code of conduct

1. Independence

• We do not accept payment, or anything of value, from any issuer, promoter or third party to write about a security, or to write favourably about anything.
• We do not sell trade signals, trade alerts or personalised advice.
• Any sponsorship, affiliate link or paid partnership is labelled clearly where it appears.

2. Conflicts of interest and personal trading

• Systematic trading. Most of our trading follows systematic strategies with fixed rules. We do not change those rules to trade around our own publications.
• Discretionary trading blackout. We make no discretionary (manual) trade in a security discussed in a post during the 48 hours before and the 48 hours after its publication, and never trade against a view we have just published.
• Disclosure. A post that discusses a specific security states whether we held a position in it at the time of writing. Our disclaimer describes our positions in general.
• No trading on non-public information. We do not seek, use or trade on material non-public information.

3. Research integrity

• We publish the denominator. Failures are published alongside successes. An idea that died is a result.
• Pre-registration. Where we register an idea before testing it, we publish a fingerprint (hash) of the frozen specification, so the test cannot be changed quietly after the answer is known.
• Labelling. Every result is labelled as hypothetical (a backtest or simulation) or live (real trading). We never present one as the other. Live results come only from broker records and are independently verified.
• Checking. Every published number is checked against its source before it goes up.
• Methods. We describe how we test, including the costs and assumptions behind each result.

4. Corrections

When we find an error, or someone reports one, we correct it promptly. The post carries a dated note saying what changed and why. A correction that changes a conclusion is also noted in the next newsletter. We do not quietly edit published results.

5. Use of AI

We use AI extensively in research, coding and writing. Every number we publish is checked against its source, and a person approves everything before it is published and is responsible for it.

6. Our community

• Be respectful. Argue with ideas, not people. No harassment or abuse.
• Share methods, not instructions. No personalised investment advice to other members, and no "buy this now" calls.
• No market abuse. No pump-and-dumps, coordinated trading, false or misleading statements about a security, or promotion of anything you are paid to promote without disclosing it.
• Disclose your conflicts. If you hold a position in a security you discuss, say so.
• Members' content stays with members. Don't repost paid material outside the community.
• Respect privacy. Don't share anyone's personal information.
• No spam or self-promotion without permission.

We may remove posts, or suspend or remove members, who break these rules.

7. Reporting

To report an error, a concern about our conduct or a breach of these rules, emailteam@practical-wisdom.org.