Look-Ahead Bias Bias created by the use of information or data in a study or simulation that would not have been known or available during the period being analyzed. This will usually lead to inaccurate results in the study or simulation. Investopedia Says: If an investor is backtesting the performance of a trading strategy, it is vital that he or she only uses information that would have been available at the time of the trade. For example, if a trade is simulated based on information that was not available at the time of the trade - such as a quarterly earnings number that was released three months later - it will diminish the accuracy of the trade's true performance. Related Terms: Attribute Bias Backtesting Chartist Data Mining Forecasting Sample Sample Selection Bias Technical Analysis |