Looking at this past quarter, things may have seemed like they did not go as well as we would have hoped. While this is somewhat true from a surface-level standpoint, the challenges we experienced from the turbulent market environment have presented us with unique learning opportunities in addition to shining light on various elements of our algorithm that can be optimized.
At the start of the year, our existing paper trade had excellent returns. We were hopeful yet cautious of market fundamentals as we prepared to start live trading. However, with the Russo-Ukrainian War starting a few days after going live, we knew things were going to be shakey. We decided it would be best for us to let the strategy run its course because if anything, the conditions would provide an environment where we can closely observe how our algorithm interacts with volatile markets filled with intraday shifts. By dynamically identifying and adjusting our parameters to mitigate as much loss as possible, we were able to end the quarter with a net loss of -0.49%.
Moving into Q2, we have a lot of exciting things planned! We are looking to put Squirl in a position where we can actively recruit talent and expand our team. To get us to this point, however, we must source some LP and GP funding. On the technical side of things, we want to focus on building out the Chirp Framework to become an extremely sophisticated system that utilizes a multi-faceted approach to making trading decisions. This allows different strategies we create to look at markets through a much broader spectrum by aggregating technical, fundamental, sentiment, and alternative data. With strategy development, we plan to shift back into the equities market while also potentially venturing into derivatives within the next few months. We aim to have a diverse set of strategies encompassed in our portfolio. To start this off, we plan on having our first strategy paper trading within the next week and plan to start prop trading by early to mid-July.
With all of these things being said, we see ourselves being in a comfortable position to raise capital. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the coming months!