MarketQuants — Conviction Score
By now, you’ve seen how MarketQuants approaches the market from two critical angles.
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First, we identify what’s moving. That’s the role of the Composite Score—it highlights stocks that are actively being repriced right now.
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Then, we evaluate price health. That’s what the Diamond Score does—measuring how strong and well-supported a stock’s price is across both short-term and long-term timeframes.
The Conviction Score is where those two ideas come together.
What the Conviction Score Represents
The Conviction Score is a synthesis score. It doesn’t introduce a new signal. Instead, it blends the two most important internal dimensions of a stock:
- Momentum — is the stock moving?
- Structure — is that movement healthy and supported?
Conviction answers a higher-level question:
"How confident is the market, overall, in this stock right now?"
Not just today. Not just over the last few days. But across the full spectrum of participation driving price.
Why Conviction Is Different
A stock can move aggressively and still lack conviction. Another can be structurally strong but not currently in motion.
Conviction Score captures when those forces reinforce each other. It reflects:
- Short-term enthusiasm
- Longer-term agreement
- And whether those perspectives are aligned rather than conflicting
This is why Conviction isn’t meant to replace Composite or Diamond. It depends on both.
Why You Don’t See Conviction Everywhere in the App
Conviction Score isn’t designed to be a trigger.
- It’s not telling you what to buy.
- And it’s not meant to be acted on in isolation.
Instead, Conviction is most powerful in context—especially when looking at groups of stocks rather than individual names.
That’s why you primarily encounter it:
- in portfolio sharing cards
- in side-by-side comparisons
- and in discussions like the 9 at 9, where we talk about overall market posture rather than single trades
Conviction is about relative strength, not isolated opportunity.
Conviction at the Portfolio Level
This is where Conviction Score really earns its name. When you look at a portfolio—not just one stock—you’re no longer asking:
- “What’s moving?”
- or “What looks healthy?”
You’re asking:
"How strong is this collection of positions as a whole?"
Conviction Score allows MarketQuants to evaluate:
- How aligned your holdings are
- How much agreement exists across timeframes
- And how your portfolio stacks up against another, using the same internal framework
It’s a way to assess portfolio-to-portfolio market conviction, not just individual stock ideas.
How to Think About Conviction
Conviction isn’t predictive. It’s not directional by itself. And it’s not a substitute for judgment.
Instead, think of it as a confidence lens.
When Conviction is higher:
- Momentum and structure are reinforcing each other
- The market is speaking with a more unified voice
When Conviction is lower:
- Forces may be mixed
- Movement may be less durable
- Or structure may not yet support momentum
Neither is inherently “good” or “bad”—but they tell very different stories.
The Big Picture
- Composite Score tells you what’s being repriced.
- Diamond Score tells you how healthy that price action is.
- Conviction Score tells you how strongly the market agrees.
That’s why Conviction isn’t always front-and-center. It’s a summary insight, designed to help you understand strength in aggregate—not chase individual moves.
And that’s exactly how it’s meant to be used inside MarketQuants.