How does your strategy actually perform under real pressure?

Backtesting that goes beyond a simple equity curve

A backtest is only as useful as the data behind it and the honesty of the assumptions embedded in the code. Mercer & Hartwell runs backtests on tick-level historical data sourced from Dukascopy and Refinitiv, covering a minimum of ten years — long enough to include at least two major volatility regimes. We model broker spread, commission, and slippage at realistic worst-case values, not the best-case figures that make every strategy look good. The output is a structured PDF report covering annualised return, maximum drawdown, Sharpe ratio, Sortino ratio, win rate, average trade duration, and monthly return distribution. We also flag any months where the strategy would have been stopped out by its own risk controls, because that information is as valuable as the headline return number. Backtesting reveals what a strategy's edge looks like in numbers — it does not guarantee future performance.