RRG Charts
Relative Rotation Graphs® (“RRG charts”) show you a security's relative strength and momentum relative to a collection of other securities. RRG charts were developed by Julius de Kempenaer and have been available on Bloomberg terminals since 2011.
An RRG chart is a scatter plot, with de Kempenaer's Relative Strength Ratio indicator as the horizontal axis and his Relative Strength Momentum indicator as the vertical axis. Each symbol's position is plotted as a dot on the chart, with a "tail" extending backward to show the history of the symbol's position on the RRG plot. The color of the tail reflects the quadrant the symbol is currently located in, so it is easy to see at a glance which symbols have the desired relative strength and momentum compared to a benchmark symbol (typically the S&P 500).
Note: Both “Relative Rotation Graph®” and “RRG®” are registered trademarks of RRG Research.
Each dot on each symbol's tail represents one period - anywhere from 1 month to 5 minutes, depending on the “Period” setting. By default, the Period is set to 1 week. The large dot at the end of the tail represents the current RRG values for that ticker symbol. Those values are updated continually throughout the current trading week; however, new dots are only added at the start of a new week.
There are four quadrants on the RRG chart:
Leading (Green) - Strong relative strength and strong momentum
Weakening (Yellow) - Strong relative strength but weakening momentum
Lagging (Red) - Weak relative strength and weak momentum
Improving (Blue) - Weak relative strength but improving momentum
As you can see in the example above, stocks typically progress through the quadrants clockwise. The color of each line is determined by the color of the quadrant where the line ends. The width of each stock's line is determined by the ending dot's distance from the center of the plot.
For more on interpreting RRG charts, please see the ChartSchool article on the topic. You can also read more about RRG charts in Julius de Kempenaer's blog.
Creating RRG Charts
There are multiple ways to create an RRG chart, including the following:
Click Charts & Tools at the top of any page, then click on the Launch RRG Chart link in the Relative Rotation Graphs section.
Click on the RRG Charts link in the Member Tools area of Your Dashboard.
Once the RRG tool is loaded, members can use the Settings panel to the right of the RRG chart to change the list of symbols used in the chart. Alternatively, they can select from one of several predefined symbol groups using the “Groups” dropdown menu. Up to 50 different ticker symbols can be charted on an RRG chart.
Members can also change the RRG chart's “Benchmark” symbol, that being the symbol (typically an index like $SPX) that is used in the relative performance calculations. A line chart of the benchmark symbol is always displayed above the RRG chart.
Note: Free users can only see a single, fixed weekly RRG chart of the major North American market averages with one year of data.
Elements of the RRG Chart Tool
The RRG Chart Tool has several different elements:
The RRG Plot
The “Benchmark” Chart (typically the S&P 500)
Tail Configuration Settings
Scaling Control Buttons
The Symbols Table
Settings Panel: Symbols, Benchmark, Groups, Range, Period, and the Update Button (members-only)
Additional Resources
Using RRG Charts
Getting Symbol Information from the Chart
The RRG chart has one tail for each symbol, up to a maximum of 50 symbols. A table below the RRG plot shows each of the symbols on the chart, color-coded and sorted based on which quadrant they are in. Mouse over the candlesticks icon next to any symbol to see a mini-chart for that symbol.
You can click on any of the symbols in the Symbol Table below the RRG Plot to turn on highlighting for that symbol. This will fade all the other symbols on the RRG plot, so that you can more easily see the path of the highlighted symbol. Click on the symbol in the table row again to turn off highlighting. Only one line at a time can be highlighted.
You can also uncheck the checkbox next to any symbol in the table in order remove those symbols from the plot completely. Check the box again to re-add them to the plot.
Changing the Scaling of the RRG Chart
The RRG chart will automatically resize when you change the size of the browser window. You can use your mouse's scroll functionality to zoom the plot in and out.
To change the scaling of the RRG plot, use the buttons at top left:
Fit automatically adjusts the vertical scales so that all RRG lines are visible.
Max expands the vertical scales to the maximum size needed to see every RRG line at any point in time.
Center enables a mode that ensures that all RRG lines are visible and also centers the origin of the chart (the origin is the value of the benchmark symbol).
These buttons make a one-time change to the chart's scaling. As the data changes on the chart, the scaling of the chart will not update automatically, meaning that some tails may go off screen. If you would like the scaling to update as the chart data changes, choose your preferred chart scaling and then click the Lock icon next to the Center button to ensure that the chart scaling is adjusted after each change.
