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STD-02House standard

How research gets produced here

Transparency for serious readers.

Filed under
House standards
Reading time
3 min read
Contents 4 sections

Every article, research page, and calculator on this site goes through the same basic production process, regardless of length or topic. Research starts from primary sources wherever practical: original regulatory filings and disclosures, data directly from statistical agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the Federal Reserve, and company transcripts rather than secondhand paraphrases of any of these. When a claim rests on a specific number, we prefer to cite where that number would come from in principle—a named data series, a well-known academic finding, a standard financial formula—rather than presenting a precise-sounding figure with no traceable origin, and we avoid stating specific historical returns or performance figures as fact unless they can be sourced to a verifiable, named dataset.

Calculators are built on standard, checkable formulas—compound interest math, straightforward option payoff diagrams, drawdown-and-recovery arithmetic—validated against known reference values before publication, and their outputs are explicitly framed as illustrative math based on the numbers a reader enters, not a forecast or a recommendation specific to that reader's situation. We do not accept payment in exchange for favorable coverage of any specific investment, product, or company, and nothing on this site should be read as compensated placement.

Key points

  1. Primary sources first: filings, agency data, and transcripts over secondhand summaries
  2. No specific performance figures without a verifiable, named dataset behind them
  3. No paid or compensated placement disguised as independent coverage

From draft to published page

  1. Sources

    We prioritize primary sources—original filings, agency data releases, and company transcripts—over secondhand summaries, and say plainly when a figure is approximate, dated, or drawn from a source with a specific bias or limitation.

  2. Review

    Before a page goes live we check it against the sources it cites, re-run any calculator or worked example it contains, and read it for clarity and for a tone that stays modest given how much genuine uncertainty exists in markets.

  3. Updates

    When something we published turns out to be outdated or wrong in a way that matters, we update the page and note what changed and when, rather than silently rewriting history.

Calculator validation and independence

Two specific commitments readers ask about most: how the math behind each calculator is actually checked, and how this site stays independent of what it covers.

How calculator math is checked

Each calculator on this site is built on a standard, published formula rather than a proprietary model: compound-growth calculations use ordinary compound-interest math, the options profit/loss tool uses standard payoff-diagram logic for basic option positions, the drawdown-recovery tool uses the simple arithmetic relationship between a percentage loss and the percentage gain required to offset it, and the retirement and inflation tools use conventional present-value and future-value formulas. Before publication, each calculator is tested against known reference cases—inputs where the correct output can be verified independently—to catch implementation errors. None of these tools models taxes, fees, transaction costs, or an individual's specific circumstances with full precision; they are deliberately simplified to make the underlying relationship between inputs and outputs easy to see, and every calculator page says so explicitly.

Independence and disclosure

This site does not accept payment from any investment product, fund, or company in exchange for favorable coverage, and it does not sell trading signals, model portfolios, or personalized recommendations through email or elsewhere. Where a page discusses a category of product or strategy—options, alternative investments, tactical allocation—that discussion is meant to explain how the category generally works and what trade-offs it involves, not to promote a specific fund, platform, or adviser. Contacting our team does not change the content or its editorial standards, and does not create an advisory relationship between the site and any reader. Neither this site nor its team gives personal investment, legal or tax advice; readers who want guidance tailored to their own accounts should consult a licensed professional.

Not investment advice

Articles and calculators on this site are for learning. They are not a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and they are not tailored to your personal situation.

  1. Education vs personal advice. If you work with an adviser, that relationship has its own agreements and disclosures. Reading here does not replace that.
  2. No outcome guarantees. Markets are uncertain. We write to explain ideas and trade-offs—not to promise returns or timing.