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

A portfolio of complementary strategy engines.

Market regimes change, and different systematic approaches can respond differently. United-River organises its proprietary research and trading capabilities across complementary strategy families.

The portfolio framework seeks to manage exposure and concentration across strategies, recognising that diversification does not eliminate risk.

Engine families

How the stack is organised

Internal engines are grouped by behaviour. This makes the portfolio easier to manage, scale and explain.

Engine familyPurposeMarket regimePortfolio role
Trend-followingRisk-on participationCapture sustained directional strength in equity indices and macro-sensitive instruments.Strong directional markets.Core return engine when risk appetite is positive.
BreakoutRegime-shift captureParticipate when price structure confirms a new directional regime.Expansion, acceleration, transition.Directional engine for new market phases.
Mean reversionRotation and dislocationExploit temporary overextensions, short-term dislocations and rotational opportunities.Choppy, rotational or overextended markets.Tactical return engine.
Macro volatility regimeRisk structureRespond to broader volatility and risk-regime conditions.Risk-on, risk-off and stress environments.Macro regime engine and portfolio stabiliser.
Liquidity and confirmationSupporting modelsUse broader liquidity and directional confirmation to support allocation decisions.Improving or deteriorating liquidity conditions.Diversifier and confirmation layer.
Manual long-term sleeveDiscretionary allocationLow-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 strategy.
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.

Signals stay inside the engines

Each strategy remains responsible for its own long, short or flat signal. The allocation layer does not turn a long signal into a short signal.

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

Disciplined capital allocation

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

Model risk and investment discipline.

The systematic macro stack is a proprietary capital-markets framework for internal capital. No model or risk control can guarantee outcomes. 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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