not in that $36k. They were intentionally left out of Total Return to keep patterns clean for future AI simulations.
Those trades? May 4th, 100 shares at $413.70 ($2,700 profit); July 16th, 75 shares at $431.40 ($3,352.50)—total $6,052.50. Add that to $36,180.93, and MR’s Real Return hits $42,233.43—$14,529.83 over B&H, a 52.45% knockout.
Zoom into post-July trades in the tracker; those TA sales are extra firepower. And get this: no partial shares—whole-share triggers still delivered. Imagine tighter moves with fractions.
Trades Following the July 16th, 2021 Sell
The trading profit on the previous 150 shares sold in May and July was $6052.50 if you recall. In the interest of accuracy and full disclosure, we must add those gains to MR returns as well. When the trading profit is added to the already extracted profit of $36,180.93, we get a grand total Real Return for Micro-Rebalancing of $42,233.43.
$14,529.83 higher than B&H’s very respectable return of $27,703.60. MR outperformed B&H by 52.45% over this period.
52.45%!
Non-Partial Trading Account Limitations
It is important to also note these results were achieved in an account that did not allow partial share trading. This means the buy and sell strike triggers could not be controlled as tightly as they could be in an account that offers partial share trading, potentially greatly increasing baseline results.
Market Expertise as a Role
I would be remiss not to acknowledge the fortunate trades in this position. While correctly guessing the market's next move at times is extremely helpful to supercharge returns by moving larger amounts in and out at the right time, it is not necessary by any means. In fact, I would not recommend anyone move large amounts of money in and out of the MR system unless they are or are being advised by a professional or risk letting emotion get in the way of returns, which seldom works out.
At its heart, MR is a risk management system. If you make moves by guessing, you expose yourself to much unnecessary risk. Most likely the more appropriate course of action may be to start slowly amping your TA up or down slightly at first, using smaller amounts. Proper scaling of MR, i.e. using already taken profits to slowly AMP existing positions or begin establishing new positions will be discussed in a later chapter.
Consider the example above with SPY. Consistently applying MR to the account would have yielded almost 36% more gains and enjoyed the advantages of pulling profits out periodically like little self-made dividend payments and you still own the stock to continue compounding.
With TA set at $33,419, both the buy strike and sell strike that were used to trigger micro-rebalances were equivalent to the price of one full share. This is because the brokerage account being used to test MR did not offer partial share trading at the time. Which not only simplifies the method but most likely improves results, possibly greatly. In addition to complicating the execution of the strategy, it creates a detriment to the system, holding MR back from achieving its full potential. Since it is not possible to purchase something like 1 ½ shares, MR could only extract one share and would have to wait until a full two-share value was achieved to pull an additional profit. Likewise, instead of being able to extract a profit equal to 3.25 shares’ value, MR would be forced to take a profit equivalent to 3 shares leaving the remaining .25 shares value on the table, now exposed to the potential risk of the price falling in later session- unless you could achieve the strike trigger in the aftermarket.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION: Utilizing an account that supports partial share trading should improve the following results. However, newer and even more exciting improvements such as 24-hour trading, coupled with automated script bots trading should further enhance the MR results seen here exponentially.
SPY Real-World Performance Results Takeaways
Two other brief but powerful caveats to consider, in addition to beating B&H by over 52%, do not forget that the B&H portfolio no longer enjoys a position in SPY. It had to sell all of the shares to turn the profit into cash.
B&H was also forced to wait to receive any profits until February 2022. Micro-Rebalancing on the other hand, enjoyed taking profits within days of entering the position and still maintains an over $152,000 position in SPY after February 18th.
You understand the concept of a dollar having more value today rather than tomorrow, or you probably wouldn’t be reading this book. The remainder of the results for SPY after February 18th may be found at the end of this chapter and in the appendix.
Final Calculations:
- Total Shares Purchased (MR): 616 shares
- Total Capital Invested: $238,206.78
- Average Cost Per Share (MR): $386.70
- Final SPY Price (at last trade): $435.38
Why Micro-Rebalancing Wins
🚀 MR captures market movement and reinvests intelligently.
Buy & Hold passively waits for price appreciation, while MR actively optimizes share accumulation and reduction based on natural price movement.
🛠️ MR doesn’t require market timing or technical analysis.
Unlike traditional active trading strategies, MR is mathematically driven, not based on “gut feelings” or chart patterns.
💰 MR takes profits without fully exiting the position.
Instead of selling all shares at once (like traditional traders do), MR extracts gains incrementally while keeping exposure. This ensures investors don’t miss out on further upside.
📉 MR reduces risk and smooths out drawdowns.
By accumulating more shares during dips and selling excess shares at peaks, MR automatically adjusts exposure to volatility without emotional decision-making.
Final Thoughts – The Data Speaks for Itself
This isn’t a hypothetical model. This is real-world execution with actual trades, proving MR’s superiority over passive Buy & Hold.
- MR generated over 52% higher profits than simply holding SPY.
- Profits were secured and reinvested, leading to greater long-term compounding.
- Market downturns were leveraged as buying opportunities, not feared.
Buy & Hold is a waiting game. MR is a strategy. The difference is execution—proven in the real-world results that follow.
The question isn’t whether Micro-Rebalancing works— the data proves it does.
The question is: How long are you going to let your money sit idle while the market moves?
Micro-Rebalancing is here. It’s time to use it. 🚀
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The Art of the Micro-Rebalance: The New Financial Frontier
Real-World Results and Proof
Micro-Rebalancing SPY Stock
Trade Confirmation Evidence
Below are the actual trade confirmations demonstrating our mechanical implementation of Micro-Rebalancing with SPY. Note how each trade corresponds exactly to the trigger points dictated by our pre-set deviation percentages—no emotion, no predictions, just disciplined execution.
Matching Spreadsheet Documentation
Every confirmation above matches precisely with our tracking spreadsheet entries. This transparent documentation demonstrates how we:
- Maintained our fixed Target Allocation (TA)
- Executed trades only when deviation triggers were hit
- Systematically bought low and sold high through market fluctuations
- Followed the mechanical rules without emotional override
2021
2022
Why This Matters for Index Investors
Unlike theoretical models, these real-world examples show how Micro-Rebalancing creates a practical framework for disciplined index ETF investing. The SPY example demonstrates that even with one of the most widely-held index funds, volatility can become an asset rather than something to fear.
Ready to see how Micro-Rebalancing could enhance your own index investing approach? Explore our complete system in The Art of the Micro-Rebalance: The New Financial Frontier or start with our beginner guide, Index Rebalancing: Smarter Index ETF Investing.
Disclaimer
This information is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing contained herein constitutes financial, legal, or tax advice. Always consult a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions. None of the securities used as examples should be misunderstood as recommendations. The strategies discussed involve risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results. All examples are hypothetical unless otherwise stated.