Building a Multi-Strategy Equity Portfolio

Core holdings + satellite trades, risk budgets, rebalance. One book, several playbooks, one kill switch.

Track 6 — integrator. This page does not rewrite portfolio basics (Course 6), Risk 101 (Course 7), Kelly / sizing (Course 31), correlation, beta & portfolio risk (Course 37), or advanced risk frameworks (Course 50). It slots those tools into one book. Prev: macro, rates & equity regimes. Next: retail to professional process. Hub: stock courses.

One Book, Several Playbooks, One Kill Switch

A multi-strategy equity book is not “I day-trade in the morning and invest at night.” It is one account, one equity number, and several written playbooks that are allowed to consume a defined slice of loss capacity. The playbooks can disagree about horizon, catalyst, and hold time. They are not allowed to disagree about the kill switch. If five “unrelated” setups can still take the same 1% of equity off the table on the same Monday open, you do not have strategies. You have a cluster with extra tickers.

This is the Track 6 integrator. Course 6 taught you that a portfolio is a single risk object. Course 7 taught you that planned loss is dollars to invalidation, not notional. Course 31 taught you that size is a function of edge and variance — and that full Kelly is usually too aggressive for a live book. Course 37 taught you that beta and pairwise correlation are how “diversified” names collapse into one factor. Course 50 taught you sleeve budgets, stress, and a hard de-risk. Here you assemble those pieces: a core that is allowed to hold, satellites that are allowed to trade, an income overlay that is not a fourth personality, and a kill switch that fires without a meeting.

Educational only. Not personalized investment advice. No invented Sharpe, win rate, or backtest on this page. Sleeve percentages below are worked algebra on a $10,000 book so you can see which constraint binds. They are not a model portfolio and not a claim that any mix outperforms from here.

1. Integrator Rules — What This Course Will Not Rebuild

If you do not already have a 1% planned-loss rule, a structural stop, and a share-count that is rounded down, stop and return to Risk 101. If you cannot name max single-name weight and max sector cluster, return to portfolio basics. If you cannot write open dollar-risk as a sum across names, return to Course 50. This page assumes those objects exist. It assigns them to sleeves.

Three identities you already own; we only put them in one ledger:

Dollar risk ($R) = shares × (entry − invalidation)  (long; reverse the difference for a short)
Notional = shares × price
Shares = floor( min( sleeve_$R_budget ÷ $R_per_share , sleeve_notional_cap ÷ price ) )

The floor is not a personality quirk. Rounding up into a 29th share that takes you from $100 of planned loss to $101.50 is how “I follow the 1% rule” becomes a slogan. Use the risk calculator: the live UI is crypto-branded; for stocks treat the unit as shares and round down. No stock-native calculator exists on this site. The percentage change calculator is for drift and rebalance bands (price move vs target weight), not for inventing a win rate.

Account plumbing is still not a strategy. Cash versus margin, T+1 settlement, and intraday margin requirements (RN 26-10 / Rule 4210(d)(2)) constrain what you can hold overnight and what you can add midday. The old Pattern Day Trader count-and-floor framework is historical. Do not size a satellite sleeve as if four day trades or a $25,000 day-trade equity floor were current law. Typical margin-account minimum remains about $2,000, broker-dependent; house rules may be stricter. TODO:VERIFY your firm’s current house BP and overnight policy before you treat any sleeve as “intraday only.”

2. Core–Satellite — One Book, Two Jobs

Core is the sleeve whose default is to remain invested unless the thesis or the kill switch says otherwise. Horizon is measured in weeks to months, not in opening prints. Names in core survive a Course 51 statement pass and a Course 52 multiple pass; style language from growth vs value vs quality is a diagnosis, not a personality. Core is where an income overlay is allowed to sit — yield is a cash policy on a holding you already sized, not a reason to size up.

Satellite is the sleeve whose default is to flatten when the playbook’s time stop, $R cap, or catalyst window expires. Two satellite types are enough for a $10,000 book. More than that is how people run five unfinished courses at once.

