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Frequently Asked Questions

TimingCube Service and Subscription Questions

General Questions

World ETF Ranking Questions

More Subscriber Questions
You can find the answer to many more questions by looking up the FAQ of the Week Index.

TimingCube Services and Subscriptions Questions

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 TimingCube'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, TimingCube 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 "Subscribe" page). You will then choose a User ID and Password which gives you immediate access to our current signal and 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 valuable signals could be missed.

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 "My Profile" page.

What do I get as part of the service?

Once a subscriber, you can log in to the site to access the current signal for our Turbo and Classic Models, as well as the latest update of the World ETF ranking list and other subscriber-only information such as the latest Weekly Updates. You will also be able to call the "Signal by Phone" number at anytime and check the current Turbo and Classic signals.

In addition to the most recent signal and market update, Weekly Updates include the highly regarded Trend Timing School section -- teachings on the Trend Timing Model and philosophy -- and the FAQ of the Week.

TimingCube subscribers can elect to be notified of a Turbo Model signal change, a Classic Model signal change, or both. TimingCube automatically sends an e-mail notification to all corresponding subscribers whenever a signal change occurs and, optionally, a Weekly Update e-mail notification. That way, you don't have to check the site every day to ensure that you are not missing out on a new signal or other critical information.

Do you offer Managed Accounts?

Yes, indirectly. We have arranged for Managed Accounts tracking the TimingCube strategies and signals to be made available from MARKETTREND Advisors. For details see the "Managed Accounts" page.

As a RIA, broker/dealer or institutional investor can I use the TimingCube signal for my clients?

A professional subscription is required to use the TimingCube system and signal to direct the investment of your clients' assets. The benefits range from offloading the day-to-day research and money management to a proven and successful approach, to a continuing record of long-term market-beating performance.

Our professional and institutional services are available through our sister company MARKETTREND Advisors, and they extend from simple licensing of the signal and strategy counseling, to full money management.

To find MARKETTREND Advisors' contact information please refer to our "Managed Accounts" 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.

How can I give a TimingCube Subscription?

The best way to proceed is to simply go through a brand new registration by clicking on the "Subscribe" link on our website and following the simple steps. You will want to select the "Yearly subscription" because with automatic renewal a "Monthly subscription" would be an open ended gift (and giving just one month would not be of great value). In Step 3 we recommend you fill out the Personal Information for the gift recipient with the exception of the e-mail address which should initially be yours (or the gift recipient will receive our confirmation e-mail with the amount you paid as well as any other e-mails we send prior to you informing her/him of the gift). Of course the Payment Information is yours and it is perfectly secure as we do not display the full card number in the "My Profile" page.

The only extra steps remaining to complete your gift subscription are:

Send us an e-mail to support@timingcube.com requesting us to remove your credit card information from the gift account to prevent automatic renewal at the end of the 1^st year (make sure you include the User ID of the gift account in your request)
Last but not least, at the time of your choosing, inform the lucky recipient of your wonderful gift and be sure to give her/him the website address www.timingcube.com and their personal User ID and Password. You should also instruct them to go to the My Profile page when they first log in and change the e-mail address to their own (or they will not receive our signals or any other notifications)

Can I check the Turbo and Classic signals over the phone?

When away from the Internet or e-mail, subscribers can obtain the current Turbo and Classic signals over the phone by using our "Signal by Phone" service. The message is updated daily, at the same time as the Web site, after the market close by 9:00pm ET. Access number and code details can be found in the "My Profile" page after you log in.

Can I access the current Turbo and Classic signals with my SmartPhone?

A SmartPhone is a mobile device combining the capabilities of a wireless phone with PDA-type functionality. They let you communicate via voice or text along with the ability to access online information so you can stay in touch while on the go.
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our subscribers informed in a timely manner wherever they are, TimingCube provides secure SmartPhone access to the current Turbo and Classic signals and trade results.

