What it tells you
Sherpa Signal answers a single question: how broadly are institutions positioning around this bond, and is that position growing, holding, or shrinking?
The score blends several inputs — institutional breadth, exposure size, holder concentration, credit quality, and recent flow direction — into a single 0–100 readout. A breakdown below the gauge shows the relative contribution of each input, so you can see what's driving the headline number.
What the score breakdown means
Two bonds with the same Sherpa Signal score can be very different underneath. The breakdown bars under the gauge tell you which inputs are pulling weight:
- Breadth — how many institutions hold it.
- Size — how much aggregate exposure they have.
- Concentration — whether ownership is dispersed or held by a few.
- Credit — the bond's credit-quality input.
- Flow — recent buying or selling direction.
Interpretation labels
The verbal descriptor next to the gauge converts the score into plain English:
- Strong signal / Broad ownership — Many institutions, large exposure, dispersed.
- Moderate institutional footprint — Real institutional presence with some depth.
- Light institutional footprint — Some holders, often narrowly held. Common for newer issues or off-the-run bonds.
- Early footprint / Minimal — Few or no holders. The score is often carried by credit alone.
- Emerging / Thin — No institutional footprint detected yet, or exposure below the noise floor.
Flow analytics (1D / 7D / 30D)
Below the gauge, the flow section shows the net buying or selling activity across rolling windows. Each cell compares the most recent positioning to the positioning from 1, 7, or 30 days ago.
What "As of" means
The date next to "Sherpa Signal" is the freshest update for this specific bond across the institutional panel. Different institutions disclose on different schedules, so the as-of date reflects the most recent input — not a single global timestamp.
What's not in the score
- Your own positions. Sherpa Signal is global; it doesn't see your portfolio.
- Market technicals (price, yield, spread). The score is purely positioning-driven.
- Individual holder identities. Free and anonymous viewers see anonymized signals; Pro accounts see the names where they can be disclosed.