• Trend / swing satellite. Continuation and pullback language from trend following and swing trading. Invalidation is structure (or ATR-informed structure from Course 32), not “it felt extended.” Overnight risk is explicit. Session clock from the U.S. session hours 2026 page is execution, not the thesis.
• Event satellite. Earnings, M&A, FDA-type binaries, macro prints — the objects in earnings & catalyst trading and news & event-driven trading. True R is the gap you are willing to eat if the stop is missed. Trading halts and thin pre-market prints are part of the sleeve, not surprises. Do not park a fresh IPO in core because the story is exciting; supply events are satellite-or-skip.

Core is not “the names I like.” Satellite is not “the names I am impatient about.” If you cannot write one sentence that a skeptic can falsify for a core name, it is not core. If an event name is still on the book three sessions after the print with no updated thesis, it has silently become an unbudgeted core hold. Reclassify or flatten. Liquidity still binds: a satellite in a tight float is a different exit problem than a core mega-cap, even at the same $R.

3. Risk Budgets Across Strategies

A risk budget is loss capacity, not a shopping list. Notional is how much of the book’s face you have on the tape. Confusing them is the Course 7 error at portfolio scale: a $2,500 notional at $50 with a $2 stop is $100 of risk; the same $2,500 notional with a $10 binary gap assumption is $500 of risk. Sleeve caps must be written on both axes. The tighter of dollar-risk and notional wins. Always.

Illustrative $10,000 book — algebra only, not a recommendation and not a backtest. Open-book dollar-risk cap = 3% = $300 (the Course 7 / Course 50 idea of total open $R). Per-name planned loss still 1% = $100 unless a sleeve is tighter.

Income is not a fourth notional pile. If Name A in core pays a dividend, you record indicated yield and payout-versus-FCF as Course 54 taught you, then you leave the share count alone. “I need $80/year in dividends” is not a size formula. Options overlays (covered calls, puts) from Track 5 are the same rule: they change the payoff; they do not get a second $100 of risk unless you rewrite the sleeve budget in writing first. This course will not restack Course 41–46.

Cash drag is a feature when event and swing sleeves are empty. Sitting at 60% notional in core with 40% cash is not “underinvested” if the empty 40% is unspent satellite capacity. Filling it with a third “core-like” name because you are bored is how satellite risk migrates into an unlabelled concentrated book. Stock Pulse is a tape/context read, not a prompt to spend unused notional.

4. Correlation — Sleeves That Are Secretly One Bet

Course 37 is the measurement layer. This section is the booking rule. If core Name A and trend satellite Name T both have high beta to the same index or the same sector tape, their $R numbers are not independent. Write a theme cap: a maximum combined $R for “same factor, same catalyst, same crowded long.” The EXAMPLE below uses $150 of combined $R for a single theme. That number is pedagogy, not a proven optimum. TODO:VERIFY nothing here against a live correlation matrix; compute yours from your names, or treat them as fully correlated until you have done the work.

Practical tests that do not require a statistics package:

• Same open, same direction, same magnitude class. If both names gap with the overnight index futures and your shorts (if any) do not offset, they are one bet. Beta is a co-movement statistic, not a quality score — Course 53 already killed that confusion.
• Same catalyst window. Two “event” names reporting the same week in the same industry are not two event budgets. They are one binary with two tickers. Cap the cluster at the event sleeve’s $50, not at $50 each.
• Squeeze and halt cousins. A satellite dressed as trend that is actually a tight-float, high short-interest name is Course 47 risk sitting in the wrong sleeve. Reclassify. Do not “diversify” a squeeze with another squeeze.

Hedges count in the inventory, not as moral credit. A small put that does not move book P&L in a Course 50-style stress is theater. An index short that is smaller than the high-beta add you just made is not a hedge; it is residual long. Recompute net after every add. VWAP and Level 2 help you execute a reduce. They do not make two correlated names uncorrelated.

5. Rebalance Rules — Drift, Bands, and What You Do Not Touch

Two drifts get mixed. Weight drift: a winner grows as a percent of equity and silently becomes the book. Risk drift: volatility expands, the stop is the same price, $R per share rises, and a position that was $80 of risk is now $140 without a new ticket. Rebalance must watch both. Calendar rebalance (for example, a weekly check) is a review cadence. Threshold rebalance (for example, a sleeve notional band of ±5 percentage points vs target) is a trigger. You can use both. You may not use “I will trim when it feels big.”