In order to function with our service, the SmartPhone must be equipped with:

An Internet access
A JavaScript-enabled browser accepting secure pages (HTTPS protocol)

Examples of compatible devices:

Palm OS 5 (or later) SmartPhones, e.g. PalmOne Treo 650, 700 ...
Windows Mobile 2003 (or later) SmartPhones, e.g. Samsung i600

All you need to do is enter the https://www.timingcube.com/app/html?page=pda_login URL into your SmartPhone's browser and follow the usual login steps.

How do you generate your timing signals?

Our Classic Model generates its signals using price and volume action on the Nasdaq Composite Index . The Model was developed in early 2001 using years of market data and experience and has been backtested since January 3, 1989. Our Model is not intended for day traders, but for long-term investors, as it generates few signals. On average three to five signals per year will be issued, but over the past 15 years, acting on these signals has proven extremely profitable, as shown on our Classic Model "Results" page.

Our Turbo Model derives its signals from the behavior of the QQQ . QQQ is the ETF based on the Nasdaq 100 , an index driven primarily by the largest technology companies in the United States. Taking into account the volatility of the index, our Turbo Model can be in a slower, trend-following state where signals and trades are few; or switch to more frequent trading where signals can occur as often as twice a week, with an overall average of 4 signals per month. Its is therefore intended for both long-term investors and active traders. Launched in October 2011, The Turbo Model has been backtested since the inception of the QQQ ETF, that is March 1999.

Both Models are 100% mechanical and unemotional, but the specific ingredients and recipes are proprietary and are therefore not disclosed. Please note that the algorithms used for the two Models are completely different and do not rely on each other. Coupled with the fact that the Turbo Model trades more often, It is therefore entirely possible for the Turbo and Classic signals to be different on any given day.

Are your results verified by an independent third party?

At TimingCube, everything we do is based on absolute integrity. For complete accountability, our trades and returns are independently verified and tracked by TimerTrac.com.
Click the TimerTrac logo for independent verification of our track record.

How and when do I get notified about signal changes?

TimingCube's Classic and Turbo Models are run at the end of each trading day. If a new signal is issued, it will be posted on this Web site and accessible by subscribers at the Signal by Phone number by 9:00 pm ET that same day. Subscribers are also notified of the signal change by e-mail.

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 support@timingcube.com or by using our "Contact Us" page. Please specify your User ID in the message.

Please read our Refund/Cancellation Policy.

General Questions

What is Trend Timing?

Trend Timing is an investment approach pioneered by TimingCube, which enables investors to profit in both up or down markets by implementing Models that follow the broad market trends. Our purely mechanical Models observe past and current market action to determine the general trend.

The Classic Model is developed for long-term investors and instead of daily or weekly trading, it only generates on average 3 to 5 signals per year. For its part, our Turbo Model generates higher returns by trading more often, with an average of 4 signals per month.

Both Trend Timing Models have the unique ability to capture the high correlation that exists between major stock markets over extended periods of time, and in turn allows the exact same signal to be applied successfully to various market indexes, both U.S. and international. We do not predict how long a trend will last or how strong it will be. No one can do so consistently. The beauty of our Models is that we always know exactly where we stand, as long as the trend is up we have a Buy signal, and as long as the trend is down we have a Sell signal; For the Classic Model, a Cash signal can issued when the Model detects conflicting trends or as a stop loss security.

Trend Timing is both completely unemotional and extremely profitable.

Do the Turbo and Classic signals work with all the U.S. and international indexes?

Yes. The signals generated by our Turbo and Classic Models apply to the broad stock market. Because of the high correlation between World bourses, our signals can be used to successfully time many U.S. and international indexes. Any disconnects between indexes do not last long, even international ones. For more information about the correlation of broad markets, you can review the Trend Timing School article titled "The Trend is contagious" and "Correlation of world stock markets" in the June 11, 2004 and March 14, 2008 issues of our Weekly Updates. Recognizing that relative strength always changes between markets we offer the World strategies to help you diversify your portfolio by investing in markets that show the strongest momentum.

Why try to time the stock market?

Many people will tell you that it is useless to try to time the market, because it cannot be done consistently. We disagree, and we hope you will too after checking our Turbo Model "Results" page.

