Signals stay inside the engines
Each algo keeps responsibility for its own long, short or flat signal. The allocation layer does not turn a long signal into a short signal.
Proprietary trading capability
Multi-engine systematic macro stack for internal capital.
United-River’s capital-markets program is a proprietary trading capability for its own balance-sheet capital. It is built around multiple independent strategy engines across liquid macro markets, with a portfolio-level allocation layer used for risk sizing, exposure governance and drawdown control.
Narrative
Not one model. A portfolio of engines.
Most trading systems fail when their preferred regime disappears. A model built for trends can struggle in chop. A mean-reversion model can suffer during breakouts. A volatility model can work for long periods and then hit a difficult regime. United-River’s program is therefore structured as a stack of independent engines, each with a clearly defined job.
The objective is not for every engine to make money every month. The objective is for the aggregate portfolio to have multiple return paths while a central allocation layer controls how much risk each engine deserves.
Engine families
How the stack is organised
Internal engines are grouped by behaviour. This makes the portfolio easier to manage, scale and explain.
| Engine family | Purpose | Market regime | Portfolio role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trend-followingRisk-on participation | Capture sustained directional strength in equity indices and macro-sensitive instruments. | Strong directional markets. | Core return engine when risk appetite is positive. |
| BreakoutRegime-shift capture | Participate when price structure confirms a new directional regime. | Expansion, acceleration, transition. | Directional engine for new market phases. |
| Mean reversionRotation and dislocation | Exploit temporary overextensions, short-term dislocations and rotational opportunities. | Choppy, rotational or overextended markets. | Tactical return engine. |
| Macro volatility regimeRisk structure | Respond to broader volatility and risk-regime conditions. | Risk-on, risk-off and stress environments. | Macro regime engine and portfolio stabiliser. |
| Liquidity and confirmationSupporting models | Use broader liquidity and directional confirmation to support allocation decisions. | Improving or deteriorating liquidity conditions. | Diversifier and confirmation layer. |
| Manual long-term sleeveDiscretionary allocation | Low-leverage long-term allocation, with top-ups during major weakness and trims near longer-term cycle extremes. | Longer-term market cycle decisions. | Manual diversification sleeve, not an autonomous algo. |
Orchestration
The allocation engine is a risk-sizing overlay.
The allocation layer does not create trades and does not override signal direction. It is an internal risk desk that translates regimes, volatility and portfolio risk into sizing constraints.
Sizing moves to portfolio level
Final risk can be adjusted by regime fit, confidence, margin, concentration, drawdown and aggregate exposure.
Risk controls remain hard limits
Symbol caps, margin caps, concentration limits and drawdown brakes can reduce size even when an underlying engine is active.
The allocation engine is not another alpha model. Its job is to decide how much risk each engine should be allowed to run on.
Risk discipline
Scaling is earned
The current focus is not adding more strategies. It is sizing the strongest engines responsibly and keeping weaker or experimental engines contained.
Core engines
Strategies that show better quality, cleaner behaviour and stronger fit in the aggregate portfolio may receive measured notional increases.
Probationary sleeves
Strategies with weaker live evidence remain capped, monitored or held outside the core capital allocation framework.
Research only
Experimental models remain isolated until they demonstrate value. The platform does not scale research ideas simply because they are interesting.
What it is not
No guarantee, no magic signal, no external fund offering.
The systematic macro stack is a proprietary capital-markets framework for internal capital. It is not represented as a guaranteed return product, a risk-free strategy, or a single predictive model. Markets can move against multiple engines at the same time, especially during stress. Portfolio construction, drawdown control and exposure management are therefore central to the approach.
Platform layer
Connected to United-River’s research infrastructure.
The systematic macro program is supported by United-River’s broader research and product ecosystem. Hedgtrade provides a structured intelligence and trading-research workspace, including the allocation and risk-sizing layer. Hedgwatch supports market briefings, research communication and distribution.
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