Operator sequence, once a trigger fires:

1. Mark equity, open $R by sleeve, notional by sleeve, and the largest theme cluster. Two minutes or you cannot manage this book — simplify.
2. If a name’s $R now exceeds its cap because the stop is stale, first decide whether the thesis still holds. If yes, reduce shares (round down) until $R fits. If no, flatten. Do not walk the stop away to “keep size.”
3. If notional is over the sleeve cap but $R is fine, trim to the notional cap. The trim is a risk-governance trade, not a market call. Journal it as “rebalance,” not as “I think it is top-ticky.”
4. Do not add to a loser to restore a target weight. That is a new thesis with an averaging story. Course 6 already separated tactical adds from core. Tax lots and wash-sale mechanics are Course 40 language — not tax advice; jurisdiction and account type matter.
5. Event sleeve: after the print, the default is flatten or rewrite the thesis as swing/core and move the $R into that sleeve’s remaining budget. Silent migration is how event risk becomes unlabelled core.

Verify the price move that caused the drift in the percentage change calculator so you are not narrating a 7% run as “about 10%.” Execution of a trim still respects the session map: do not rebalance a core name in the opening auction just because the spreadsheet turned red overnight. Diagnosis is research. The print is a separate problem.

6. Regime Overlay — Permission, Not a Timing System

Course 30 (cycles and sector rotation) and Course 58 (macro, rates, regimes — prev in this track) tell you what the tape is currently paying for: duration, current cash, or scarcity of clean earnings. They do not give this book a 2026 factor call. Use regime as a permission layer on sleeve fill:

• If you cannot name the regime in one sentence, do not max the event sleeve “because there is always a headline.”
• If leadership is narrow and your core is already that leadership cluster, treat new trend satellites in the same cluster as theme-cap adds, not as diversification.
• Income overlay does not become a hiding place in a rate shock. Coverage still has to fund the check (Course 54). A rising dividend yield caused by a falling price is a research prompt, not a reason to upsize core.

No invented hit rates for “value works when rates rise.” Academic and practitioner literature exists; it is not a DennTech backtest. If you later read published tables, they have their own universes and costs. They are not this page’s product feature set.

7. The Kill Switch — Book-Level, Not Per Playbook

Course 50 wrote the ladder. This course names what it attaches to. A kill switch that only closes the satellite you are embarrassed about, while core “quality” names keep bleeding the same factor, is not a kill switch. Define flat in writing: no stock, no short, no short-premium options, no leveraged-ETF overnight, no “I will just hold the dividend names.” Cooling period is a number of sessions, not a mood.

Illustrative ladder for the $10,000 EXAMPLE (write your own numbers cold; these are not a proven optimum):

• Daily halt: −2% equity = −$200 realized + unrealized → no new risk that session. Event sleeve already in a binary may still have gap residual; that is why it was sized at $50 $R, not at $100.
• −5% from month open (−$500): satellite trend and event off. Core may remain only if each name still has a written thesis and $R inside the core cap.
• −8% from month open (−$800) or −12% from high-water: flatten discretionary risk. Journal the root cause before any re-entry. This is governance, not a forecast that the low is in.

Overrides are how books die. “Just this once” through a kill switch is the most expensive sentence in Course 50; it is still the most expensive sentence here. If house margin or an intraday margin deficit forces a reduce, that is an external kill — treat it as a process fail, not as the market being unfair. Size so that the broker is not your risk manager.

EXAMPLE — $10,000 Book, Three Sleeves, Shares Rounded Down

EXAMPLE. Illustrative prices, not live quotes, not a recommendation, and not a backtest. Account: $10,000 cash. No leverage. Per-name planned loss 1% = $100 unless a sleeve is tighter. Open-book $R cap $300. Theme cap (same-factor cluster) $150. Shares always floor. Use the tighter of dollar-risk and notional.

