alt Hacker NewsShow HN: A free ESG stock screener that publishes its losses and methodology
Hey HN, JSS(JumpstartSignal) is a free, ESG-filtered daily stock screener. I built it after some really badly-timed quantum computing stock buys, so I felt I needed to learn more about systematic, longer-horizon approaches and the underlying technicals instead of chasing themes. Three things about it that might be of interest:
1. Methodology is fully documented at https://jumpstartsignal.com/how-it-works/ 5-stage pipeline, 54 signals tested individually plus 1,836 combinations evaluated, walk-forward validation across 25 hold periods. Nothing hand-tuned to a single backtest window.
2. Many wins, misses, and losses are published as case studies e.g. https://jumpstartsignal.com/case-studies/nvda/ walks through the 32 times the system flagged NVDA starting at $5.44 in 2018. https://jumpstartsignal.com/case-studies/sedg/ shows a -49% loss, and https://jumpstartsignal.com/case-studies/tsla/ explains why the system never flagged Tesla (it passed Stages 1 and 2 on 207 days but only peaked at 20/100 in scoring vs the 70 needed for OPPORTUNITY tier). https://jumpstartsignal.com/results/ also shows the 10 best entries alongside the 10 worst.
3. A genetic algorithm picked the signal weights, but constrained to maintain alpha across multiple market regimes (otherwise it overfits to a single bull market). The constraint dropped some "best in backtest" configurations that only worked 2018-2021.
Topline: 2012-2025 backtest at SPOTLIGHT + OPPORTUNITY tier produced +163% alpha vs SPY (results page has the per-trade breakdown).
Daily watchlist emailed free; reports + results + case studies are publicly browsable without signup.
Happy to take questions about methodology, what the system gets wrong, or why specific tickers landed where they did.
Comments
A question I have: do you have a background in capital markets?
Because what it looks like is you asked Claude to create a stock picking newsletter based on signals that retail commonly thinks are bleeding edge but institutions have been using for two decades and probably don’t give much edge anymore (AI analysis of news sentiment…)
And you backtested from 2012-2025, one of the longest bull runs in history. Of course your strategy of “buy NVDA” will win in that window.
Which makes me wonder: have you ever worked at a hedge fund?
I have to say I’m tempted to subscribe and have Claude manage an imaginary portfolio based on your recommendations and publish that. Because to be frank, I’m fairly confident your recs won’t generate alpha.
I run a free comparison site in a different vertical, and the "publishes its losses" line is what made me click. Methodology page on a niche aggregator earns its keep two ways: readers can check you didn't just rank things by vibes, and it's about the only piece of content that holds up once AI summaries start chewing through your other pages. Question I keep coming back to though: how often do you actually update the methodology vs quietly nudge it? The discipline of versioning a formula is harder than writing it, because when a result comes out wrong the temptation to move the threshold instead is huge.
ESG is just giving up returns for a good feeling, isn't it?
Stock picking is just folly for individual investors, isn't it?
Anyone claiming they can consistently beat any large index is just delusional, aren't they?
Site screams jank and hijacks browsing away. 0/10, def slop daddy slop.
https://jumpstartsignal.com/reports/2026/04/24/
> No growth met the screening criteria on this date.
Our current economy in a nutshell, lol