The Holy Grail of stock trading is a fully developed system of trading stocks which consistently produces high returns with tolerable draw-downs. While I have never claimed to be looking for the Holy Grail, I have written about virtually every aspect of trading system development, and, in fact, we teach the subject in our Technical Analysis Course.

As I recall, the first steps in developing a successful trading system lie in knowing when to go long and when to go short and finding the best Strategy to use for finding the right stocks. Money management rules are then applied to reduce risk and optimize performance.

Traditionally, we have used our Market Timing System to know when to go long or short and the UniSearch Tool along with QuickTest to find the most promising Strategies to use. The Back-Testing features of Portfolio Manager are then used to reduce risk and optimize performance. The Simulator performs all of these tasks automatically and is the ultimate tool for trading system development.

The VectorVest RealTime Derby, however, adds a new dimension to the process. It tracks and displays the daily performance of 185 10-stock portfolios, tick-by-tick, from the opening bell to the market's close. The data from each day's performance is stored in a Derby Tote Board which allows us to study the cumulative performance of each portfolio over any selected time period.

Observation of the top five performing portfolios for the five-day periods provides a market timing system unto itself. For example, the market is bullish when all five portfolios are derived from Bullish Strategies. It is bearish when all five portfolios are derived from Bearish Strategies. It is in transition when they are mixed. These observations do not conflict with the information given by the Color Guard, but complement it.

The Tote Board performance data also complements the work done by the QuickTest tool. While the Tote Board sums the daily performance of the 10-stock portfolios created each day, QuickTest displays the performance of a single l0-stock portfolio from the day it was created to the end of the time span. Therefore, the results are different. Which data set is a better indicator of future performance?

Hopefully, you watched last week's "Strategy of the Week" presentation. It showed that going long on July 12th with a Strategy selected from the Tote Board's list of 5-day top performing portfolios produced wonderful results. What would the sequence of five QuickTests from the close of July 2nd to the close of July 12th have told me? (This sequence of QuickTests was run on the Simulator and is called "Quick Sims.") Here are the results:

Tote Board	Quick Sims
Jail Break - No Contra ETFs - 16.56%	S&P600 Small Cap/RT - 14.71%
S&P600 Small Cap/RT - 15.56%	Silber's Singles/BMB - 10.13%
Blyar's Bottom Feeders/BMB - 15.22%	Pirates Long - 10.08%
Russell 2000/RT - 14.83%	Odd Fellows Long - 9.41%
Bottoms Up - 13.49%	S&P100/RT - 9.31%
Silber's Singles/BMB - 11.82%	Bottoms Up - 9.26%
Jubilee - 10.95%	Blyar's Bottom Feeders/BMB - 8.65%
VST Mighty Mites - 10.89%	Jail Break - No Contra ETFs - 8.55%
Odd Fellows Long - 10.46%	Jubilee - 8.08%
Pirates Long - 9.63%	S&P500/RT - 7.93%

My first observation is that eight of the top 10 Tote Board Strategies also made the top 10 of the Quick Sims list. However, the S&P600 Small Cap/RT Strategy was the only one ranked in the top five performers of both lists. Since July 12th, it is the second biggest gainer in the Tote Board with 17.37% as of yesterday. Quick Test also showed a nice gain of 12.11%.

Jail Break - No Contra ETFs, the biggest 5-day winner ala the Tote Board, came in fourth place with a Tote Board gain of 15.69% since July 12th and a gain of 6.85% ala QuickTest. Finally, Silber's Singles/BMB, the second highest stock ala QuickTest, showed a gain of 6.18% since July 12th ala the Tote Board and -0.48% ala QuickTest.

So which is the better indicator of future performance? That's hard to say with so little data, but I'm leaning toward the Tote Board. However, I haven't taken efficiency into account in this comparison and it could be The Difference Maker.

EFFICIENT PERFORMERS - PART II.
Jerry D'Ambrosio dazzled us with his presentation last week, so we decided to explore it a little further. Let's see what Mr. Todd Shaffer can do with the technique Jerry described. Visit the VectorVest University to see this week's "Strategy of the Week" presentation: "Efficient Performers - Part II."

