---
title: "Fixed Weights"
description: "Fixed Weights is the allocation method where you set each share by hand; the numbers you enter are relative and are normalized to 100% before they are used."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/strategies/fixed-weights"
last_updated: "2026-09-23"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/strategies/fixed-weights.md"
---

# Fixed Weights

Fixed Weights is the [allocation method](/docs/strategies/allocation-and-allocation-method) where you decide each share yourself instead of letting a rule compute it. You type one number per item, and those numbers are **relative**: they do not have to add up to 100, because Fincanva normalizes them to 100% before the backtest uses them. The app labels this method **Fixed Allocation** and describes it as: "Set a weight for each instrument manually."

**Also seen as:** Fixed Allocation, manual weights, custom weights

## What happens if my weights do not add up to 100?

Nothing breaks — the weights are rescaled so they do. Fincanva reads your numbers as proportions, divides each one by their total, and uses the result as the actual share of capital. The total is the sum of the weights' sizes, ignoring their sign, so a negative weight counts towards it the same way a positive one does. The app shows both figures while you type, as "Raw total 110 · normalized to 100%", so you can see the raw sum you entered and know it will be converted.

The practical consequence is that only the *ratios* between your numbers matter. Entering 50, 30, 20 and entering 5, 3, 2 produce exactly the same allocation. Entering 40, 40, 40 is the same as Equal Weights across three items.

## Where do the weights apply?

To whatever the level is allocating across. Inside a strategy you set one weight per instrument; inside a [Combined](/docs/getting-started/combined) you set one weight per member strategy. Fixed Weights is one of the six methods available at both levels, and the normalization works identically in both.

Because the weights are attached to specific items, they follow your selection: add an instrument and it starts at the default weight, remove one and its weight leaves with it — the remaining numbers are then renormalized over the smaller set.

## Can a Fixed Weights weight be negative?

Yes, inside a strategy: each instrument's weight can be anywhere from −999 to 999, decimals included, and a negative weight is a short position in that instrument. Its size is the weight's magnitude and its direction is the sign — the same convention the [Direction](/docs/strategies/direction-long-only-long-short-short-only) page describes for every method that can go short. There is no separate switch: typing a negative number is the choice.

Negative weights normalize like any other. The total they are divided by is the sum of the sizes, so entering 50 for one instrument and −50 for another gives a raw total of 100 and an allocation of 50% long and 50% short. Inside a [Combined](/docs/getting-started/combined) the weights across member strategies stay between 0 and 999: a Combined cannot be short one of its own strategies.

## What happens if every weight is zero?

A Fixed Weights allocation whose weights are all zero invests nothing: there is no total to normalize over, so no capital goes to any item. Fincanva lets you save it, because an all-cash allocation can be deliberate, but the app says so. The totals line reads "Raw total 0 · invests nothing" instead of "normalized to 100%", and inside a strategy a yellow warning appears — "This allocation invests nothing: every weight is zero, so no capital goes anywhere." — which you can accept like any other warning. **Clear all** produces exactly this state: it sets every weight to 0 rather than removing the weights.

## Defaults in Fincanva

- Every item starts at a weight of **1**, so an untouched Fixed Weights allocation is an even split — the same result as Equal Weights.
- Weights accept decimals and are read as proportions, never as literal percentages. Inside a strategy each weight can range from −999 to 999; inside a Combined, from 0 to 999. A number outside that range is not changed for you — the field shows "Enter a weight between -999 and 999." (or 0 and 999) until you correct it.
- The method reads no history, so it does not use the In-sample [calculation window](/docs/strategies/calculation-window).
- The weights you set are targets, reapplied at each [rebalance](/docs/backtesting/rebalance) date: between rebalances the actual mix drifts with prices, then snaps back to your numbers.
- Two shortcuts exist alongside the manual numbers: an **Equal** preset that sets every weight to 1, and **Clear all**, which sets every weight to 0.
- Inside a strategy with picked instruments, the list of weights always matches the list of instruments: exactly one weight each. Adding an instrument gives it a weight of 1; removing one removes its weight.

## Worked example

A strategy holds three instruments and you enter 50, 30, 20. The raw total is 100, so the weights are used as they stand: 50% / 30% / 20%. On \$100,000 that is \$50,000, \$30,000, and \$20,000.

Now change the middle number to 40, so you have entered 50, 40, 20. The raw total is 110, and the app reads "Raw total 110 · normalized to 100%". Each weight is divided by 110: 50 ÷ 110 = 45.5%, 40 ÷ 110 = 36.4%, 20 ÷ 110 = 18.2%. The first instrument's share fell from 50% to 45.5% even though you never touched its number — because the other numbers grew, and every share is measured against the total.