Here’s how Sungarden Investment Publishing works:

You ask for it.

We see if we can provide it.

When we can, we do!

That just happened again. So we’d like to tell you about it.

For a while now, many subscribers have asked us to bridge a gap. You read my articles, attend our live weekly group coaching sessions, and hear directly from the horse’s mouth (I would be the horse in that scenario). For $200 a year, you get my blog posts here at ETFYourself.com, and live or recorded access to the weekly live show.

And for $800 a year, you get that plus access to what I think is the best investment and portfolio management creation site I’ve seen in my 40-year career. Not because it is based on my Intellectual Property (ROAR Score, etc.), but because my friends at PiTrade took that IP and turned it into the foundation for what I think can be the most differentiated investment research portal around. ROAR.PiTrade.com.

We built that portal earlier this year, and asked our most engaged subscribers, the ones who have followed my work the longest, to give it a try. And just as importantly, to let us know what we could do to improve on that initial build. The response:

• Give direct access to the live trades I do for my own portfolio

• Provide commentary (“trade notes”) to rationalize the ongoing portfolio moves.

• Provide a choice as to how to access that information (traded for you or not).

As the old Burger King commercials said, you wanted to “have it YOUR way.” And after a lot of feedback from many of you, and our own internal planning and hard work, I am thrilled to announce that we have delivered what our audience asked for!

The New ROAR.PiTrade.com: Rob Isbitts’ trades, as he makes them.

As you may know, PiTrade.com, a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), recently offered an opportunity to open an account at Interactive Brokers and invest in my two main models (ROAR Flex and the new Hedged Bond model).

However, we have heard that some people prefer to stick to their current custodian. That’s why we are also pleased to announce that through our collaborative research site, ROAR.PiTrade.com, investors will soon be able access the ROAR Flex model portfolio through a new Model Signal service.

But wait, there’s more!

Hedged Bond model portfolio is here! (Maybe just in time)

As our long-term subscribers know, ROAR Flex is the second largest part of my family’s personal portfolio. The largest part is a bond ladder. And now, I’m bringing a version of that approach to our subscribers, through ROAR.PiTrade.com, and through PiTrade.com.

What is the Hedged Bond model portfolio?

My original bond ladder required owning individual bonds, which can be more cumbersome than exchange-traded ETFs and stocks. But I don’t just buy the bond positions and hold them. I also hedge that core portfolio versus rising interest rates and inflation. And, I try to capitalize when rates fall hard.

In other words, interest rates and bond prices are cyclical, just like any other asset class. So while I’m collecting close to 5% interest over the next couple of decades, I manage around that main “ladder” to try to add return, regardless of what rates do. That combination: a “fixed” part of the portfolio, plus a “tactical” complement, is something most investors do not realize is even “a thing.” That’s because most of Wall Street would not bother with this. It isn’t “scalable” enough, or they think their clients won’t understand it.

Bridging the gap for DIY investors, with interest rates at 18-year highs

I truly think I’ve bridged the gap with Hedged Bond. Not everyones want to build their own bond ladder. But many want a bond strategy that won’t easily break down when rates go up. I think I’ve created a solution. And I’m very excited about it.

I’ll be presenting it in detail this Tuesday, on our the weekly live Zoom session. And right after that, we’ll be including Hedged Bond alongside ROAR Flex, in our new Model Signal service.

For $2,000 a year, you get access to both. As well as other strategies we’ll add soon. It’s the total package:

• My models, with trade actions communicated via email/direct message, and also updated in the research portal the moment I make a trade in my account.

• I’ll also start supplying “trade notes” which will provide an ongoing commentary on what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.

• That’s not only so you are kept up to speed on the buy and sell activity you see. But also so you can learn from what I do, and how I think. Our goal over time: make you a better portfolio manager.

Over time, I think that risk-managed investing makes a big difference for investors, both to reach retirement, and to stay retired. Now, with ROAR Flex and Hedged Bond, we’re able to provide subscribers with timely access to what I’m doing with my own money, and giving you the play-by-play as I do it.

