FAQ

Comtex SmarTrend® is an automated pattern recognition system that delivers real-time "Uptrend" and "Downtrend" signals directly to you. Based on proprietary algorithms developed and tested over 25 years, SmarTrend shows you what you need to improve your timing and trading results. See our About page for more information.

More than 5,000 US-traded stocks are included in SmarTrend; typically 50-100 alerts are issued on trading days. You can choose to view all the alerts or just focus on a Watchlist of stocks you want to follow.

SmarTrend alerts may be related to the accompanying news stories, but there is not necessarily a cause-effect relationship between them. The delivery of SmarTrend alerts with real-time news gives investors unique information about specific stocks at the precise point in time when a price trend change is indicated.

An Uptrend signal is an indication of the upward direction of a stock based upon our automated pattern recognition system. Whether or not to buy a stock must be evaluated in the context of all available information and your particular financial circumstances.

A Downtrend signal is an indication of the downward direction of a stock based upon our automated pattern recognition system. Whether or not to sell or short a stock must be evaluated in the context of all available information and your particular financial circumstances.

In order to alert you as to new Uptrend and Downtrends at the fastest possible speed, intraday market data are used to find the "tipping point" in the trend changing process. However, some alerts may not achieve the statistical level of confidence required during our post-trading session analysis of all the pricing data. A daily Trend Confirmation Report is sent to you via email for those stocks on your Watchlist following post-trading session analysis. Initial, real-time SmarTrend Alerts are displayed in gold throughout the site - on "My Watchlist," "SmarTrend Alerts," and the arrows on the SmarTrend charts. If you want to be notified whether a trend alert for a stock you are interested in is confirmed in our overnight process, please add it to your Watchlist.

To search for a company's symbol or name, just click on the "Symbol Lookup" tab and enter the company's symbol or name. To look up a SmarTrend chart including some basic fundamental and trend alert history, just enter the company symbol in the Quick Charts symbol lookup field at the top of the page.

Click on any news headline in the standard table display to view the entire story associated with the company.

When viewing a chart on a particular company, select a date from the drop down menu in the lower left corner of the page to view prior trend alerts and if any news coincided with the trend change on that date.

If you see the symbol for a company you follow in the main display table, just click on the symbol to see a detailed chart for the company. To see a chart for a specific company you are interested in that is not on the main display table, just enter the company's symbol in the Quick Charts field at the top of the page and that company's chart will appear.

SmarTrend uses a Java application to provide charts that are updated in real-time. If the charts aren't showing up on your browser, you may need to upgrade to the latest version of Java. Go to http://www.java.com to download and install the latest version for free.

The arrows on the SmarTrend charts indicate when an Uptrend or Downtrend was identified on the stock being researched. The gold arrows indicate real-time alerts and the black arrows indicate those trends which have been confirmed during post-trading session analysis. You can mouse over the data on the chart which will bring up a bar with daily price and volume data.

To change the time period for the chart, a date entry window is available at the left of the chart display. Please enter all dates in MM/DD/YYYY format.

SmarTrend is based upon proprietary, automated price/time-series pattern recognition technology developed over the past 25 years by technical analysis experts and computer systems developers. SmarTrend dynamically analyzes up to three years of historical stock price data, coupled with real-time current-day trading information, and sends resulting alerts indicating that a price trend change has been identified. Hundreds of data points on over 5,000 securities are simultaneously analyzed to result in this unique trend change notification system.

All SmarTrend subscribers automatically upgrade to new versions as they are released.

My Watchlist is the tool where you can add (or delete) companies you wish to track. A symbol lookup tool is provided to enable you to add companies by ticker or company name. If you want to be notified for trend alerts on a particular company or whether an intraday trend alert for a stock you are interested in is confirmed in our overnight process, please add it to your Watchlist.

Yes, SmarTrend enables you to receive alerts on companies you track as soon as they are indicated.

To receive email alerts click on the Preferences tab and indicate that you would like to receive alerts via email by ticking the Email Alerts box and clicking Submit Changes. You will automatically receive email alerts for all symbols added to your Watchlist moving forward.

Use the Preferences tab, which enables you to change the email address where alerts are received. Under the Preferences tab you can indicate that you would like to receive alerts via email by ticking the Email Alerts box and clicking Submit Changes. This can be changed as frequently as you wish. If you do not change your email address after signing up, the email address you used to sign up for SmarTrend is the default address.

While alerts can be turned on or off individually from the My Watchlist tab, the Preferences tab has a global control that allows you to temporarily suspend all alerts. This is particularly helpful when you go on vacation.

My Watchlist is the tool that allows you to add (or delete) companies you wish to track. A symbol lookup tool is provided to enable you to add companies by symbol or company name. Additionally, an Add to Watchlist link is provided on the All SmarTrend Alerts tab as well as the Charts page when viewing the chart for any stock that SmarTrend follows. Up to 100 companies from the Global Portfolio can be added to My Watchlist at any time.

Companies can be removed from your personal Watchlist at the My Watchlist tab. Simply tick the box in the Remove column of a particular company and then hit the Remove Selected button at the top of the frame.

SmarTrend now makes it easier for you to follow your portfolio. The new Add Symbol tool allows you to add stocks to your portfolio without having to manually add each stock. From the My Watchlist tab, click on the "Add symbol to Watchlist" link and a text box will appear. You can manually type in the symbols separated by commas or cut and paste your list of symbols from another file. To download your portfolio, click the Download Watchlist link. A new browser window will open with your Watchlist symbols as the first column of a spreadsheet. You may also right-click on the Download Watchlist link and select "Save target as..." to save your Watchlist as a .CSV file on your personal computer.

While SmarTrend tracks most equity securities traded on US exchanges and OTC/NASDAQ, its sophisticated pattern recognition software can only issue alerts on companies with enough market data to provide statistically accurate information. For more information about why a particular company may not be covered, contact our Client Services group.

The SmarTrend Global Portfolio is the list of all companies that, at any given time, have enough market data to make statistically accurate analysis of that data. The SmarTrend Global Portfolio is adjusted regularly based on market conditions and company performance and averages around 5,000 US-traded stocks and ETFs.

Standard pricing for SmarTrend is $99.95/month and $1,095.00 for an annual subscription (you save over $100!). A credit card is required for purchase.

Users can sign up for monthly subscriptions or receive a discount for annual subscriptions.

New users receive a 14-day FREE trial when they sign up for the product. Go to www.mysmartrend.com/shop. A credit card is required - but you will not be billed until your 14-day trial is completed.

Users can sign up for SmarTrend at www.mysmartrend.com/shop. New users will receive an ID and password via email within one business day.

On the upper-right corner of the www.mysmartrend.com home page, users will see a Username and Password login box. User ID and password information should be entered exactly as provided.

On the home page: www.mysmartrend.com, on the upper right corner below the Login button there is a link for "Login Help." When the user clicks on this link, they will be asked for their User ID; their password will be emailed directly to the email address provided upon sign up. If the User ID is unknown, users may contact SmarTrend via the contact page.

To cancel your SmarTrend subscription, you must complete and submit the Cancellation Form on the SmarTrend website, http://v2.mysmartrend.com/cancel.asp.

Our highly trained Client Services staff can assist you in operating SmarTrend by telephone or e-mail during market hours. Client Services can be reached either via the contact page or phone: 703-797-8135.

SmarTrend or Comtex is not a financial advisor and does not render any support or advice regarding the actual trading of securities. SmarTrend does provide free expert market analysis via the daily newsletter, Morning Call - and throughout the day, visit our News & Market Analysis page for up-to-the-minute market information.