TradeGuru, Let the Guru guide your trades

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about subscriptions

How much does your service cost?
What do I get as part of the service?
How much money do I need to get started?
Can I upgrade from a Monthly to a Yearly subscription plan?
Do you have a Referral Program?
As a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), broker/dealer or institutional investor can I use the TradeGuru recommendations for my clients?
Do you offer autotrading or managed accounts?
How do I cancel and discontinue the service?
How can I be sure I receive e-mails from TradeGuru?

Questions about the System

How do I get started?
When and how to trade GuruFolios?
What do you mean by Rebalance and Rebalance Period?
Should I trade in synch with your sample GuruFolios?
One of my positions is no longer part of the daily listings on the "GuruFolios" paqe. What should I do?
How does your Broad Market Gauge work?
What are the historical returns using your Broad Market Gauge?
How and when do I get the Weekly Commentary?
What types of stocks does your System select?
Can the TradeGuru System be used with options?
How do you select your GuruFolios stocks?
Do you select industry sectors?
How frequently do I trade?
How long does the average trade last?
Is the TradeGuru System related to the TimingCube Model?
How does TradeGuru compare with TimingCube?
I am not a Day Trader, can I still use TradeGuru?
Do you use stop losses?
Can the TradeGuru System be used to invest retirement funds such as an IRA?
Which stock recommendations to choose?
What if I have a question that is not answered here?

How much does your service cost?

We offer two subscription plans. You can subscribe on a Monthly basis ($49.95 per month) or a Yearly basis ($499.95 per year). The Yearly plan provides the best value as it saves you almost $100.00 over a one-year period.

Both plans give you full access to TradeGuru's services and come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee for first time subscribers. If not satisfied for any reason during the first 30 days, TradeGuru will be glad to issue a full refund. Please read our Refund/Cancellation Policy.
There is no long term commitment. You can cancel at any time, but after the initial 30-day period there are no refunds.

If you decide to subscribe to our service, you will first be billed after you complete our subscription process (using our page). You will then choose a User ID and Password which gives you immediate access to our current GuruFolios, as well as other subscriber-only resources of the Web site.

Unless you cancel the service, your subscription plan will automatically renew at the end of the subscription period, and you will be billed accordingly. This helps prevent any lapses in membership during which you would not be able to check the current list of GuruFolio stocks.

What do I get as part of the service?

Once a subscriber, you can log in to the site at anytime and check the latest content of the GuruFolios.The list of stocks in the GuruFolios is updated every trading days no later than 2:00 pm ET, but since we recommend rebalancing only every 4 weeks(see How Frequently do you trade? for more details) you do not have to login every day.

TradeGuru also publishes a short Weekly Commentary after the close of the market on Fridays. This commentary is posted on our Web site and also sent to you by e-mail.

How much money do I need to get started?

There is no minimum, but in order to keep the subscription fee to no more than 1%, an amount of at least $50,000 would be justified (we used the $499.95 Yearly fee). On the other hand, a 2.5% gain on a $20,000 portfolio pays for the fee, and we would expect higher gains in any typical year.

Can I upgrade from a Monthly to a Yearly subscription plan?

Yes! Upgrading is advantageous and simple. A Yearly subscription plan costs $499.95 and will save you nearly $100.00 annually.

To find details and initiate the upgrade process, monthly subscribers must log in and click on the "Show me how" upgrading button located on the "GuruFolios" page.

Do you have a Referral Program?

Yes, we do! You can refer any friend, relative or colleague and we reward you for each new subscriber with 1 month free subscription. You can refer as many people as you like, and will keep receiving a free subscription month for every one that subscribes and remains a subscriber for at least 30 days. Some creative subscribers even post their referral URL in online chat rooms, forums, newsgroups, etc. to get credit.
For all the details on our Referral Program visit the "Referrals" page after you log in.

As a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), broker/dealer or institutional investor can I use the TradeGuru recommendations for my clients?

Yes, but a professional subscription is required to use the TradeGuru system and stock recommendations to direct the investment of your clients' assets. The benefits of a professional subscription range from offloading the day-to-day research to a proven and successful approach with a record of market-beating performance.

Our professional and institutional services are available through our sister company MARKETTREND Advisors.

You can contact them by going directly to their Web site at www.MarketTrendAdvisors.com or by contacting them at:

MARKETTREND Advisors, Ltd.
3720 Gattis School Road #800
Round Rock, TX 78664

Phone:	(512) 255-8722
Fax:	(512) 255-8732
Email:	info@markettrendadvisors.com
Business hours:	Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm Central Standard Time

Do you offer autotrading or managed accounts?

