--- name: dca-investor type: strategist description: > Dollar-cost-averages a fixed weekly tranche of notional into a broad-ETF basket. Equity-only, cash-account safe. No conviction calls, no market timing, no exits — just a metronome. Use when the user asks "DCA into X", "set up automated buying", "schedule weekly investments", or "what does the DCA strategist say". Default mode is review-only; live mode requires explicit promotion. disclaimer: "DCA is chosen for behavioral consistency and lower variance of entry timing, NOT expected alpha vs. lump-sum. Vanguard (2012) and PWL Capital (2024) document lump-sum investing outperforming DCA in ~66% of rolling 12-month windows, with median 2.2% return advantage on 100% equity over 30+ years. In bear-market entry regimes the gap narrows to ~25bps annualized — DCA loses less, never wins more. Use this strategist if you want behavioral discipline; use lump-sum if you want statistical expectation." metadata: author: nirav version: "0.1" compatibility: Hermes Agent + Claude Code allowed-tools: Read Skill Bash strategist: mode: review asset_class: equity account_lock: "619508153" time_window: "09:35-15:55 America/New_York" cron_hint: "0 14 * * 1" allowlist: [SPY, VOO, VTI, QQQ, BND] max_position_pct: 50 max_concurrent_positions: 5 capability_requires: [] assumes: fractional_shares: true # cash individual accounts on Robinhood; not a capability the broker reports profile_compatibility: [autotrader, claude-code] requires_directors: [regime-intelligence] basket: SPY: 0.50 QQQ: 0.30 BND: 0.20 tranche_size_usd: 50.00 cadence: weekly_monday --- # DCA Investor A boring strategist. Each Monday morning, it buys a fixed dollar amount split across a fixed basket. It does not try to time entries. It does not skip weeks because "the market looks toppy." It does not double up after a drawdown. The only signals it consults are the calendar and the buying-power floor. This is the simplest possible strategist — and on purpose. It's the proof-of-pattern for the suite, and it's the most realistic live candidate for a $1k cash account. > **Required reading before authoring/modifying:** `_shared/intent-schema.md`, `_shared/tick-decision-emitter.md`, `_shared/circuit-breakers.md`, `_shared/position-sizing.md`. The numeric rules below live in `references/decision-rules.md`. ## Strategy summary - **Universe**: SPY, QQQ, BND (broad equity + tech-equity + total-bond). - **Weights**: SPY 50% · QQQ 30% · BND 20%. - **Tranche**: $50/week total. Per-symbol: SPY $25, QQQ $15, BND $10. - **Cadence**: weekly, Monday after market open. Cron hint `0 14 * * 1` (10am ET). - **Mode**: review-only until the human reviews tick logs and promotes to live. - **Exit rule**: none. DCA is one-way. Sells are out of scope for this strategist. - **Director call**: `regime-intelligence` is called *only* in light-gate mode — its output is logged in `notes` but does not gate any action. A future v2 may add a regime gate; v1 is intentionally pure. ## 6-phase protocol ### Phase 1 — Pre-flight (BLOCKING) Run `_shared/executor`'s pre-flight via the executor — but capture inputs first so this strategist can short-circuit before invoking it. Specifically: 1. Determine cadence eligibility: - Read the last successful DCA tick timestamp from `~/.hermes/profiles/autotrader/state/dca-investor.json` (if it exists). - If less than 6 days have elapsed since the last placement-eligible tick: skip without invoking the executor. Emit `tick_decision` with `actions: []` and `notes: "cadence_not_due; next_at "`. 2. If cadence IS due, proceed to phase 2. (The executor will still run its full pre-flight when invoked in phase 5. The cadence check is strategist-side because the executor doesn't know about per-strategist cadences.) ### Phase 2 — Compose context Invoke `regime-intelligence` via the `Skill` tool with the prompt: > "Three-line summary of the current macro regime — growth direction, inflation direction, monetary stance. No prose." Capture the response into a `regime_summary` string (≤200 chars). It will be embedded in `tick_decision.notes`. It does NOT affect any sizing or skip decision in v1. ### Phase 3 — Signal gather Call `get_equity_quotes(symbols=["SPY", "QQQ", "BND"])` to capture current prices. Used purely for `intent_price` (the strategist's reference price at decision time). No filtering on this — DCA proceeds at any price. ### Phase 4 — Decide Construct three intents (one per basket member): ```json [ { "symbol": "SPY", "side": "buy", "quantity_type": "notional", "notional_usd": 25.00, "order_type": "market", "intent_price": , "max_slippage_pct": 1.0, "time_in_force": "gfd", "reason": "DCA weekly tranche — SPY 50% of $50 = $25", "expires_at": "", "asset_class": "equity", "option_leg": null }, /* QQQ $15, BND $10 — same shape */ ] ``` Notes on the intent shape: - `quantity_type: notional` because the basket weights are designed in dollars, not shares. The executor routes this to Robinhood's `dollar_amount` parameter. - `max_slippage_pct: 1.0` is loose on purpose — DCA does not care about precise entry; we just need a sanity check that the quote hasn't fallen off a cliff. - `expires_at` is end-of-RTH today. If the tick somehow runs in extended hours, the intent expires before the executor can place. If the tick lands inside a `circuit_breaker_tripped` window, the executor will drop these buys with `status: skipped`. That's fine — DCA simply waits for the next week. ### Phase 5 — Hand off to executor Invoke `_shared/executor` via the `Skill` tool with: ```json { "strategy": "dca-investor", "mode": "", "context_hint": "", "intents": [ ...three intents... ] } ``` The executor returns: ```json { "aborted": null | "", "circuit_breaker_tripped": , "account_value": , "buying_power": , "actions": [ ] } ``` ### Phase 6 — Emit & persist Write the `## tick_decision` block. If any action was `status: placed`, update `~/.hermes/profiles/autotrader/state/dca-investor.json` with the placement timestamp (so phase 1 can read it next tick). If `aborted` is set: do not update state. The next tick will retry from scratch. ## Interactive mode In Claude Code or `autotrader chat`: - "What does DCA say about this week?" — run phases 1-5; emit `tick_decision`. All actions will be `reviewed` (claude-code never places; chat needs `EXECUTE:`). - "Skip this week" — emit `tick_decision` with `actions: []` and `notes: "user_skipped"`. Do NOT update the state file (so next week's tick is unaffected). - "Increase tranche to $100" — refuse. Tranche size is a frontmatter constant. The user must edit `tranche_size_usd` in the SKILL.md frontmatter, not at runtime. ## Promoting to live 1. Run paper ticks for at least 4 consecutive Mondays. Inspect the `tick_decision` log for each. 2. Confirm: - No `aborted` outcomes you don't understand. - Slippage on `realized_review_price` vs `intent_price` is consistently under 0.3%. - The basket math comes out right: SPY notional 50%, QQQ 30%, BND 20% of the tranche. 3. Edit this skill's frontmatter: `mode: review` → `mode: live`. 4. Create cron: `hermes --profile autotrader cron create '0 14 * * 1' --skills strategists/dca-investor`. 5. Watch the first live tick. Verify the order lands in `get_equity_orders`. ## What this strategist will never do - Skip a week because the market is "expensive" or "looks toppy." - Buy extra after a drawdown. - Sell — even to "take profits" or "rebalance." - Trade anything outside the basket. - Override the buying-power cap or per-name cap. - Run on a non-Monday. - Run from a profile other than `autotrader`.