---
title: "Strategy type"
description: "Strategy type is the shape you pick when creating a strategy — Single instrument, Multiple instruments, Screener or Full setup — and sets its required chapters."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/strategy-type"
last_updated: "2026-10-07"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/strategy-type.md"
---

# Strategy type

Strategy type is the shape you pick when you create a [strategy](/glossary/strategy) — **Single instrument**, **Multiple instruments**, **Screener** or **Full setup**. It decides what the strategy must contain, which Asset selection views it offers and which chapters of [Step by step](/glossary/step-by-step) are required; it never changes how a [backtest](/glossary/backtest) is computed, and you can change it later.

## What are the four strategy types?

Each type describes *what you are building*, and each carries a content requirement the app enforces before you can continue:

| Strategy type | Described in the app as | Must contain |
|---|---|---|
| Single [instrument](/glossary/instrument) | "Trade a single instrument." | exactly 1 instrument |
| Multiple instruments | "A basket of instruments you choose." | 2 or more instruments |
| [Screener](/glossary/screener) | "Let a screener pick the instruments." | at least 1 screener |
| Full setup | "Every setting, built from scratch." | no count requirement |

If the content does not match, the app says how to fix it — "Pick exactly 1 instrument.", "Pick 2 or more instruments." or "Add at least 1 screener." — and offers **Change strategy type** instead. **Full setup** has no requirement because it exposes every setting.

## How does Fincanva handle it?

- You pick the type at creation, in the **Create new** popup, under "How do you want to build this strategy?" and the reassurance "You can change anything later." The popup is the same in both views — see [Create a strategy](/docs/strategies/create-a-strategy-and-choose-its-instruments).
- You change it with the **Type** key in [All at once](/glossary/all-at-once) or the **Strategy type** chapter of Step by step, after a confirmation that says what will change — see [Change a strategy's type](/docs/strategies/change-a-strategy-s-type).
- The type hides no *section*: every section is required by your type or offered as an optional add-on. What it does constrain is the Asset selection view — see [Which Asset selection view does each strategy type give you?](#which-asset-selection-view-does-each-strategy-type-give-you)
- The type shows in the **Strategy type** column of your strategies list; a [Combined](/glossary/combined) is not one of the four and shows **Combined** there.

## What is each strategy type for?

- **Single instrument** — one instrument. Only **Asset selection** and **Summary** are required, because a single holding has nothing to weigh against.
- **Multiple instruments** — a basket you choose. **Allocation** (how capital is split) and **Rebalance** (how often) become required beside **Asset selection** and **Summary**.
- **Screener** — a screener chooses the holdings each period. Its required chapters match Multiple instruments, but **Asset selection** holds one screener instead of a basket; a second qualifying screener or a rejecting pool needs **Full setup**, and a strategy that does carry them is never trimmed — it reads back as Full setup.
- **Full setup** — every setting from scratch. Every chapter is required, **Risk and exits** included, and its Asset selection offers all three views. If you want every control at once, work in [All at once](/glossary/all-at-once), where [every card sits on one page](/docs/strategies/edit-a-strategy-s-settings).

The full table of required chapters: [Build a strategy step by step](/docs/strategies/build-a-strategy-step-by-step#which-chapters-does-each-strategy-type-require).

## Which Asset selection view does each strategy type give you?

The strategy type pins the Asset selection view — the one place where it limits what a strategy can do. There are three: a **Basket** you pick by hand, a **Screen** built from rules, and **Compose**, which holds a basket *and* the Qualify and Reject screener pools.

| Strategy type | Asset selection view | Compose, a Reject pool, a second Qualify screener |
|---|---|---|
| Single instrument | Basket, one slot that replaces on pick | no |
| Multiple instruments | Basket | no |
| Screener | Screen | no |
| Full setup | Basket, Screen or Compose — you switch between them | yes |

**Max positions** is not a control wherever you pick instruments by hand — on Single instrument, Multiple instruments and Full setup's Basket the number of positions *is* the number you picked. It is a control only where a screener chooses: on Screen and in Compose. See [asset-selection modes](/glossary/asset-selection-modes).

## Which strategy types can you create on the Free plan?

**Single instrument**, **Multiple instruments** and **Full setup**. **Screener** starts from Starter, because a Screener strategy cannot exist without a screener and the Free plan includes no screeners inside strategies. Its tile stays in the picker, marked with its plan in the top-right corner, and choosing it opens a short plan dialog instead of starting the build — "Strategies with screeners are available from Starter" — "A screener picks the strategy's instruments at each rebalance. On Free you can still use it on its own, on the Screener page." The **Type** menu of an existing strategy works the same way.

A **Full setup** strategy on Free starts on **Basket**; its **Screen** and **Compose** open as a switched-off preview — see [screener attach](/glossary/screener-attach#how-does-the-free-plan-show-screeners-in-a-strategy). A strategy that already holds a screener on Free is not changed, but its backtest does not start until you remove the screener, change its type, or move to Starter — see [plan compliance](/glossary/plan-compliance#what-happens-to-a-strategy-with-a-screener-on-the-free-plan).

## What does it look like in practice?

You have five stocks and want to see how holding all five would have done. That is **Multiple instruments**: it wants 2 or more instruments, so five qualifies, and it gives you the **Allocation** chapter to decide how capital is split. **Single instrument** would stop you with "Pick exactly 1 instrument."

If you later want a screener to choose the holdings each period instead, switch the type to **Screener**. The confirmation warns that your five instruments will be removed, because a Screener strategy has no basket to keep them in — and they stay until you save, so you can back out.

Fincanva is for education and illustration only. It is not personalised financial advice, and past or simulated results do not predict future ones. [Read the Terms Addendum](https://fincanva.com/terms/addendum#section-3)