Your Move

Click HERE to learn more about ROAR Flex

Click HERE to learn more about Hedged Bond

Click HERE to access either or both portfolios via our Model Signal service, where we send the trades, and you do the trading at your custodian of choice.,

Click HERE to be redirected to PiTrade.com, a Robo Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), to access either or both portfolios with the trading done for you at Interactive Brokers, billed on an Assets Under Management (AUM) basis.

To be clear, in a bull market, ROAR 10 will not keep pace with the S&P 500 (orange line below). It is not built for that. But this chart indicates its potential to bridge the gap between 60/40 and the SPY.

This busy set of numbers shows trailing and annual returns of ROAR 10 (black), AOR and SPY. This highlights the other risk management benefit of ROAR 10. On the right side, we see that in 2022, when the case for 60/40 truly blew up in investors’ faces, as stocks and bonds fell together, ROAR 10 stayed within shouting distance of where it ended 2021.

The ABCs of ROAR 10

This last graphic makes a simple point. ROAR 10 has produced significant Alpha with very low Beta compared to both AOR and SPY.

What does that mean? Alpha, simply put, answers the question “if the market gave me nothing, zero return, could I still make a profit?” And Beta explains how much of the market’s volatility a strategy took on in order to try to earn that Alpha.

So if we consider 60/40 (AOR) to be “the market” (stocks and bonds combined to be the market) which ROAR 10 is compared to, ROAR 10 theoretically produced 5% annual return in a flat market for AOR. And did so with less than half (48%) of the volatility.

With SPY as the market (so stock market, excluding bond market), ROAR 10 still managed to produce 3.6% positive return, and with less than 1/3 (30%) the volatility.

This is why I am always skeptical of “traditional” strategies. In my experience, they work well…until they don’t. When some market phase comes along and disrupts the “usual” approaches. That’s why I’m always looking to push the boundaries of what’s available to DIY investors. By creating models built for flexibility.

Thus the name ROAR Flex. It is not a strategy most people know. And likely, most will never discover what we built here. But for those who do, we think we’ve created the basis for very successful investment outcomes in the years ahead.

(To inquire about the ROAR Flex model portfolio and how to access it, email us at info@SungardenInvestment.com)

Important Regulatory Disclosure

This post is published by Sungarden Investment Publishing. Rob Isbitts is a publisher of financial research and model portfolios, operating under the SEC Publisher’s Exemption. He is not currently a registered investment advisor and does not provide personalized, 1-on-1 investment advice.

All information, signals, and model portfolios are provided for educational and informational purposes only. Subscribers are solely responsible for executing their own trades in their self-directed brokerage accounts. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Drawdown caps and return objectives are strategic goals, not guarantees against loss of principal.

(To inquire about the ROAR Flex model portfolio and how to access it, email us at info@SungardenInvestment.com)

By Rob Isbitts | Sungarden Investment Publishing. Creator: ETFYourself.com.

I’ve managed money professionally since 1993, seven years after entering the World Trade Center in NYC as a fresh college grad in 1986. After toiling in the back office and helping portfolio managers create decision-making systems, I eventually became a lead decision-maker myself.

Over three decades later, I’m still at it. While I retired from the business of providing personalized, 1-on-1 advice to individual investors in 2020, I have dedicated the past several years to sharing my “best thinking” with a wider audience of self-directed investors through research and model portfolios at ETFYourself.com.

I run several models, which are on display at ROAR.PiTrade.com. The “flagship” strategy, ROAR 10, is a consolidated, automated, “off-the-shelf” version of the style of investing I used to do as an investment advisor and fund manager.

It is NOT an S&P 500-style portfolio model. Frankly, it doesn’t care what the S&P 500 does, since following it blindly would mean accepting the occasional 30% to 50% crash.

I’m too old for that! And my experience tells me I don’t need to settle for that.

My entire investment framework is built around two things, in a very strict order:

1. Avoid Big Loss (”ABL”)

2. Make as much as market conditions allow

That philosophy served me well as an advisor to others for decades. Today, it guides how I manage my own family's portfolio. The ROAR Flex signal model was created so self-directed investors can track that work, and apply it directly in their own accounts.

What is ROAR Flex?