Core Name A. Price $48.00. Invalidation $45.00. Risk per share = 48 − 45 = $3.00. Shares by $100 = floor(100 / 3) = 33 (not 34: 34 × 3 = $102, over the $100 cap). Notional = 33 × 48 = $1,584 (under the $6,000 core notional cap). Dollar risk = 33 × 3 = $99. Indicated annual dividend $1.20 → yield = 1.20 / 48 = 2.50%. Income on the sized line = 33 × 1.20 = $39.60/year if the regular dividend is unchanged. That is a consequence, not a reason to buy a 34th share. Binding constraint: the $100 per-name cap, via rounding down.

Core Name B. Price $82.00. Invalidation $78.50. Risk per share = $3.50. Shares by a fresh $100 = floor(100 / 3.50) = 28. Notional = 28 × 82 = $2,296. Dollar risk = 28 × 3.50 = $98. Combined with A, core $R = 99 + 98 = $197, which breaks the $150 core sleeve budget. Remaining core $R after A = 150 − 99 = $51. Shares for B = floor(51 / 3.50) = 14 (15 × 3.50 = $52.50, over remaining budget). Notional = 14 × 82 = $1,148. Dollar risk = 14 × 3.50 = $49. Core totals: notional $1,584 + $1,148 = $2,732; $R $99 + $49 = $148. Binding constraint: sleeve $R, not the per-name 1% and not the 60% notional cap. That is the integrator lesson. Conviction in B does not reopen the $150 box.

Trend satellite Name T. Price $36.00. Invalidation $33.50. Risk per share = $2.50. Shares by $100 = floor(100 / 2.50) = 40. Notional = 40 × 36 = $1,440 (under $2,500). Dollar risk = 40 × 2.50 = $100. Fits the trend sleeve on both axes. Correlation check: if T is the same high-beta cluster as A, combined theme $R = 99 + 100 = $199 versus the $150 theme cap. Remaining theme $R after A = 51. Shares for T = floor(51 / 2.50) = 20. Notional = 20 × 36 = $720. Dollar risk = 20 × 2.50 = $50. If they are the same cluster, you take 20 shares, not 40. If you skip the check, you have two playbooks and one factor.

Event satellite Name E. Price $22.00. Invalidation $19.00 on the chart, but the sleeve’s true R is the gap you will accept through a halt or a pre-market print. Use $3.00 per share as the planned loss (the $19 stop) and respect the $50 event $R cap. Shares = floor(50 / 3) = 16 (not floor(100 / 3) = 33 — that would spend the per-name 1% and ignore the sleeve). Notional = 16 × 22 = $352 (under $1,000). Dollar risk = 16 × 3 = $48. Binding constraint: event sleeve $R. After the print, flatten or rewrite and move remaining $R into swing/core only if budget remains.

Book snapshot if A, reduced B, reduced T (same-theme), and E are all on: notional $1,584 + $1,148 + $720 + $352 = $3,804. Open $R $99 + $49 + $50 + $48 = $246 of the $300 cap. Cash = $10,000 − $3,804 = $6,196. That cash is unused satellite/core capacity, not a hole to fill. If T is not the same theme as A and you take the full 40-share T, $R becomes 99 + 49 + 100 + 48 = $296 — legal on the $300 cap, still illegal if they were the same cluster. The spreadsheet has to say which world you are in before the ticket.

Rebalance sketch: A rallies to $60.00. Notional on 33 shares = 33 × 60 = $1,980. $R if the stop is still $45 = 33 × (60 − 45) = $495, which now smashes every $R cap. Two legal responses: raise the stop only if structure has actually moved (then recompute $R and trim until it fits), or trim shares first. Remaining $R room in core after B’s $49 is 150 − 49 = $101 if A’s old $99 is reset. You do not get to keep 33 shares at $15 of risk per share. Floor the new share count. Unused event capacity is still not a reason to add a second binary.

