Fast answer
A track record is only useful when the missing pieces are labeled.
Ask whether the record includes every call in the period, how open trades are treated, whether fees and slippage are considered, and how corrections are handled. A provider that shows only selected outcomes is not giving a reviewable track record.
Trust the audit trail more than the summary. Summaries are useful only when the source records can be checked.
Record quality
What a signal track record should show.
Complete period
Weekly, monthly, or yearly records should include the full chosen period, not only good stretches.
Original source
Every row should map back to the original signal, update, stop movement, and closure note.
Open trades
Unclosed calls need their own status so old drawdown cannot disappear from the sample.
Corrections
Parser errors can be corrected, but corrections should be labeled and logged.
Claim quality
Past records do not prove future calls.
Investor.gov notes that past performance does not necessarily predict future results and warns readers to understand how claims are calculated. FINRA communications rules also caution against implying that past performance will recur. For signal rooms, this means a track record should support due diligence, not promise a future outcome.
Review standard
A good track record is boring and reproducible.
The strongest provider record can be exported, sampled, corrected, and explained without changing the outcome. If the history depends on unverifiable screenshots, keep the evidence status low.