Timely information is power. Power is the ability to get things done...to execute. Nobody uses timely information to execute stock trades better than Goldman Sachs. They make 10's, if not 100's of millions of dollars a day by processing vast amounts of information and executing thousands of trades in micro-seconds. Wouldn't you like to be more like Goldman Sachs?

End-of-day subscribers can take a giant step toward this goal by using VectorVest 7 Intraday. It will not turn you into a Goldman Sachs money machine overnight, but it will allow you to do things during the day that you could never do before. So what is VectorVest 7 Intraday and how can it help you become a more informed, timely investor?

VectorVest 7 Intraday is a replica of VectorVest 7 RealTime with a 15 minute time delay. You may view a 3:26 minute video introduction to VectorVest 7 RealTime by visiting the VectorVest University, clicking on the RealTime tab, and selecting Product Overview. Note that the Homepage in V V 7 is actually an information center that you can tailor to your own needs. The location of the Viewers in V V 7 has been centralized for easier access and the graphs are superb, with many new features. I especially like the fact that technical indicators, such as the ADX, MACD and DPO, are all standard. If you don't already have ProTrader, you may purchase the ability to use technical indicators in UniSearch Strategies for a small, one-time charge.

This is all fine, but how is VectorVest 7 Intraday going to help me become a more informed, timely investor? By using three fantastic, new tools: QuickFolio, BackTester and Portfolio Automation.

QuickFolio is a tool that allows one to create a portfolio of stocks with just a few clicks of the mouse. It then tracks the performance of the portfolio, tick-by-tick, from the market's open to its close. I have written about using it on several occasions and my essay of 02/13/09, "Another Day at the Races," describes how I used it. This wonderful application is what led to the creation of the VectorVest RealTime Derby. The Derby is not available in VectorVest 7 Intraday, but QuickFolio makes it easy for you to create your own mini-Derby, just as I did.

BackTester is a brand new tool that makes testing your ideas easy and intuitive. BackTester is NOT part of Portfolio Manager. It is so easy to use that even a klutz like me could sit down and use it without instruction. But seeing is believing. Mr. Dan Misch will demonstrate how to use it in this week's "Strategy of the Week" presentation.

Portfolio Automation is the tool that could take you out of the dark ages of placing trades when the market is closed to making informed, timely trades during the day. This tool allows you to set all the conditions and parameters needed to automate the management of your portfolio. It does NOT make trades with your broker. It informs you via electronic Alerts and emails of trades that should be made according to the conditions and parameters you selected. Once you have this timely information, it's up to you to execute the trade.
Portfolio Automation is also a wonderful way to forward test your ideas. In other words, you may create a hypothetical portfolio of stocks and let Portfolio Automation manage the portfolio going forward. If you are new to VectorVest, I strongly suggest that you not trade with real money until you have proved to yourself that you can make money "paper trading."

If you're serious about making money in the stock market, you need timely information and the ability to act on it. Click on the following link http://www.vectorvest.com/VV7Upgrade for a 30-day FREE TRIAL to VectorVest 7 Intraday.

MAKING MONEY WITH VECTORVEST 7 INTRADAY.
Do you trust your broker to execute your Stops for you? Not after the "Flash Crash," I don't. But you have a day job and can't follow the stock market minute-by-minute. So what do you do? Get your 30-day Free Trial to VectorVest 7 Intraday and learn how to do it electronically. Mr. Dan Misch will show us how to use the BackTester and Portfolio Automation tools to execute informed, timely trades even when we can't follow the market. Join Dan at the VectorVest University to see this week's "Strategy of the Week" presentation, "Making Money with VectorVest 7 Intraday."

The VectorVest RealTime Derby will be ready to go at the opening bell on Monday, June 15, 2009. It will run 192 Strategies, 159 Long and 33 Short, as of the previous day's Close, create a mini-portfolio of the top 10 stocks from each Strategy; then track, rank and display each portfolio's performance in real-time from the opening bell to its close. The RealTime Derby is incredibly easy to use and takes trading to a whole new level.

