The Trade Tech Institute, Inc.

The BBB advises consumers to carefully consider websites promoting commodity trading systems that guarantee high profits with minimal risks. No trading system can guarantee profits. Among other things, these websites may falsely claim that advertised performance results are based on real trading when; in fact, the results are based on hypothetical trading. Consumers should also be aware that systems which trigger frequent trading signals as part of a day trading strategy can result in substantial commissions and fees.

Commodity trading systems typically are computerized programs that signal members of the public when to buy and sell commodity futures and options contracts. Systems produce buy and sell signals based on mathematical formulas and are typically based on technical analysis of trading data (trading volume and prices), as opposed to fundamental analysis (analysis of economic factors such as supply and demand). Trading systems that are based on technical analysis attempt to predict future price movements based on historical prices, price relationships and price trends. In deciding whether to purchase a particular trading system to trade commodity futures or options, members of the public should remember that no commodity trading system can guarantee profits. Whether or not a trading system is used, commodity futures and options are typically high risk endeavors.

Many trading system promoters advertise their systems by reporting hypothetical trading results. Hypothetical trading results typically are based on trading simulations using historical price data or simulated "real time" computer trading. To obtain these results, trading system promoters typically pretend that they traded futures contracts at market prices that occurred sometime in the past. They then calculate the trading results that these purported trades would have achieved had they been placed, based on actual historical prices. These results often show impressive trading results and large net profits with only a few, small margin calls. Whether based on historical data or simulated "real time" trading, hypothetical results do not reflect the results of any actual trading. In other words, there is no actual futures account, no actual investment, no actual trading, and no actual profits. The results are purely the product of simulation.