Many investors fail to time the market because they make decisions based on emotions, not facts. Human nature pushes us to follow the crowd and overpay for a stock that is about to peak, or dump another one because of a scary market drop, when we should in fact be buying it. Because of this, we believe that the key to successful market timing is to use a 100% mechanical system that completely removes emotions from the investing process.

Of course such a Model will only be as good as the criteria and indicators it uses to generate timing signals. The TimingCube Turbo and Classic Models provide an excellent way to time the broad stock market. As Buy and Hold investors have learned in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and early 2008, being invested in stocks during a significant market drop can be devastating. An investor following TimingCube's Models would not only have avoided those losses, but could also have profited tremendously from the market collapse.

What are index funds?

We recommend using diversified investment vehicles that mirror major U.S. and international market indexes such as the Nasdaq 100 , Russell 2000 , S&P 500 , the Brazilian's Bovespa, the Hong Kong's Hang Seng ...

Index tracking investments mostly fall in two categories: Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and mutual funds, nonetheless the popularity and variety of ETFs is increasing at a fast pace, while mutual funds are losing momentum. Similar to stocks, ETFs can be bought long, sold short, on margin, and can be traded at the market open, the day following a signal change. ; since ETFs can be found to match, double, inverse, and double inverse performance objectives for most indexes, they can be used to implement the TimingCube strategies and are viable alternatives for qualified retirement accounts where "shorting" and "margin trading" is not allowed. Mutual funds on the other hand are usually traded at the market close. Because of the resulting one-day delay, mutual fund are not suitable vehicles for our Turbo Model, as signals can come as frequently as twice a week during volatile periods. Investors looking to follow the Turbo Model should therefore stick to ETFs instead.

I am a new subscriber. How should I act on your current active signal?

You have three options:

You can decide to follow the current active signal. For example, if a Buy signal has been in effect for some time, you would just buy shares of your selected ETF and become fully invested at the time you join
A more prudent approach would be to use dollar cost averaging. For example, if you intend to invest $10,000 using our Turbo or Classic signal, you could start your investment with 20% of that total immediately, and add 20% to the position each week until you are totally invested, or until we issue a new signal. You can review the March 28, 2008 issue of the Weekly Update "How to invest when starting mid-signal" for more details about dollar cost averaging.
Finally, you could simply wait until the next signal, but this might possibly keep you on the sidelines for several weeks or months

It is up to you to decide which option to choose, based on your tolerance for risk.

When to trade after a new Turbo or Classic signal has been issued?

TimingCube's Turbo and Classic Models are run at the end of each trading day. If a new signal is issued, it will be posted on this Web site and accessible by subscribers at the Signal by Phone number by 9:00 pm ET that same day. Subscribers are also notified of the signal change by e-mail. In order to achieve the full benefit from the signal, you should act on it as soon as possible.

If your selected investment vehicle is an ETF, your order should be placed before the market opens on the next trading day. Since ETFs trade like stock, they can be bought or sold at market open. All performance results posted on this site assume the trading occurs at market open, the day after a signal change. This is the only realistic way to measure performance, as you could not possibly have acted on the new signal any earlier.

If you follow the Classic Model and your selected investment vehicle is a mutual fund, your order should be placed before or during the trading hours of the day following the signal change. Since most mutual fund families only calculate the Net Asset Value (NAV) at the end of each trading day, this ensures that you will buy the mutual fund at the first available price. This is a significant difference between ETFs and mutual funds: whereas you can buy an ETF right at market open, you in effect have to wait until market close to buy an equivalent mutual fund. Over time the performance impact of the one day delay should be fairly minor but since the Classic Model trades very little, nevertheless, you should be on the lookout for fund families that are starting to offer intra-day mutual fund pricing.

Your current signal is losing money. Should I move to a money market fund and wait for a signal change?

No, you should not! If in doubt, have a look at our Turbo Model "Results" page and you will see that the best course of action is to simply follow the signal.

