Intelli-Timer

Using the market-timing system from Intelli-Timer, my return for the year came in at less than 2%, and I wondered how Intelli-Timer was going to update its Web site, and continue selling its system, after such a dismal performance......Now we have the answer: My year never happened.....With no explanation, the Intelli-Timer Web site has completely revised its historical performance information......For example, the system that I followed called for one trade between June 27 and July 26, 2006, while the new "historical" performance chart on the Intelli-Timer Web site says that I made nine [!] trades during that period (my actual loss for the month was 5.66%, while Intelli-Timer says that I gained 4.5%)......Continuing with this bizarro world, the period from August 27 through September 26 was one of my best months, with zero trades and a gain of 6.35%......But no, says the Intelli-Timer Web site, based on "historical" results someone using their system would have made six trades and lost 0.3% for the month......For the entire year that I used the program, Intelli-Timer says that its system generated a return of 47%, which would be laughable were it not so brazen and infuriating......What's going on here?.....Faced with a system that was failing, it looks like Intelli-Timer has simply backtested a new system that produces dramatically better -- and totally fictitious -- results.....And now those backtested results are presented as the "historical" numbers, while the actual (and dismal) results, like mine, have vanished without a trace.....Can they really do this kind of thing? Is it legal?......The company that runs Intelli-Timer isn't registered with the SEC as an investment adviser, so they aren't subject to federal securities laws......In other words, it's a classic case of caveat emptor....As far as I can tell, there is one acknowledgment that "some information" on the Intelli-Timer Web site "is the results [sic] of back-testing," and no doubt the Intelli-Timer folks would point to that "disclosure" if they were ever challenged about the honesty of their performance presentation.....So what can I do?.....I can warn FundAlarm readers not to use the Intelli-Timer system, although I suspect that such a warning isn't really necessary......If you are considering any other market-timing system, I can suggest that you be keenly aware of the difference between real and back-tested results, and make sure that you base your investment decision on reality rather than fiction......Finally, since this item will soon reside in the FundAlarm archive, and some prospective Intelli-Timer investor may come across it months or years from now while searching for comments about Intelli-Timer, I can provide a future public service:

Source: FundAlarm