Yes. For those who do not have the time or inclination to trade our recommendations themselves, our sister company MARKETTREND Advisors offers TradeGuru money management. You can contact them by going directly to their Web site at www.MarketTrendAdvisors.com or by contacting them at:

MARKETTREND Advisors, Ltd.
3720 Gattis School Road #800
Round Rock, TX 78664

Phone:	(512) 255-8722
Fax:	(512) 255-8732
Email:	info@markettrendadvisors.com
Business hours:	Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm Central Standard Time

How do I cancel and discontinue the service?

You can cancel at anytime. You simply have to send a cancellation request by e-mailing us at sales@tradeguru.com or by using our page. Please specify your User ID in the message.

Please read our Refund/Cancellation Policy.

How can I be sure I receive e-mails from TradeGuru?

With junk e-mail fast becoming the number one plague of computer users, your software vendors and Internet Service Provider have been erecting defenses and countermeasures which in their zeal can even block messages you actually want to receive, such as important communications from TradeGuru.
One of the most effective ways to prevent this from happening is to include friendly e-mail addresses in your address book. The three addresses from which TradeGuru sends e-mails are:

This easy fix frequently takes care of the problem, but to be on the safe side and to make sure that you will actually receive our e-mail communications, you can use the "Test E-mail" function at the bottom of the "GuruFolios" page, which you access after logging in. You can also specify an alternate e-mail address on the "My Profile" page. Our E-mail notifications will then be sent to that address too.

How do I get started?

Getting started with the TradeGuru System is quite easy. The Implementation section of the "Our Service" page provides a succinct step by step starter guide.

When and how to trade GuruFolios?

The TradeGuru GuruFolios System is run around mid-day each trading day and the folios are updated on the Web site with their respective list of stocks no later than 2:00 pm ET.

Since the GuruFolios are updated on a daily basis, you can start your own portfolio at any time by buying some or all of the current GuruFolio stocks. All you have to do is keep the stocks for 4 weeks and rebalance the portfolio at the end of the 4-week period, by selling the stocks that are no longer part of the list and replacing them with the new current stocks. You then repeat the process every subsequent 4-week period. Consequently, you only need to log in to the website once every 4 weeks, when it is time to rebalance your portfolio.

We recommend that subscribers place their orders during the course of the trading day. If you cannot execute your trades before the close of the market, to alleviate the potential problem for opening gaps; we do not recommend placing market orders before the market open. Instead, you should trade manually after the open to wait for any significant gap to close back down. If you cannot do that, we would recommend a limit order with the limit set at say 1% above the previous closing price. When it is time to sell a position, you can typically place a market order.

What do you mean by Rebalance and Rebalance Period?

Rebalancing is the action of removing the stocks which are no longer listed on the website from your portfolio, and replacing them by the ones from the current selection. This is typically done every 4 weeks (the Rebalancing Period), see "When and how to trade GuruFolios?" for more details.

Should I trade in synch with your sample GuruFolios?

We would not recommend it in order to avoid potential influence of the stock price when too many TradeGuru subscribers trade at the same time. At times there will be discrepancies one way or the other between the performance of the sample folios and your own but overtime the returns should be very similar.

One of my positions is no longer part of the daily listings on the "GuruFolios" paqe. What should I do?

Basically, if you follow the recommended strategies, you should do nothing. As explained in the FAQ "When and how to trade GuruFolios?", GuruFolios are updated on a daily basis so that our members can start their own portfolio at any time. When you are already invested, you just have to wait until the end of your rebalance period, typically 4 weeks, and therefore do not need to check the current GuruFolio listings every trading day. Very often, a stock will disappear from the current list only to be selected again a few days later. This is simply due to the fact that our screening process has to select exactly 10 stocks per GuruFolio on any given day. When a stock barely makes the cut, it can easily move in and out of the daily listing. This is completely normal and does not indicate that a stock that is no longer listed has suddenly turned bad and should be sold immediately: once you buy a GuruFolio stock, you should keep it for 4 weeks, even if it disappears from the "GuruFolios" page's daily listings a few days after you bought it.

How does your Broad Market Gauge work?

