Mosaic backtesting creates a framework bound to a historical month-end snapshot. The date is fixed for that framework. It is not a guarantee that every part of your research process is free of later information.
Choose and verify a historical run
- In Mosaic's Easel conversation, ask which completed month-end snapshots are available.
- Select a returned, ready date explicitly. Ask Easel to create the framework at that date and review its universe and research instructions.
- Verify the persisted backtest date on the created framework before starting Quant and Research. The date includes that UTC publication day.
- Follow the usual trial and full Research workflow, checking the dated scope and supporting evidence.
Do not look for a required backtest dropdown: this workflow is authored through Easel. Only completed month-ends with ready snapshots are accepted. There is no fixed 24-month age limit, but an arbitrary day or an unavailable snapshot is not valid. If the date is refused, no pass starts and a snapshot is not automatically built. Choose another available date only deliberately; never silently substitute live research.
Historical boundaries
Historical data and documents follow the dated workflow's supported cutoff. Company relationship topology is an explicit exception: it uses current relationships rather than a point-in-time graph. Instructions and conversations can also contain hindsight, including knowledge supplied after the selected date. Authoring is not isolated from later information. Citation links in research files open current Portrait pages, so a linked page such as a company primer can show later information than the snapshot the research used.
Record those limitations when interpreting or sharing a result. Backtesting does not establish investment performance, remove selection bias, or guarantee an absence of future information everywhere.
Troubleshoot
| Problem | Next step |
|---|---|
| Backtesting unavailable | Confirm Mosaic access and the deployment's backtest availability with the account team. A feature flag in another account does not establish yours. |
| Snapshot not ready or date rejected | Ask for the ready month-end list and keep the request unchanged until you choose a valid date. |
| Need a different historical date | Create separate work with the chosen date; do not assume the existing framework's fixed date can be edited. |
| Unexpected live or later information | Check the persisted date, authoring context, current-relationship exception, and whether the information came from a linked app page rather than the research text. Report the specific source and affected pass if the result contradicts the documented cutoff. |
If unresolved, contact support with the framework link, selected date, pass, and redacted error.