Analysis is not execution
A signal expresses analysis in a particular context. It does not establish that an order was placed or filled at the indicated price. A record should identify the market, timestamp, scenario, invalidation and expiry. Without timing, an anticipation is difficult to distinguish from retrospective commentary.
Read updates
Find out what happens when the scenario changes: visible correction, cancellation, expiry or a new message. A journal retaining only favourable ideas cannot support method assessment. Your provider’s prices, fees and conditions can differ from the analysis. A notification is not an order tailored to your situation.
Choose readable documentation
Before paying for signals, request a complete example and its update history. Look for explicit limits rather than a victory counter. COF educational material and public evidence support reading the method; service availability and access rights are separate matters to check in the Desk and offers.
Make a record readable afterwards
A message such as “interesting market” does not preserve a precise hypothesis. A useful record separates context, the observed scenario, its invalidation conditions and when those elements became available. A correction keeps its own timestamp.
The aim is not to impose an order on the reader. It is to make the analysis understandable and checkable. If a follow-up describes an outcome, it should explain what was observed and in what scope. Publishing a scenario does not establish execution on a live account.
Status matters as much as wording
Separate pending analysis, invalidated scenarios, observed events and missing data. Reusing one message for all those states makes a history ambiguous. Someone absent from the original discussion should still be able to review the record.
Your verification grid
| Item | Document or check to request |
|---|---|
| Timestamp | Record initial publication, timezone and subsequent corrections. |
| Instrument | Name the product, price provider and market context. |
| Scenario | Separate hypothesis, contemplated trigger and already observed event. |
| Invalidation | Describe what makes the analysis obsolete without guaranteeing execution. |
| Status | Distinguish published, cancelled, expired, simulated and evidenced execution. |
Practical questions
Is a published signal an executed order?
No. Publication, receipt, decision and execution are separate stages. A signal journal can document analysis without proving an account transaction. Do not give published status the meaning executed.
Why keep corrections visible?
They show which version existed when a record was read. Retaining the initial analysis and dating changes makes follow-up understandable. An untracked retrospective correction obscures the difference between prior analysis and commentary after an outcome.
To complete this file: Assess a signal service beyond its ranking ; Trading journal: fields that make decisions reviewable.
Sources and limitations
ESMA — supervision des services de copy trading. Editorial consultation: 8 October 2026. Supplier statements do not replace independent checks. Re-read terms at the time of your decision.
COFIATRADING has commercial relationships with partners presented on the site. This guide is educational, without personalised investment advice. Trading involves capital loss risk; past performance does not guarantee future results.
Continue checking: current offers and access, public evidence, Desk space and Academy resources.