Lesson Learned: REIT Strategy Not Activated Despite CEO Priority (Dec 12, 2025)

ID: ll_012 Date: December 12, 2025 Severity: HIGH Category: Strategy Integration, Configuration, Verification Impact: $0 REIT returns (opportunity cost - strategy existed but never executed)

Executive Summary

CEO asked “How much money did we make today from REITs investing?” and discovered that no REIT positions existed despite having a complete REIT strategy implementation (src/strategies/reit_strategy.py).

The Mistake

What Happened

Metric Value
REIT Positions 0
REIT Returns $0.00
Strategy Code Existed YES
Strategy Registered NO
Strategy Executed NO

Root Cause Analysis

  1. Strategy Code Existed: src/strategies/reit_strategy.py was fully implemented
  2. Not Wired In: autonomous_trader.py had no execute_reit_trading() function
  3. Not in Registry: config/strategy_registry.json didn’t list REIT strategy
  4. Not in System State: data/system_state.json had no Tier 7 configuration
  5. No Integration Test: No test verified that active strategies were being executed

The Cascade of Failures

Strategy Code Written
    → Not Added to Registry
    → Not Added to autonomous_trader.py
    → Not Called in Daily Workflow
    → $0 REIT Trades
    → CEO Discovers Gap

The Fix (Applied Dec 12, 2025)

PR #587: Activate REIT Smart Income Strategy (Tier 7)

  1. Added to autonomous_trader.py:
    • reit_enabled() - Feature flag
    • execute_reit_trading() - Execution function
    • _update_system_state_with_reit_trade() - State tracking
  2. Added to strategy_registry.json:
    • reit_smart_income strategy registered
  3. Added to system_state.json:
    • Tier 7 configuration with full REIT universe

REIT Universe

Sector Symbols Strategy
Growth AMT, CCI, DLR, EQIX, PLD Towers, data centers, industrial
Defensive O, VICI, PSA, WELL Retail, gaming, storage, healthcare
Residential AVB, EQR, INVH Apartments

Prevention Measures

1. Strategy Integration Verification Script

Create scripts/verify_strategy_integration.py:

def verify_all_strategies_integrated():
    """Verify all active strategies in system_state are called in autonomous_trader.py"""
    with open("data/system_state.json") as f:
        state = json.load(f)

    with open("scripts/autonomous_trader.py") as f:
        trader_code = f.read()

    active_strategies = [
        k for k, v in state.get("strategies", {}).items()
        if v.get("status") == "active" or v.get("enabled")
    ]

    for strategy in active_strategies:
        if f"execute_{strategy}" not in trader_code and f"{strategy}" not in trader_code:
            raise AssertionError(f"MISSING: Strategy '{strategy}' is active but not in autonomous_trader.py")

2. Pre-Commit Hook

Add to .pre-commit-config.yaml:

- repo: local
  hooks:
    - id: verify-strategy-integration
      name: Verify Strategy Integration
      entry: python3 scripts/verify_strategy_integration.py
      language: python
      pass_filenames: false

3. Daily Strategy Execution Report

Add to daily trading workflow:

def report_strategy_execution():
    """Log which strategies were actually executed"""
    executed = ["tier1", "tier2", ...]  # Track in execute function
    expected = get_active_strategies_from_system_state()

    missing = set(expected) - set(executed)
    if missing:
        logger.error(f"ALERT: Strategies NOT executed: {missing}")
        send_alert("Strategy Execution Gap", missing)

4. CI Verification Gate

Add test to verify strategies:

def test_all_active_strategies_have_execution_code():
    """Every active strategy in system_state must have execute function"""
    # Load system state
    # Parse autonomous_trader.py
    # Assert all active strategies are called

Verification Tests

Test 1: Strategy Integration

def test_ll_012_all_strategies_integrated():
    """Ensure all active strategies are integrated."""
    from scripts.verify_strategy_integration import verify_all_strategies_integrated
    verify_all_strategies_integrated()  # Should not raise

Test 2: REIT Strategy Enabled

def test_reit_strategy_enabled():
    """REIT strategy must be enabled and callable."""
    from scripts.autonomous_trader import reit_enabled, execute_reit_trading
    assert reit_enabled() == True
    assert callable(execute_reit_trading)

Metrics to Track

Metric Target Alert Threshold
Strategies with code but not integrated 0 Any > 0
Daily strategy execution coverage 100% < 100%
Time to detect missing strategy < 1 day > 1 day

Key Quotes

“Strategy code that isn’t wired in is just expensive documentation.”

“If system_state says it’s active, autonomous_trader must execute it.”

“Test the integration, not just the units.”

Tags

#strategy #integration #reit #missing-execution #verification #lessons-learned

Change Log

  • 2025-12-12: Incident discovered by CEO
  • 2025-12-12: PR #587 created and merged - REIT strategy activated
  • 2025-12-12: Lesson learned documented
  • 2025-12-12: Prevention measures defined