ROAR Flex is my “Best Ideas” portfolio model. It brings my 30+ years of chart-reading, risk management, and market strategy under “one portfolio roof.” It is built around a flexible, absolute-return mission, similar to how classic hedge funds historically managed risk and return, but delivered strictly as informational model signals for self-directed investors to track in their own accounts.

ROAR Flex: Mechanics & Rules

• Built on the ROAR 10 Foundation: The strategy uses our automated ROAR 10 ETF model as a base (holding those 10 core ETFs at all times), but adds dynamic position weighting.

• Go-Anywhere Extended Universe: The core can be supplemented with tactical additions from single equities, and long, inverse, or leveraged ETFs.

• Flexible Timeframes: Positions may be held across days, weeks, or months depending on technical market conditions.

• Real-Time Signal Alerts: When market conditions prompt a trade signal or allocation update, alerts are broadcast in real time (via the ROAR.PiTrade.com). Subscribers receive exact target allocations and trade actions made in the model. From there, they can execute manually in their own self-directed brokerage accounts at their own discretion.

• Avoid Big Loss (ABL) 10% Maximum Drawdown Objective: Managed with the strategic objective of aiming to cap peak-to-trough drawdowns at 10% by shifting more capital into cash, T-bill ETFs, or inverse hedges during threatening markets. (Note: Risk targets are strategic objectives, not guarantees against loss of principal).

Historical Context: The ROAR 10 Baseline

Because ROAR Flex expands upon the foundation of our automated ROAR 10 ETF model, that baseline portfolio serves as the best historical proxy for how our tactical risk management behaves in difficult market environments.

The track record of the baseline ROAR 10 ETF model (inception 1/1/2020) recently crossed the 100% gain mark as of August 31, 2026. Over that multi-year period, it successfully navigated:

• The Covid-19 Shock (2020): S&P 500 dropped 34% in 5 weeks; ROAR 10 finished 2020 up 21.0%.

• The Stock/Bond Bear Pair (2022): Both stocks and bonds fell sharply; ROAR 10 held to a minor -2.5% drop vs -14.5% for the Moderate Benchmark (AOM).

• The Tariff Tantrum (2025): S&P 500 pulled back nearly 20%; ROAR 10 closed the year up +12.19%.

Backtested ROAR 10 ETF Model Performance (1/1/2020 – 8/31/2026)

(Source: ROAR.PiTrade.com)

(To inquire about the ROAR Flex model portfolio and how to access it, email us at info@SungardenInvestment.com)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• How is ROAR Flex different from the core ROAR 10 ETF model?

  ROAR Flex uses ROAR 10 as a foundation, but operates with a “go-anywhere” approach. It expands position weighting ranges and includes additional single equities and tactical long/inverse ETFs traded on dynamic schedules.

• What does “managed like hedge funds used to be” mean?

  Historically, classic hedge funds prioritized capital protection and absolute return over rigid index-tracking. ROAR Flex dynamically shifts allocations or deploys inverse setups to navigate and attempt to cushion against difficult market climates.

• How does the Avoid Big Loss (ABL) philosophy work?

  ABL uses technical risk indicators to cut exposure, raise cash, or buy inverse ETFs when market risk spikes. The goal is to avoid major drawdowns that take years just to get back to even.

• Where are my funds held, and how are trades executed?

  Your capital stays in your personal brokerage account (Schwab, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, Vanguard, etc.). You maintain 100% ownership, visibility, and liquidity. When a model signal is generated, you receive a real-time notification to execute the market order on your own.

• Are there lock-up periods or withdrawal limits?

  None. Because you control your own account, you have full daily liquidity to add, withdraw, or pause model tracking whenever you choose.

(To inquire about the ROAR Flex model portfolio and how to access it, email us at info@SungardenInvestment.com)

Important Regulatory Disclosure

This post is published by Sungarden Investment Publishing. Rob Isbitts is a publisher of financial research and model portfolios, operating under the SEC Publisher’s Exemption. He is not currently a registered investment advisor and does not provide personalized, 1-on-1 investment advice.

All information, signals, and model portfolios are provided for educational and informational purposes only. Subscribers are solely responsible for executing their own trades in their self-directed brokerage accounts. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Drawdown caps and return objectives are strategic goals, not guarantees against loss of principal.