Twelve questions to ask anyone selling you an algorithm, including us

In 2022, you were told bonds would protect your stocks. That was the agreement. Instead, both dropped together. You watched your retirement account shrink while paying fees on the way down.

That feeling—the realization that the “safe” plan wasn’t safe—is why you are looking at algorithms now. But the internet is full of black boxes promising 20% annual returns with zero drawdowns. If a system looks that perfect, it usually means the rules were tuned to fit the past, not to survive the future.

Do not buy a promise. Buy a process you can verify.

Below are twelve questions to ask any vendor before you connect a brokerage account. Ask them in writing. If they dodge, hedge, or speak in buzzwords like “AI-driven synergy,” walk away. We have answered every single one for Kairos. Where our answer hurts, we put it first.

Your Money

1. Who has custody of my money?

If the answer is anyone other than “an independent brokerage, in your name,” stop. You want a brokerage holding the assets, and the statements coming from it, not from the strategy seller.

Kairos: Your money stays in your own brokerage account, in your name. We never take custody. We never pool your funds with others. The software places trades; that is all it does. Read Who actually holds my money to see how to verify this directly with your broker.

2. Can I leave, and what does it cost to leave?

Lock-ups, surrender periods, and notice windows are traps. They exist to keep you paying fees when you want out.

Kairos: No lock-up. No surrender period. You can switch the software off the same day you decide to. We also offer a 12-month satisfaction window: if you are not satisfied within the first year, we refund the fee you paid us in full. This refunds our fee, not market losses. Nobody can guarantee a return.

3. What happens to my account if you disappear?

An honest seller admits the risk: if the signal stops, your position sits open.

Kairos: Because we hold nothing, your positions stay in your account. The real risk is a missed signal—a position left without its exit rule because our servers went dark. What happens if Kairos goes out of business walks through the steps: revoke the connection, then hold or sell the positions yourself.

The Record

4. Is the track record from real accounts, or is it a model?

Sellers blur this line constantly. A modeled record is a simulation. It is not money that actually changed hands.

Kairos: The 2020–2026 record for our regime model is out-of-sample model performance. It is not audited. It is not actual client returns. We do not call it “live.” It assumes execution near the close, with commissions and slippage modeled. Separately, Kairos Select and Enhanced have been tracked live as models since September 30, 2025. That is about one year, gross of fees and slippage, and not audited. See the full breakdown on our track record page.

5. When were the rules locked?

If the rules were tweaked after seeing the data, the record is worthless. That is curve-fitting.

Kairos: The rules were finalized before the 2020–2026 window began. They were not tuned on this data. That is what “out-of-sample” means here. It is still a model, which is why Question 4 matters.

6. What is the worst drawdown?

Average returns are marketing. Drawdown is reality. It is the peak-to-trough drop you must sit through without panic-selling.

Kairos: In the model record, the worst drawdown was −24.5%. For context, SPY dropped −33.7% over the same window. A drop of nearly a quarter is painful. A future drawdown could be deeper than anything in the past.

7. What is your worst year compared with the market?

Every seller shows their best year. Ask for the worst. Ask when they trailed the index.

Kairos: 2025. The model returned +3% while SPY returned about +18%. The same defensive rules delivered +8% in 2022 when SPY fell 18%. We beat SPY in six of the seven calendar periods in the record. 2025 is the one we lost. We lost badly.

8. What does it do in a flat, choppy market?

Trend systems die in sideways markets. How does this one bleed?

Kairos: It loses money in two specific ways. First, whipsaw: stepping aside just before the market rallies, then stepping back in just before it drops. Second, leveraged ETFs reset daily. In a flat, choppy market, they can lose value even if the underlying index ends unchanged. Signals can be late. They can be wrong.

The Method

9. How many trades will I see?

Too many trades mean high taxes and transaction costs. Too few mean long stretches of silence that test your nerves.

Kairos: The regime model traded about 11 times a year in the out-of-sample record. 72% of those trades were winners. That means 28% were losers. Kairos Select runs on a different rhythm: the stock book re-ranks weekly and rebalances when holdings drift 3%. Ask us what a typical month looks like for the version you choose.

10. What is the leverage, and how is it sized?

“Leverage” is a dangerous word. Ask for the instrument and the percentage.

Kairos: In the model record, “Healthy” regimes hold 83% of the account in TQQQ, a leveraged Nasdaq fund. That creates roughly 2.5x exposure to the Nasdaq’s daily move. “Fragile” regimes hold 100% short-term U.S. Treasury bills. In Kairos Enhanced, the daily signal adjusts only a 15% sleeve on top of the stock book. Leverage makes good days bigger and bad days bigger. The exit rule limits the damage, but it can be late.

11. Do the people who built it run their own money in it?

Ownership isn’t proof of success, but a builder who won’t use their own system is sending a message.

Kairos: Max Hines, who designed the system, has meaningful personal capital invested. Roughly 80% of his liquid equity outside crypto sits in Kairos Enhanced. That is his choice with his own money, not a guarantee for yours.

12. Is anything guaranteed?

If they say yes to returns, hang up.

Kairos: No return is guaranteed. We do not guarantee one. The only thing we guarantee is the 12-month fee refund described in Question 2. Rules can be wrong. They just can’t panic.

Two questions we answer on the call, not here

Some details depend on your specific account size and tax situation. Ask these of anyone, then verify the answers yourself.

• What exactly does it cost, all in? Ask for the fee in dollars on your specific balance, how it is charged, and if there are hidden layers. Then add your brokerage’s commission costs.
• Who regulates you, and how can I look you up? Ask what registration the firm holds. Then check it yourself using SEC or FINRA lookup tools. Do not accept a screenshot. Verify it live.

Ask us on the call. Then go check.

How to use this list

Print this page. Put the same twelve questions to every system you consider. Compare the answers side by side. Pay closest attention to Questions 1, 4, 6, and 7: custody, model vs. live, worst drop, and worst year. Sellers who answer those clearly usually answer the rest clearly too.

For the mechanics behind our answers, see how it works.

The short version

• Custody is non-negotiable. Your money must sit at an independent brokerage in your name, never with the strategy seller.
• Demand the scars. Ask if the record is real or modeled, when rules were locked, and for the worst drawdown and worst year. Ours: out-of-sample model, rules locked before the 2020 window, −24.5% max drop, and 2025 at +3% against the S&P’s +18%.
• Know how it breaks. Our model can whipsaw in choppy markets, and leveraged funds decay in flat conditions.
• Verify everything. Ask fees and registration directly, then look them up yourself. Nothing about returns is guaranteed, by us or anyone.