A FREE Two-Week Trial is available now at www.vectorvest.com/derbytrial. But you must have VectorVest RealTime to use this Tool. You may subscribe to the RealTime Derby for only $99.00 per month or $1,095.00 per year. Elite members may subscribe for only $995.00 per year. It's Simply Amazing.

FAIR WARNING.
If you've been checking in on the Daily Color Guard Report, you should be well aware that the market has been as flat as a pancake for the last seven trading days. This pathetic performance is the clearest sign yet that the rally from the March 9th bottom is running out of steam. The "Canary" saw it begin to happen a lot earlier.

The Price of the VectorVest Composite closed at a rally high of $19.57 per share on Monday, May 8th. The Buy, Sell Ratio, BSR, a.k.a., the Canary, also closed at a rally high level of 6.21. After the market moved down the next three trading days, the BSR stood at 3.70. As the market recovered from its three day swoon, and even hit new highs, the BSR did not return to its former high of 6.21. This phenomenon of rising Price and falling BSR is not new to us, and I wrote about it in the Strategy section of the May 22nd Views. I said it defines the end of the "blast-off" phase of a rally and the beginning of the "glide" phase.

Since the glide phase of a rally reflects a period of diminishing price momentum, one should become less aggressive and more defensive in managing their portfolio when the Canary has given Fair Warning.

Never Be a Day Late Again

Traders can now enjoy even more timely and actionable insight into the markets with the release of VectorVest RealTime.

The highly regarded computerized stock-selecting system that provides daily end-of-day recommendations and market information, indicators and evaluations for over 8,300 U.S. stocks, now offers all its trademark VectorVest features in real-time for even more informative, timely and strategic trade decision-making.

VectorVest's unique fundamental and technical analysis system, including 28 indicators updated in real-time, enables clients to enjoy profits and preserve capital in volatile markets by identifying Buy/Sell candidates and overall market trends each trading day. VectorVest RealTime now analyzes, sorts, ranks and graphs every stock across Value, Safety and Timing, and provides Buy, Sell and Hold recommendations as they develop throughout the trading day.

"With VectorVest RealTime, our clients now have even greater insight into overall market, stock and sector trends," said VectorVest creator Dr. Bart DiLiddo. "They can identify major market moves or trend changes intra-day to capture the advantage of buying or selling at optimally profitable times."

Day traders, swing traders, even long-term investors can now spot actionable trends as they are occurring to enjoy greater returns on their trades or ensure they are on the right side of the market when it turns.

"VectorVest has all the strategies, and it defines them based on your objective -- and it's simple to use," said David Price, an architect from Columbus, Ohio, $100,000 2nd Prize Winner of CNBC's Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge. "VectorVest has saved me a lot of money by selling at the right time. With the CNBC contest, I looked at VectorVest and saw that Dr. DiLiddo said the market was at a double bottom. I followed his recommendation to go into stocks that had been beaten down pretty badly. A week before the contest ended, I was in 31st place, and then in the last 3 days I made just shy of a million dollars using a VectorVest strategy," said Mr. Price. "I would never have had the information I needed available if it hadn't been for VectorVest."

About VectorVest
VectorVest is a highly regarded, intuitive system that analyzes, sorts, ranks and graphs over 15,500 stocks worldwide each day for Value, Safety and Timing and gives a Buy, Sell or Hold recommendation on each stock, every day. With nearly 30 years of research and 13 years of historical data on which to base its recommendations, VectorVest is world-renowned for its reliable and comprehensive market analysis and is used by investors of every type.

Combining features of both technical and fundamental analysis, VectorVest alerts its self-directed trading clients to market timing signals for them to enjoy profits and preserve capital by filtering out market noise. Easily read charts, portfolio-building capabilities, and incisive market commentary are among the benefits VectorVest customers enjoy in managing their assets during market rallies and sell-offs. VectorVest RealTime now makes these same features and capabilities available intra-day. For more information or to register for a risk-free trial, visit http://www.vectorvest.com/products/vvrt.htm .