FAQ

Comtex SmarTrend® Alert is an automated pattern recognition system that delivers real-time "UPTREND" and "DOWNTREND" alerts directly to you. Based on proprietary analytics developed and forward blind-tested over 25 years, SmarTrend shows you the data you need to improve your timing and trading results. SmarTrend combines this analysis with headlines and news from the highlighted companies to help you make fact-based investment decisions! SmarTrend is the only system to deliver trend alerts combined with real-time news. Brought to you by Comtex News Network - a company whose strong reputation has been built over several decades by delivering relevant, reliable, and real-time news.

SmarTrend identifies opportunities to buy and invest in particular stocks by issuing UPTREND and DOWNTREND alerts at the actual time a price trend change is determined.

More than 5,500 North American stocks are included in SmarTrend; typically up to 100 alerts are issued on trading days.

SmarTrend alerts are 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.

Yes, all information related to the purchase or sale of a stock should be carefully evaluated. The combination of SmarTrend alerts and news provides special, additional information at the specific time a trend change is indicated.

An UPTREND is an indication of the direction of a stock based upon automated price-time-series pattern recognition. Whether or not to buy a stock must be evaluated in the context of all available information.

A DOWNTREND is an indication of the direction of a stock based upon automated price-time-series pattern recognition. Whether or not to sell or short a stock must be evaluated in the context of all available information.

In order to calculate new UPTRENDS and DOWNTRENDS at the fastest possible speed, statistics are used from intraday prices to find the "tipping point" in the trend changing process. The high degree of probability has been determined worthwhile since the resulting SmarTrends are confirmed in approximately 94% of the cases.
Approximately 6% of the time the stock price may reverse its direction later in the day and subsequent calculations either eliminate or reverse the trend determination. Analysis has shown that the level of returns 94% of the time more than compensates for the minimal downside risk from the updated trend alerts.

A daily Trend Confirmation Alert is now sent via email for those stocks on your Watchlist confirmed as trends following post-trading session analysis. Initial real-time SmarTrend Alerts are displayed in gold throughout the site – on “My Watchlist,” “MySmarTrend Alerts,” “All SmarTrend Alerts,” and the arrows on the SmarTrend charts.

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 company’s information including charts, fundamental data and historical performance-- 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.

SmarTrend provides a wealth of historical data. View the chart display of any company's performance to see the company's stock performance, where SmarTrend UPTRENDS and DOWNTRENDS were called, and what the company's benchmarks were on those days.

If you see the symbol for a company you follow in the main display table, just click on the symbol to see a more detailed view/chart into the company's historical performance. To see a chart for a specific company you follow 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, most likely you 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, unconfirmed alerts and the black arrows indicate those trends, which have been confirmed during post-trading session analysis. To see specifics about that trend, click on the arrow and benchmark information for the trend will be displayed.

To change the 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 financial market 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 factors are simultaneously analyzed to result in this unique price trend change notification system.

The SmarTrend team is continuously building upon the original SmarTrend platform to provide dynamic new features that make investing more productive for you!

You can follow your own portfolio or track prospective investments with the "My Watchlist" tab. You can select up to 100 companies to track - and receive email notifications of any new SmarTrend Alerts published on those companies. The fundamental data included beneath all SmarTrend charts are just one of the many features enabling your fact-based investment decision process.

SmarTrend now delivers Trend Confirmation Alerts via email for those trends on your personal Watchlist confirmed during post-trading session analysis. The stock symbols and trend arrows on SmarTrend Charts are now color-coded: gold indicates new real-time, unconfirmed trends. With SmarTrend you can add symbols to your Watchlist in batches as well as download your personal Watchlist to a spreadsheet. A new automatic password authentication scheme allows you to create your own password.

All SmarTrend subscribers automatically upgrade to the new version. The new functionality is available directly from the www.mysmartrend.com site.

Using the Watchlist, you can add favorite companies for SmarTrend to track. The new My SmarTrend Alerts tab enables you to view only those alerts for companies within your personal Watchlists. (Of course, you can still see all alerts in the All SmarTrend Alerts tab.)

My Watchlist is the user 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."

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.

SmarTrend now delivers confirmed trend alerts via email for stocks on your personal Watchlist. Confirmed trends are those that have been confirmed during SmarTrend’s post-trading session analysis. In order to identify new UPTRENDS and DOWNTRENDS at the fastest possible speed, statistics are used from intraday prices to find the "tipping point" in the trend changing process. The high degree of probability has been determined worthwhile since the resulting SmarTrends are confirmed in approximately 94% of the cases.

Approximately 6% of the time the stock price may reverse its direction later in the day and subsequent calculations may either eliminate or reverse the trend determination.
Confirmed trend alerts are indicated on the SmarTrend site as blue stock symbols in “All SmarTrend Alerts” and “My SmarTrend Alerts” and as black stock symbols in “My Watchlist” and black arrows on the SmarTrend charts.

My Watchlist is the user 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 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 the 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 all North American equities, 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 at cs@mysmartrend.com.

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 5,500 North American stocks.

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 7-day FREE trial when they sign up for the product. Go to www.mysmartrend.com/store. A credit card is required – but you will not be billed until your 7-day trial is completed.

Users can sign up for SmarTrend at www.mysmartrend.com/store. New users will receive an ID and password 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.

Users can sign up for SmarTrend online at www.mysmartrend.com/store. A license agreement will be presented to the user and must be completed prior to product activation. Users will receive an ID or password via email within one business day.

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 email at cs@mysmartrend.com.

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

Comtex Client Services are trained in support of the SmarTrend system and provide telephone and email support during all market trading hours. Comtex Client Services can be reached either via email: cs@mysmartrend.com or phone: 703-797-8135.

Comtex does not render any support or advice regarding the actual trading of securities.