8. Common Mistakes and Limits

• Five playbooks, one beta. Core quality + trend satellite + “event” in the same industry is one crowded long. Theme cap first.
• Filling unused notional because cash feels wrong. Empty satellite capacity is a budget, not a mandate.
• Income as a size formula. Yield rides on shares you already rounded down. Course 54 is the overlay; it does not reopen the $100 box.
• Event risk booked at the chart stop. True R is the gap. Halt and pre-market are the sleeve, not the exception.
• Silent migration. An event name still on three days later is unbudgeted core. Reclassify or flatten.
• Rounding up. 100 / 3.50 = 28.57 → 28 shares. Twenty-nine shares is how slogans break.
• Per-playbook kill switches. Flattening only the satellite you regret, while the same factor sits in core, is not a kill switch.
• Rewriting Course 6 / 7 / 31 / 37 / 50 on the fly. If a rule changes, change it in the written plan, not in the order ticket. Course 60 is the process wrapper.
• Treating PDT folklore as current law. RN 26-10 governs intraday margin. Size from $R on this $10,000 book, not from a retired four-day-trade count.
• Invented scoreboards. Do not paste a Sharpe, a sleeve CAGR, or a “multi-strat beat buy-and-hold by X%” line into the journal. If you did not compute it from your closed trades, you do not have it.

Limits. Sleeve maps do not time entries. Correlation estimates break in stress. Stops are orders, not promises through a gap. A 60/25/10 notional split is worked algebra, not an optimized allocation. Markets can pay the “wrong” sleeve for longer than a $10,000 account’s patience. This course is educational — not a model portfolio, not personalized investment advice, and not a claim that running several playbooks outperforms running one.

Pre-Trade / Book Checklist

1. Equity, cash, open $R, open notional — two-minute dashboard or simplify the book.
2. Name the sleeve before the ticker. If you cannot, it is not a trade.
3. Thesis and invalidation (price). Event sleeve: write the gap you will accept as true R.
4. Theme check vs names already on (Course 37). Same cluster? Combined $R vs theme cap.
5. Size: floor(min($R budget, notional cap)). Risk calculator unit = shares, round down.
6. Income, if any: record yield and coverage after size, never before.
7. Session plan: RTH vs early vs late. Do not classify a factor in the opening auction.
8. Kill-ladder status: if a halt level is already in force, no new satellite risk.
9. Journal one line: “Sleeve __; theme __; shares __; $R __; flatten if __.”

FAQ

What is a multi-strategy equity portfolio?

One account with several written playbooks (core hold, trend/swing satellite, event satellite, optional income overlay) that share a single loss budget and a single kill switch. It is not a personality (“I am a swing trader who also invests”). It is booking rules. See the EXAMPLE on a $10,000 book.

How is a risk budget different from a notional cap?

A risk budget is planned dollars to invalidation (and to gap, for events). A notional cap is face value on the tape. A $1,440 trend line can be $100 of $R or $400 of $R depending on stop width. Take the tighter of the two, then round shares down. That is stock portfolio risk as an operator object, not as a vibe.

How often should I rebalance a core–satellite stock book?

Use a calendar check (weekly is a reasonable review cadence) plus a threshold trigger when a sleeve’s notional or $R band is breached. This page does not invent an optimal frequency. Do not rebalance in the opening print just because the spreadsheet moved overnight. Do not add to losers to restore a target weight.

Can I run trend, event, and income on a $10,000 account?

You can run the budgets. You are not required to fill them. The EXAMPLE spent $3,804 notional and $246 of $R with cash left over. Income sat on 33 shares of Name A; it did not get its own pile. A smaller book that cannot measure open $R in two minutes should run fewer sleeves, not cleverer ones.

Does a kill switch replace the 1% rule?

No. The 1% rule (Course 7) is per name. Sleeve caps sit above that. The kill switch sits above the sleeves. All three can bind on the same day. Flattening only the satellite you regret while core keeps the same factor is not a kill switch.

Tools for This Course

• Risk Calculator — dollars of risk to invalidation, then share count. Live crypto UI; for stocks treat the unit as shares and round down. Binding cap in the EXAMPLE was sleeve $R on B and E, theme cap on T, per-name 1% on A.
• Percentage Change Calculator — drift vs target weight, stop-distance as a percent of price, rebalance bands. Inputs are stock prices in dollars.
• Stock Courses Hub · prev: Macro, Rates & Equity Regimes · next: Retail to Professional Process.