A trading signal is an alert, produced by a person, an indicator or a program, that describes a market situation someone considers relevant. It is neither a guarantee nor a personalised recommendation: it ignores your capital, your time horizon and the risk you accept. The useful question is not "does it win?" but "what verifiable evidence supports whoever issues it, and what happens to costs and losses?"
Types of signals
| Origin | What it offers | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Technical indicator | Crossovers, levels or readings calculated on price | Parameters, timeframe, and that it adds no information independent of price |
| Channel or community | Alerts with instrument, levels and time | The complete record, not only the favourable cases |
| Program or robot | Alerts generated by rules | Explicit rules and tests on data not used to design them |
What data to ask for before trusting one
- A complete, dated record, including losing trades, with instrument, time, size and costs.
- Independent verification of the account; see the guides on how to verify a trading account and how to audit your MT4 and MT5 account.
- Number of trades: with few trades, any percentage can be chance.
- Costs included: spread, swap and slippage.
- Clear invalidation conditions, not only a target.
Practical example: win rate is not result
Suppose (illustrative figures) 20 trades: 12 winners with an average gain of 1 unit and 8 losers with an average loss of 2 units. The win rate is 12 ÷ 20 = 60 %. The net result is 12 × 1 − 8 × 2 = 12 − 16 = −4 units. A method can win most of the time and still lose money if the losses weigh more than the gains. That is why the relation between average gain and average loss matters, not only the percentage; see take profit and stop loss.
Warning signs
- Promises of profits, fixed returns or "no risk".
- Screenshots instead of verifiable records.
- Pressure to decide quickly or to deposit with a specific intermediary.
- Inability to see the losing trades.
The guide on "AI that trades for you" scams expands on these warning signs.
How to use an alert with your own judgement
- Turn the alert into a hypothesis: which chart observation supports it?
- Define what invalidates it before acting.
- Decide the risk you accept; the size calculation depends on that risk, the stop and the contract specifications.
- Check the economic calendar in case an event could break the reading.
How AIM helps
AIM is AIMPATFX's quantitative artificial intelligence. AIM Market organises observable bias, scenarios, invalidation and objectives conditional on the data you provide; AIM Audit reviews an account's history in read-only mode; AIM Risk calculates mathematical size with the risk you choose. Simulated scenarios are expressed as "X of N scenarios" and do not guarantee outcomes. Read the quantitative methodology. The decision and the risk are the user's.
Frequently asked questions
Are free signals reliable?
There is no rule: what matters is whether they offer a verifiable, complete record, whether free or paid.
What win rate is good?
None on its own. It depends on the relation between average gain and loss, costs and the number of trades.
Can I follow a signal without knowing how to analyse?
That would delegate the decision without understanding the risk. At least understand the stop, the size and what invalidates the idea.
Does a signal suit any account?
No. It does not know your capital or the risk you accept.
Sources and review: conceptual content with no market figures, adapted on October 16, 2026 from the Spanish original; the example figures are illustrative. Educational content; trading CFDs carries a risk of loss.