Furthermore, we designed a way to limit losses in our Classic Model: a Cash signal is automatically issued by the Model if the Nasdaq Composite Index moves against our current position by more than 9% from our Buy or Sell entry point. This is designed to keep any losses to a reasonable minimum from the entry point when we are most vulnerable, as no timing Model will always be 100% right. Once the Nasdaq Composite Index has advanced 7% or more from our entry point, the maximum drawdown limit is ratcheted-up to 15% and the Cash signal becomes a trailing stop. This means that from then on, if the Composite declines 15% from its most recent closing high on an active Buy signal, or moves up 15% or more from its recent closing low on an active Sell signal, a Cash signal will be issued and you will be notified. When a Cash signal is generated, you should liquidate your current long or short investments and keep the proceeds in cash or in a money market fund until a new Buy or Sell signal is issued.

For its part, our Turbo Model never issues a Cash signal, nor does it have any stop loss point. Over the 12 years of backtested performance, the Turbo Model Long and Short strategy has achieved an annualized return of over 88% with a maximum drawdown of 14%. We feel that is a very reasonable risk level given the tremendous potential for gains with Turbo.

Your current signal has gained so much, isn't it time to take some profits?

It is, of course, for you to decide! Just be aware that, in the past, our trades have lasted up to a year and a half and returned over 200%, so there is nothing that says we are close to the next signal.
If in doubt, have a look at our Turbo Model "Results" page and you will see that the best course of action is to simply follow the signal.

Can the Turbo and Classic Models be used to invest retirement funds such as 401(k) and IRA?

The answer is an emphatic yes. Moneys you set aside for your retirement are the funds that most necessitate a sound, disciplined, long-term, all-weather investment method. Retirement funds have a number of ideal characteristics as investment assets, namely that you are unlikely to withdraw and spend them in the short term and that gains and dividends are typically reinvested. Even if you are already retired and are living off the nest egg, you still have a long-term perspective for your retirement assets. In addition, if the funds are in a qualified retirement plan such as an IRA or 401(k), you further benefit from tax deferred growth. By fully reinvesting dividends and capital gains and not having to pay taxes until you start withdrawals, you unleash the full power of compounding.

The most common challenge in qualified retirement plans is finding available investment vehicles and in turn adapting to the most appropriate strategy. By law, the use of short selling and margin trading are prohibited in retirement accounts. If your IRA account is with a large financial services or brokerage firm you most likely have access to ETFs that track broad market indexes or their opposites, with or without leverage, which should allow you to fully implement the strategy you decide is right for you.

Because of the prospect of some quicker trading, we caution subscribers trading our Turbo Model in their IRA, Roth, or other non-margin accounts to make sure that cash is available in their account before trading. To minimize any potential trade issues, those accounts should consider using less than half of their account value, trading leveraged ETFs to make up for the smaller allocation. For example, instead of using QQQ and the corresponding inverse ETF PSQ to implement the Turbo Long and Short strategy in an IRA, we can use the double-leveraged QLD/QID pair on half the portfolio size, keeping the other half in cash. Practically, in a $20,000 account, a Buy signal would suggest we buy no more than $10,000 worth of QLD, with a Sell signal driving a purchase of no more than $10,000 worth of QID. Taking this approach should always keep plenty of cash on hand for trade settlement and minimize the remote possibility that your account will encounter any trading restrictions.

Are the TimingCube Models related to the TradeGuru System?

No! The two services are different and their recommendations are completely unrelated. Because of this the two services are complementary and having a portion of your portfolio dedicated to each should work well and provide strategy diversification.

Are the TimingCube Models related to the ETFTide System?

No! ETFTide and TimingCube are separate and different services, and they are independent of each other. While it is good to use complementary services for strategy diversification, you should not attempt to mix the two. Specifically, the ETFTide portfolio is not meant to be timed with broad market trends because many of the ETFs which represent sectors or commodities are not correlated.

How does TimingCube compare with TradeGuru and ETFTide?

First we need to emphasize that the three services are different and their recommendations are completely unrelated. Unlike TimingCube, the TradeGuru System exclusively looks at historical fundamental data to select the stocks we recommend. It performs top down company selection based on valuation and leadership fundamentals such as earnings growth. The ETFTide system uses a momentum based Model to rotate the type of investment depending on market action.
The differences are detailed in the table below.