Cool Tip: In addition to automatically changing the scaling with the Fit/Max/Center buttons, you can also click on the RRG plot itself and drag to change the position of the chart's origin.
Changing the Chart's Ending Date
By default, today's RRG chart is shown, but you can change the ending date for the RRG plot. The darker-shaded area on the benchmark chart shows the period of time covered by the tails, with the right side of that area marking the end date of the chart. Simply click and drag that area left or right to change to a different start and end date for the chart. You can also use your keyboard's left and right arrow keys. The chart's current ending date is displayed above the benchmark chart.
In addition to choosing one ending date, you can "animate" the chart to show how the tails' positions change over time. Press the Animate button below the benchmark chart to automatically move the RRG plot through all the available historical data.
Cool Tip: When using the Animate button, it is recommended to use the Center scaling option with the scaling locked.
You can also click and drag the darker-shaded area manually from one spot on the benchmark chart to another, to manually create a chart "animation". The RRG plot will update as you drag your mouse across the benchmark chart.
Configuring the Data Shown on an RRG Chart
Members can update the data that is shown on the chart, including changing the symbols, benchmark symbol, and the range and period of the chart. These settings can be changed in the settings panel to the right of the RRG chart.
Note: If the settings panel is not visible, click the Settings button at top right to display the panel.
Both members and free users can configure the length and style of the tails that are shown on the chart for each symbol. These settings are located above the RRG chart.
Changing the Chart's Symbols
Members can change the symbols that are included on the RRG chart using the settings panel to the right of the chart. All symbols that are currently on the chart will be shown on the Symbols list.
Click the X next to a symbol to remove it permanently from the chart. Use the Add Symbols box below the list to add new symbols (you can add multiple symbols at once by separating them with commas, e.g. A,B,C). Up to 50 symbols can be added to an RRG chart.
Once the list is updated, click the green Save Changes button at the bottom of the settings panel to add/remove those symbols on the chart.
Additionally, members can use the Group dropdown menu in the settings panel to create an RRG chart from a number of different predefined groups of symbols.
Changing the Benchmark Symbol
Members can change the benchmark symbol that the symbols on the chart are compared against. This is done by editing the symbol in the Benchmark Symbol box on the settings panel and clicking the green Save Changes button.
Changing the Range
By default, the RRG chart covers a range of 1 year. This affects the amount of historical data that is available when choosing a different end date for the RRG chart, or for animating the chart.
To create a shorter- or longer-term RRG chart, members can use the Range dropdown menu in the settings panel to choose a different range, then click the green Save Changes button. The choices available range from 1 day to 10 years. Longer duration charts take longer to load.
Note: A ticker symbol must have at least 50 data points to appear on an RRG chart. This amounts to roughly 10 weeks of data for a daily RRG, one year of data for a weekly RRG, and just over four years of data for a monthly RRG.
Changing the Period
By default, RRG charts use weekly data in their calculations; in this configuration, each data point on a tail represents one week of data. You can change the chart so that it uses a period other than weekly (anything from 5 minutes to 1 month) using the “Periods” dropdown menu in the settings panel and clicking the green Save Changes button.
For more details on comparing and interpreting weekly vs. daily RRG charts, see our ChartSchool article on RRG Charts.
Configuring the Tails
You can use the “Tail Length” slider above the chart to adjust the length of the tails (the number of historical data points on the tails) on the RRG plot. You can also just type in the number of periods you want on the tails in the box next to the slider. The darker-shaded area on the benchmark chart shows the period of time covered by the tails.
To add an arrowhead to the tail, check the "Arrow Mode" checkbox above the chart.
Saving an RRG Chart
Members can click the “Permalink” link below the symbol table to get a link to their chart, which can then be bookmarked and/or used in web links.
Viewing ChartLists in RRG Format
Members can also use RRG charts to view ChartLists. From Your Dashboard, you can select “RRG” from the “View As” dropdown next to the ChartList you wish to view. Alternatively, you can switch to RRG format from other ChartList formats, such as Summary, Gallery View, or CandleGlance. Select “RRG” from the “View List As” dropdown.
The RRG View will display up to 50 symbols from your ChartList in RRG format. Above the chart, you can use the “Select List” dropdown to choose a different ChartList to display.
You can add or edit notes for the entire ChartList by clicking in the ChartList Notes box at the bottom of the screen. Once you've made your changes, click the “Save” button. For more editing functionality, use the “Edit List” button at the top of the screen to load the ChartList in Edit View.
The “Delete List” and “New List” buttons can be used to delete the current ChartList and create a new ChartList, respectively.
Frequently Asked Questions
Additional Resources
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