Effective date: July 9, 2026 · Governing law: Pennsylvania, USA
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website alphaedgetest.com (the "Site") and the product known as The Alpha Edge Test (the "Service"), operated by McLaughlin Capital Investments LLC, a U.S. limited liability company ("MCI", "we", "us", or "our"). Please read these Terms carefully. The Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability sections below are important and limit what the Service is and what we are responsible for. Note that both the free and paid tests run entirely on your device and send us nothing. Paid plans (Pro and Team) simply unlock more (export, batching, and deeper analysis) still in your browser. We store nothing but billing, which is held by Stripe. Effective date: July 9, 2026.
1. Acceptance of these Terms
By accessing or using the Site, running the free in-browser test, or purchasing or using any paid service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Site or the Service. If you are using the Service on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and "you" refers to that entity. You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. We may update these Terms from time to time as described in the Changes to these Terms section below; your continued use after an update means you accept the revised Terms.
2. What the Service is
The Alpha Edge Test is an independent, method-only statistical check of whether a forecasting model beats a fair, hard-to-beat naive benchmark on your own out-of-sample data. It applies standard, published scoring rules (for example CRPS, pinball/quantile loss, calibration/PIT, and Forecast Value Added) and returns a plain-English PASS, FAIL, or INCONCLUSIVE verdict together with a report. That is the entire scope of what we provide.
The Service does not produce forecasts, trading signals, recommendations, ratings, or predictions; it only scores forecasts that you already have. A verdict and report describe the data you supplied measured against a benchmark at a point in time, and are not a recommendation, rating, certification, or endorsement of any model, method, person, or security. Any report is an indicative analysis prepared for your own internal use and reflects the data and method as run at a point in time. It is not an audit, assurance engagement, actuarial opinion, certification, or expert opinion, and it is not intended for reliance by any third party.
3. Important disclaimer: not advice, no guarantees
Please read this section carefully.
The Service is a statistical method only. It is not investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, tax advice, legal advice, insurance, or any other regulated service, and nothing in any report should be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, or take any position in any security, instrument, or strategy.
MCI is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, commodity trading advisor (CTA), or any other registered or licensed financial professional. We manage no money, hold no client assets, and create no fiduciary relationship with you.
We do not guarantee any result, outcome, profit, return, accuracy, or "edge." A PASS, FAIL, or INCONCLUSIVE verdict is a statistical statement about the data you provide measured against a benchmark. It is not a promise that any model will perform well, or at all, in the future, and a PASS does not predict future performance.
Each report is an indicative analysis for your internal use only and is not intended for third-party reliance. You are solely responsible for any decision you make, and for any reliance you or others place on a verdict or report.
You use the Service and act on its output entirely at your own risk and in reliance on your own judgment and your own advisers.
4. The free in-browser test
The free test runs entirely in your browser, on your own device. No account and no payment are required. Your uploaded data is not uploaded to, stored by, or transmitted to us. It stays on your device and is used only locally to compute the score, so we collect no personal data or model data from the free test. The application may store data locally on your own device (for example, in browser storage) for your convenience; that data never leaves your device, and you can clear it at any time through your browser. The application can install as a Progressive Web App (PWA) and work offline.
The free test is provided strictly "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, and may be changed, limited, or discontinued at any time without notice. Because it runs locally, its operation depends on your device, browser, and configuration, which are your responsibility.
5. Paid services and pricing
We also offer paid services:
Subscriptions: Pro ($29/mo, or about $24/mo billed annually) and Team ($99/mo, or about $83/mo billed annually). Bigger or custom needs: contact us.
For paid services, and unlike the free test, your data never leaves your browser; paid plans just unlock more of the same on-device test. We use that data only to perform the engagement and deliver your report, and we never sell it. Our handling of client data for paid engagements is described in our Privacy Policy.
All prices are in U.S. dollars and exclusive of any applicable taxes, which are your responsibility. We may change prices, plans, and features from time to time; we will give reasonable advance notice of changes that affect a recurring subscription, and any price change takes effect at the start of your next billing period. The price for a one-off report is the price shown at the time of that purchase.
6. Billing, payments, and Stripe
Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc., an independent third-party payment processor. We never see or store your full card number; Stripe handles your payment data under its own terms and privacy policy, and your use of Stripe to pay is also subject to those terms. By purchasing a paid service, you authorize us, through Stripe, to charge your chosen payment method for the fees due.
