Momentum & oscillatorsTRIX · TRIX
The rate of change of a triple-smoothed EMA — momentum with most of the noise filtered out.
Works best in trending marketsEngine-computed on a fixed sample series
What it is
TRIX is a momentum oscillator that measures the rate of change of a triple-smoothed exponential moving average of price. By smoothing price three times before measuring its momentum, it strips out the short-term wiggles and responds only to meaningful shifts, producing one of the cleanest momentum lines available. To a beginner it answers: is the underlying momentum of this trend building or fading, without the noise that clutters faster oscillators? TRIX oscillates around a zero line, rising above zero when momentum turns positive and falling below when it turns negative. Developed by Jack Hutson, it is prized for giving trend-confirmation signals with far fewer whipsaws than raw momentum tools. The price of that cleanliness is lag — TRIX is deliberate, not quick.
How it's calculated
TRIX is built in two stages. First it applies an exponential moving average to price, then an EMA to that result, then a third EMA to the second — three successive rounds of exponential smoothing, all using the same length, which heavily filters the price series. Second, it takes the one-bar percentage change of that triple-smoothed line: today's value minus yesterday's, divided by yesterday's, expressed as a percentage. The result is a small number oscillating around zero that reflects the momentum of the smoothed trend rather than of raw, noisy price. Because the underlying line is so smoothed, short-term fluctuations barely register, so TRIX moves only when a genuine change in momentum occurs. A signal line, usually a short EMA of TRIX itself, is often plotted alongside it to generate earlier triggers. The triple smoothing is the source of both its clarity and its lag.
Reading it step by step
The zero line is the pivot: TRIX crossing above zero signals building upside momentum, and crossing below zero signals building downside momentum, each a trend-confirmation signal. The signal-line crossover gives earlier triggers — when TRIX crosses above its signal line, momentum is turning up ahead of the zero-line cross, and vice versa. The slope of TRIX matters too: a rising line means momentum is accelerating, a falling line means it is decelerating, even before any crossover. Divergence is especially clean on TRIX because the line is so smooth — when price makes a new high but TRIX makes a lower high, the momentum behind the move is quietly fading, a reliable early warning. The distance of TRIX from zero reflects the strength of the prevailing momentum. Read it as a confirmation and divergence tool rather than a precise top-and-bottom picker.
Best timeframes and settings
TRIX suits swing and position trading on daily and weekly charts, where its smoothness turns the chaotic momentum of shorter frames into a readable line. A common length is 14 or 15, with longer lengths of 15 to 30 favoured for position trading and slower, higher-conviction signals. A signal line of around 9 periods is typical. Shortening the length makes TRIX more responsive and quicker to cross zero, at the cost of more false signals; lengthening it produces fewer, cleaner, but later signals. The triple smoothing means even a modest length behaves slowly, so TRIX is rarely a scalping tool. The trade-off is the familiar responsiveness-versus-noise balance, but shifted toward the smooth end because of the three EMAs. Choose the length to match how much lag you can tolerate in exchange for how few whipsaws you want.
When and where to use it
TRIX is a trend-and-momentum tool, most effective in trending markets where its zero-line crosses and divergences confirm the primary move with minimal noise. It is well suited to filtering out the whipsaws that plague MACD and raw momentum in choppy conditions, precisely because its heavy smoothing ignores small swings. It works on any liquid instrument and any asset class. In tight, directionless ranges even TRIX will eventually chop, though less than faster oscillators, so it is not immune to sideways markets. Avoid expecting it to call exact tops and bottoms — it confirms trends and flags fading momentum, but it turns late at sharp reversals. Use it when you want a clean read on whether momentum supports the trend you are trading. Its patience is its strength.
Strategies that use it
A zero-line strategy trades the primary trend: go long when TRIX crosses above zero and hold while it stays positive, exit or reverse when it crosses below, capturing sustained moves with fewer whipsaws than MACD would give. A signal-line strategy uses the earlier TRIX-versus-signal crossovers for entries and exits, accepting slightly more signals in exchange for less lag, and works well combined with the zero line as a trend filter — only taking signal crosses in the direction of TRIX's zero-line bias. A divergence strategy watches for TRIX to diverge from price at the end of a trend: a lower TRIX high against a higher price high warns of exhaustion, prompting you to tighten stops or prepare a counter-trend entry once price confirms. Longer lengths of 15 to 30 suit the patient position-trading versions of these. In each case, hold while TRIX stays on its side of zero.
Combining it with other indicators
TRIX is closely related to MACD and the Percentage Price Oscillator, so it substitutes for them rather than stacking with them — its edge is the extra smoothing. It pairs well with a trend filter such as a moving average or ADX, so you take TRIX signals only in the direction of the larger trend and avoid its occasional chop. Price-structure tools like support, resistance, and trendlines give TRIX signals a location, turning a zero-line cross at a key level into a higher-conviction trade. Volume confirms the strength behind a TRIX-signalled move. The True Strength Index, another double-or-triple-smoothed momentum tool, is a cousin you would choose between rather than run alongside. Keep the toolkit lean: TRIX for momentum, one trend filter, and price structure make a complete system.
Where it fails
TRIX's defining flaw is lag — all that smoothing means it turns late at sharp reversals, so it will confirm a top or bottom well after the fact and is a poor tool for catching precise turning points. It is a trend-confirmation instrument, not a top-and-bottom picker, and treating it as the latter is the classic mistake. In very tight ranges it still eventually produces false zero-line crosses, just fewer than faster tools. Because it is so smooth, a fast, violent move can be underway before TRIX reflects it, costing early entry. Traders who trade every zero-line cross mechanically, without a trend filter or price context, get chopped in sideways markets and enter late in trending ones. Avoid the pitfalls by using TRIX for confirmation and divergence rather than timing exact turns, filtering signals by the larger trend, and pairing it with price levels for location.
A worked example
Suppose a stock has been basing and then begins to rally, and you run a 15-period TRIX with a 9-period signal line. The triple-smoothed EMA of price starts ticking up, and TRIX rises from minus 0.05 through zero to plus 0.08, its cross above zero confirming that upside momentum has genuinely taken hold. You go long on the zero-line cross near a price of 44, holding as TRIX climbs to plus 0.22, and the trend carries price to 52. Weeks later price grinds up to a marginal new high of 53, but TRIX prints only plus 0.14, a clearly lower high than its plus 0.22 peak — a bearish divergence, warning that the smoothed momentum behind the advance is fading. You tighten your stop beneath the recent swing low at 50, and when TRIX subsequently crosses below its signal line and then rolls toward zero, you exit near 51, having used the clean divergence to leave before the late zero-line cross would have signalled the exit far lower.