Comparison of TimingCube, TradeGuru and ETFTide

	TimingCube	TradeGuru	ETFTide
Style	Index investing	Stock picking	ETF investing
Strategy	Trend timing	Special stock opportunities	Ranking based on Momentum
Market side	Long/Short	Long only	Long only
Investment vehicles	ETFs, mutual funds, options	Individual stocks, options	ETFs, options
Investor profile Character Risk tolerance Time horizon	Moderate Low - Medium Long-term	Aggressive High Short-term	Aggressive Medium - High Medium -term
Average trade frequency	4 signals per year (Classic Model) 4 signals per month (Turbo Model)	1 trade per month	1 trade per month
Average trade duration	3 months (Classic Model) 10 days (Turbo Model)	2 months	4 months

World ETF Ranking Questions

Can I use the World strategy with the TimingCube Classic signal?

The answer depends on your style of investing and your risk tolerance; please refer to the Classic Model "Description" page for detailed explanations. There are two basic strategies you can implement with the World ETF Ranking:

Long Only: This strategy follows the World ETF Ranking recommendations when the TimingCube Classic signal is Buy and goes to cash when the Classic signal is Sell
Long and Short: Follows the World ETF Ranking recommendations when the TimingCube Classic signal is Buy and shorts the QQQ or instead buy the corresponding inverse ETF (ticker symbol PSQ ) when the Classic signal is Sell

We also provide the returns for the Buy and Rebalance strategy, which ignores the Classic signals altogether and stays fully invested in the World ETF Ranking's Top 5 ETFs at all times, rebalancing every 4 weeks. Because this strategy is always invested and never short, it is similar in concept to the Buy and Hold approach for a single index/ETF and therefore provides for an appropriate way to compare returns.

For its part, our Turbo Model does not use the World ETF Ranking. The reason is that our Turbo Model is a "point" trading Model where we advise subscribers to trade only one or two major equity indexes. Given that the Classic Model typically has signals that can last many months, there is more benefit to trying to identify and focus your investment on the best performing areas of the market. World ETF Rankings provide that guidance for where markets are hottest. Thus, with Classic, you gain from both the signal as well as from what index or country ETFs you use. With the Turbo Model potentially issuing signals twice a week during volatile periods, the gains come almost solely from the accuracy of the signal. There is far less to be gained from buying and selling a multi-position portfolio and, indeed, you would likely experience higher trading costs with no better performance as a result of trading more than one or two positions with the Turbo Model.

Why short the Nasdaq 100 instead of the index itself?

Depending on the indexes, there may be limited choices of investment vehicles available and they can have trading restrictions. Furthermore, our extensive testing using simulated inverse indexes have demonstrated that shorting the Nasdaq 100 was delivering better results than shorting the top indexes themselves.
So for simplicity and efficiency sake, we use the Nasdaq 100, which offers a well traded ETF (QQQ) and inverse ETFs (PSQ ), to implement the Long and Short strategy.

How do you rank the indexes?

The Model used to rank the indexes is mostly momentum based; it is 100% mechanical and unemotional, but the specific ingredients and recipe are proprietary and therefore are not disclosed. The result of our calculation translates in a TimingCube proprietary Strength Indicator which determines each index rank. This indicator is provided for information in the ranking table of the "Signal and Ranking" page; the higher the number, the higher the momentum and the higher the rank (#1 is the highest rank).

How and when do I get notified about changes in the World ETF Ranking system?

TimingCube's World ETF Ranking Model is run at the end of each trading week on Fridays, and the updated list will be posted on this Web site by 9:00 pm ET that same day.

How many positions should I trade in my portfolio?

Our extensive backtesting has demonstrated very good results of portfolios with five indexes. This does not mean that this is a minimum or a maximum; depending on the size of your portfolio and the amount of diversification you are seeking, you may want to trade more or less positions.

How should I act on your World ETF Ranking recommendations?

You have three options:

If you are starting a new portfolio, decide how many positions you want to trade and purchase your investment vehicles of choice (ETFs, ETF options) following the most recent ranking
You are at the end of your rebalancing cycle (typically four weeks), so you get the latest ranking from the TimingCube Web site and trade accordingly
You are in a middle of your rebalancing cycle, simply ignore the recommendations, and wait until it is time to rebalance