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S&P Trading Strategy Signal FAQ

FAQ:

• What are the signals?
  • They are live trading signals from the S&P Trading Strategy



• Are they real time?
  • Nearly. Signals are sent from the trading computers to an emailer which sends them to subscribers so there's one step of indirection. Twitter signals are hand entered from the e-mail signals, so there is an additional delay although we are working on automating this to remove the delay.



• How do I use the signals?
  • Signals can be used to evaluate the funds and money managers using the strategy. (contact Henry Carstens).
    
    Because Vertical Solutions has no way of knowing individual subscriber's financial situation or whether this strategy is appropriate for them, responsibility for use of the signals, especially given the risks of futures trading and the added risks of e-mailed signals, is solely the subscribers.



• What should my expectations be?
  • You should expect the strategy to be right about 60% of the time and for winning trades to be larger than losing trades (on average). Even with this edge, there can be consecutively losing weeks and back-to-back losing months.
    
    HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.



• Why do you use hypothetical results?
  • Because the strategy keeps evolving and only hypothetical results capture that evolution. There is, however, a better way to do hypothetical results - something we call walk forward hypothetical results. Walk forward hypothetical results don't change past hypothetical results but only the hypothetical results going forward from the time of the change. This helps mitigate the ability to look backwards in time. We'll have a paper up on this shortly. The S&P Strategy results have incorportated walk forward hypothetical results since October 2008.
  
  
  
• What are the trading hours and frequency of the signals?
  • The strategy trades approximately 10 times per month although this varies with market conditions.
  
  
  • The strategy may hold two simultaneous positions. These positions may be in the same or opposite directions.
  
  
  • The strategy is active during the S&P futures day session.
  
  
  • The strategy may hold, but does not actively trade, overnight.
  
  
  • The strategy may hold some positions for multiple days.
  
  
  • All strategy components trade with stops, but not all stops are entered before they are hit.



• How does the strategy exit trades?
  • The strategy exits trades via profit targets, time targets, market timing, chart patterns, trailing stops, and stops.



• How do I tell when the strategy is flat?
  • An email is sent at the end of each trading day w/ the strategy's current position and a summary of the day's trades.



• I have a question, who do I ask?
  • support



• Are there any restrictions on signal use?
  • Signals are for individual use and are not for rebroadcast or resale.



• How much does the monthly subscription to the email signals cost?
  • Signals are $250/mo, payable at the end of the month and due only if the strategy was profitable that month.
  
  
  • A subscription form is available here.

THERE IS A RISK OF LOSS IN FUTURES TRADING. ADDITIONALLY, HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN; IN FACT, THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARP DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND THE ACTUAL RESULTS SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED BY ANY PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM. ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS IS THAT THEY ARE GENERALLY PREPARED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. IN ADDITION, HYPOTHETICAL TRADING DOES NOT INVOLVE FINANCIAL RISK, AND NO HYPOTHETICAL TRADING RECORD CAN COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK OF ACTUAL TRADING. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND LOSSES OR TO ADHERE TO A PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM IN SPITE OF TRADING LOSSES ARE MATERIAL POINTS WHICH CAN ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER FACTORS RELATED TO THE MARKETS IN GENERAL OR TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY SPECIFIC TRADING PROGRAM WHICH CANNOT BE FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PREPARATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND ALL WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT TRADING RESULTS.