The Broad Market Gauge is intended to serve a similar purpose to Investor's Business Daily's Big Picture reading of the market in that it serves as a high-level guide as to market health. When the market is healthy, the odds of our TradeGuru stocks making gains are obviously quite a bit higher. On the other hand, we want to know when it's less advisable to buy the stocks. Our Broad Market Gauge will note when the market is unhealthy and gains less likely to occur through both the color of the Gauge and the note underneath. While our GuruFolios have generated +30% annual returns for more than a decade, there have been periods of high volatility, weak markets, and drawdowns that some subscribers may have found too intense. Our Broad Market Gauge is simply trying to highlight when those periods might be upon us such that less aggressive subscribers might prefer to sit in cash until the market is healthier and the odds of gains higher.

What are the historical returns using your Broad Market Gauge?

Our Broad Market Gauge comes from a composite of many different market indicators, such as TimingCube's Classic signal, Investor's Business Daily's Big Picture market condition, among several others. Because these indicators all have varying historical timeframes with the component inputs coming and going as we find improved sources, it's really impossible to construct a clean history of the Broad Market Gauge. The usefulness remains, however, in providing a high-level guide that lets us know when the market condition is stormy and the likelihood of our stock's gaining slim.

How and when do I get the Weekly Commentary?

On all non-holiday Fridays we will post the Weekly Commentary on the Web site after the close of the market, no later than 9:00 pm ET. The most current commentary can be found at the top of the "GuruFolios" page through Monday morning, and archived copies can be accessed through the "Weeklies" page after you log in.

What types of stocks does your System select?

Our stock recommendations are companies listed on the AMEX, NASDAQ or NYSE stock exchanges. From the vast universe of stocks trading on the U.S. exchanges we apply our stringent fundamental analysis criteria to narrow the candidates to the very best prospects for significant short-term and mid-term price advances.

The shares need to be priced at a minimum of $5. We only consider companies with market capitalization of $200M or more; such companies provide enough liquidity to prevent our trade recommendations from influencing the stock price.

Beyond that the fundamental criteria we apply seek to identify good profitable businesses which are growing and offer good value, a company profile we can summarize as "growth at a reasonable price (GARP)". Folios A and B, by offering a slightly different bias can provide subscribers an opportunity to select a category they favor more or to build more diversified portfolios. In a nutshell, Folio A stocks are screened more for their growth and momentum attributes, while Folio B stocks tend to be especially good values.

Can the TradeGuru System be used with options?

Yes. Many of our recommended stocks have options available. The columns "Options Offered" of the tables in the "GuruFolios" page provide this information. Because there are so many ways to trade options we always track and report the stock itself.

How do you select your GuruFolios stocks?

Both the selection and the timing of our stock trade recommendations are driven entirely by our proprietary System for which we do not disclose the details. Our System exclusively looks at historical and current data to select the stocks and detect explosive advances. See "What types of stocks does your System select?". The TradeGuru GuruFolios System uses a 100% mechanical approach to select stocks based on "top notch" fundamental criteria. There is no technical analysis involved.

Do you select industry sectors?

While our System has no sector preferences, it tends to favor the best companies in areas that outperform the rest of the market.

How frequently do I trade?

GuruFolios
As mentioned in "When and how to trade GuruFolios?", our predetermined holding period of choice is 4 weeks; this cycle duration has demonstrated great returns while avoiding too frequent trading. The "Average Periodic Turnover" being around 45%, it is possible that some stocks will remain in the portfolio for several periods in a row.

You typically only have to trade once every 4 weeks and therefore you do not have to check the Web site on a daily basis.

How long does the average trade last?

The "Average Periodic Turnover" is around 45% for the 4 week cycle, so some trades will last 4-weeks while others can span over several cycles.
The average position duration is about 60 days.

Is the TradeGuru System related to the TimingCube Model?

First we need to emphasize that the two services are different and their recommendations are completely unrelated. Unlike TimingCube, the TradeGuru System focuses on individual stocks and uses an approach based on top down company selection for their leadership fundamentals such as earnings growth.The differences are detailed in the table below.

Comparison of TimingCube and TradeGuru

	TimingCube	GuruFolios
Style	Index investing	Stock picking
Strategy	Trend following	Special stock opportunities
Market side	Long/Short	Long only
Investment vehicles	ETFs, mutual funds, options	Individual stocks, options
Investor profile Character Risk tolerance Time horizon	Moderate Low Long-term	Aggressive High Short-term
Average trade frequency	4 trades per year	Every 4-week period
Average trade duration	3 months	60 days