Subscriptions auto-renew. Each subscription (Pro or Team) renews automatically at the end of its billing period (monthly, or annually for annual plans) at the then-current price for that plan, and your payment method is charged at the start of each new period, until you cancel. You are responsible for keeping a valid payment method on file. If a charge fails, we may suspend or terminate the paid service.
7. Cancellation, pausing, and managing your plan
You can cancel, pause, or otherwise manage a subscription at any time through the Stripe-hosted customer portal linked from your account or available on request, using the same simple self-service steps you used to subscribe. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. You keep access to the paid service until then, and you are not charged again afterward. If you cancel a subscription, you remain responsible for any amounts already incurred for the current and prior periods. If you have any trouble cancelling, contact us at info@alphaedgetest.com and we will help.
8. Refunds
Except where a refund is required by applicable law, fees are generally non-refundable, and we do not provide refunds or credits for partial billing periods, unused time, or services you choose not to use.
Subscriptions bill per period. You can cancel anytime and keep access through the end of the current period; a period already started is non-refundable. There are no one-off report fees.
Subscriptions continue until the end of the period in which you cancel, as described above; we do not refund the current period on cancellation.
If applicable law in your jurisdiction grants you a non-waivable right to a refund or cancellation, nothing in these Terms limits that right, and we will honor it. If you believe you were charged in error, contact us at info@alphaedgetest.com and we will review it in good faith.
9. Your responsibilities and data warranties
You are responsible for the data and materials you submit or process through the Service. You represent and warrant that:
you have all rights, licences, and permissions necessary to submit and to have us process any data you provide for a paid engagement, and that doing so does not violate any law, contract, confidentiality obligation, or third-party right;
for paid engagements, you have removed, or have the right to disclose to us, any personal, confidential, or restricted information contained in the data you send us;
any data you provide is, to your knowledge, accurate, complete, and properly prepared for the analysis (for example, that forecasts and actuals are correctly aligned and are genuinely out-of-sample); and
you will not submit data that contains anything unlawful, or that you are not permitted to disclose to us.
The quality and meaning of any verdict or report depend entirely on the quality of the data you provide. "Garbage in, garbage out" applies: we are not responsible for results that are wrong, misleading, or inconclusive because the underlying data was inaccurate, mislabeled, leaked from the training period, or otherwise unsuitable.
10. Intellectual property and licence to your report
As between you and us, MCI retains all rights in the Service, including the Site, the application, our methods, methodology, scoring implementations, software, designs, text, and all related intellectual property. Nothing in these Terms transfers any of those rights to you, and you may not copy, reverse engineer, resell, or create derivative works from the Service or its methods except as permitted by law.
You retain ownership of the data you submit. For paid engagements, when we deliver a report to you, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence to use that report internally within your own organization for your own purposes. The report is not licensed for redistribution, publication, or third-party reliance, and you may not present it as an audit, certification, endorsement, or as advice from MCI. If you send us suggestions or feedback about the Service, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use that feedback to operate and improve the Service, without obligation to you. We may also use aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify you or reveal your data to operate and improve the Service.
11. Acceptable use
You agree to use the Site and the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You will not: (a) use the Service to violate any law or regulation, or to infringe anyone's rights; (b) attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, or disrupt the Site, the Service, or any related systems or networks; (c) probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of our systems, or circumvent any security or access control; (d) introduce malware or any harmful code; (e) scrape, copy, or harvest content or the underlying methodology except as expressly permitted; (f) resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service or any report without our written consent; or (g) misrepresent a verdict or report, including presenting it as advice, a rating, an audit, an assurance opinion, or as something on which third parties may rely. We may suspend or terminate access for conduct that breaches this section.
12. Disclaimer of warranties
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Site and the Service (including the free test, paid reports, and subscriptions) are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. We expressly disclaim all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or available at any particular time, that any defect will be corrected, or that any verdict or report is accurate, complete, suitable, or fit for any purpose. We make no warranty as to outcomes, including that any model that PASSES will perform well in the future, or that any verdict predicts future performance. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.
13. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, MCI and its members, managers, officers, employees, contractors, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, trading or investment losses, data, goodwill, or business opportunity, arising out of or relating to the Site, the Service, any verdict or report, or these Terms, even if advised of the possibility of such damages and regardless of the theory of liability.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Site, the Service, and these Terms will not exceed the total amount you actually paid to us for the Service in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim. For the free test, for which you pay nothing, our aggregate liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law. These limitations are a fundamental basis of the bargain between us and apply even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you; in that case our liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.
14. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless MCI and its members, managers, officers, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use or misuse of the Site or the Service; (b) any data or materials you submit, including any claim that they infringe or misappropriate a third party's rights or that you lacked the rights to provide them; (c) your reliance on, or any use, distribution, or publication of, a verdict or report, including any third party's reliance on it; or (d) your breach of these Terms or of any applicable law. We may, at our option, participate in the defense of any such claim with counsel of our choosing, and you will not settle any claim affecting us without our prior written consent.
15. Geographic scope
The Service is operated from the United States and is intended for users who can lawfully access it. We make no representation that the Service or any verdict or report is appropriate or available for use in any particular location, and you are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to you. The Service is a method-only statistical check and is not a regulated financial, advisory, brokerage, or insurance service in any jurisdiction; if the Service would be unlawful or would require us to be registered or licensed where you are, you may not use it. You may not use the Service if you are barred from doing so under applicable U.S. export controls or sanctions laws.
16. Electronic communications and notices
By using the Service, you consent to receive these Terms, our Privacy Policy, purchase receipts, renewal and billing notices, and other communications from us and from Stripe in electronic form (for example, by email to the address associated with your account or by posting on the Site) and you agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. We will send notices to you at the email address you provide; you are responsible for keeping it current. You may give us notice by email to info@alphaedgetest.com. You may withdraw consent to electronic communications by ceasing to use the Service, though some notices are necessary to operate a paid plan.
17. Suspension and termination
You may stop using the Service at any time, and you may cancel a subscription as described above. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site or any part of the Service, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms, if required to protect the Service or other users, or if required by law. On termination, your right to use the Service ends, but any provisions that by their nature should survive (including, but not limited to, the Disclaimer, Refunds, Your responsibilities and data warranties, Intellectual property, Acceptable use, Disclaimer of warranties, Limitation of liability, Indemnification, Third-party providers, Governing law and dispute resolution, and General sections) will survive termination.
18. Third-party providers
The Site relies on third-party providers to operate. The Site is hosted on Netlify; the domain and DNS are managed through GoDaddy; email is handled through Microsoft 365; and payments are processed by Stripe. These hosting, DNS, and email providers process standard server and access information (such as IP address and request data) as processors in providing their services, and Stripe processes payment data under its own terms. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking or analytics cookies; the Service uses only essential, functional on-device storage that stays on your device. Your use of those providers' services may also be subject to their own terms, and we are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any third-party provider.
19. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes to the Service, our pricing, or legal requirements. When we make a material change, we will update the effective date at the top and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (for example, by posting a notice on the Site or, for active subscribers, by email). Changes apply going forward and are not retroactive. Your continued use of the Site or the Service after the updated Terms take effect constitutes your acceptance of them. If you do not agree to a change, your remedy is to stop using the Service and, if applicable, cancel your subscription.
20. Governing law and dispute resolution
These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or to the Service are governed by the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules and excluding the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The parties will first attempt to resolve any dispute informally by contacting info@alphaedgetest.com and negotiating in good faith for at least thirty (30) days. If the dispute is not resolved, it will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Pennsylvania, and you and MCI consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objection to venue there, to the extent permitted by law. Nothing in this section limits any non-waivable rights you may have under the law of your home jurisdiction.
21. General
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any order or plan details you agree to at purchase, are the entire agreement between you and MCI regarding the Service and supersede any prior understandings on that subject. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will stay in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent; we may assign them to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Force majeure: we are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including outages of third-party providers, network or internet failures, acts of God, or governmental action. Nothing in these Terms creates any partnership, joint venture, agency, employment, or fiduciary relationship between you and MCI, and there are no third-party beneficiaries.
22. Contact
If you have any questions about these Terms or the Service, contact us at info@alphaedgetest.com.
McLaughlin Capital Investments LLC, operator of The Alpha Edge Test (alphaedgetest.com).