---
title: "Strategy"
description: "A strategy is a saved set of instruments plus the rules for weighting them and changing positions — the unit you backtest, keep, and follow over time."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/getting-started/strategy"
last_updated: "2026-08-27"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/getting-started/strategy.md"
---

# Strategy

A strategy is a saved set of instruments together with the rules for how capital is weighted across them and when positions change — the unit you backtest, keep in your library, and follow over time. A strategy holds instruments directly, and it is what every [backtest](/docs/getting-started/backtest) runs on. It is also the building block of a [Combined](/docs/getting-started/combined), which holds strategies instead of instruments.

Earlier versions of Fincanva called this object a *model* or a *component*. Both names are retired — the app says strategy everywhere now.

## What does a strategy contain?

A strategy contains its instruments plus the rule groups that decide how those instruments are held. **Asset selection** sets which instruments it trades — picked by hand or chosen for it by an attached [screener](/docs/getting-started/screener). **Allocation** sets how capital is split across them. **Rebalance every** sets how often the weights are reset (see [rebalance](/docs/backtesting/rebalance)). **Risk** and **Position exits** are optional and add conditions that change the allocation or close a position. [What is a strategy in Fincanva?](/docs/strategies/what-is-a-strategy-in-fincanva) covers each part in full.

## How is a strategy different from a Combined?

A strategy holds instruments; a Combined holds strategies and splits capital across them. The pieces inside a Combined are themselves strategies — deliberately the same object you build on its own — so "strategy" covers both a standalone strategy and a [strategy in a Combined](/docs/getting-started/strategy-in-a-combined). Where the whole and its pieces appear together the whole is always called the Combined, never a generic "strategy", and destructive actions name their level: "Remove this strategy from the Combined" versus "Delete Combined".

## Defaults in Fincanva

- A strategy needs at least one instrument before it can run, and a strategy that selects instruments through a screener needs at least one screener attached. The editor's own setup checks are listed under [strategy alerts](/docs/backtesting/strategy-alerts).
- Strategies are listed under **Strategies**, split into **Single** and **Combined** — a Combined is a strategy too, just one whose members are strategies.
- Four strategy types shape what you fill in when you create one; they change which steps you see, not what the backtest computes. See [Choosing a strategy type](/docs/strategies/choosing-a-strategy-type).
- A strategy can be followed live with [Mark Live](/docs/getting-started/mark-live), which lists it as a [portfolio](/docs/getting-started/portfolio) on the Portfolios page. Nothing is traded and no order is placed.
- Editing a saved strategy leaves its last result in place until you run it again; the [run status](/docs/backtesting/run-status) chip reads **Needs re-run** until then.

## Worked example

You start from an idea: hold the strongest recent performers among S&P 500 stocks and refresh the list every month. As a strategy that becomes one saved object — a [universe](/docs/getting-started/universe) of S&P 500 stocks, an attached screener that ranks them on recent price change, **Ranking-Based** allocation so the highest-ranked receive the most capital, and **Rebalance every** set to 1 month. You run it, read the equity curve and metrics, then change the rebalance to 3 months and run again. Both runs describe the same strategy — one object, two settings — which is exactly why it is worth saving as one.