Today’s Trading Lesson From TradingMarkets

Editor’s Note:

Each night we feature a different lesson from



TM University.
I hope you enjoy and profit from these.

E-mail me if you have any
questions.

Brice


Want To Trade At Your Best? Start By Measuring Your Performance

By Loren Fleckenstein


How much bang are you getting
for your account
equity buck over a given time period? In this report, I’ll teach you a simple
calculation that will allow you to keep track over your return on equity, from
quarter to quarter or month to month.

Be aware that your
results will vary with market conditions as well as the consistency of your
performance. So when you identify swings in your performance, don’t take the
variance at face value. Examine the trades behind your results as well as the
performance of whatever market averages you consider your bogey.

Assuming you add no
outside funds into your account, and withdraw no funds during the period, you
calculate a straightforward percentage return on equity.

Profit = Ending Equity —
Starting Equity; Performance = Profit / Starting Equity

However, if you add
or withdraw funds during a given time period, the above equation will produce an
erroneous result. In such cases, percentage performance is calculated using the
following equations:

Profit = Ending Equity —
Starting Equity — Additions + Withdrawals

Adjusted Starting
Equity = Starting Equity + (Each Addition X number of days in period remaining
when that addition was made / total days in period) — (Each Withdrawal X Number
of days in period remaining when that withdrawal was made / total days in
period)

Performance = Profit /
Adjusted Starting Equity

The following
example uses quarterly time periods and assumes the following values:

Starting Equity on
Jan. 1, 2001 = $100,000

Additions: $30,000
on Jan. 23, $40,000 on Feb. 1

Withdrawals: $20,000
on March 1, $30,000 on March 7

Ending Equity =
$140,000

Profit = $140,000 —
$100,000 — $70,000 + $50,000

Profit = $20,000

Adjusted Starting
Equity = $100,000 + ($30,000 X 67/90) + ($40,000 X 58/90) — ($20,000 X 30/90) —
($30,000 X 24/90)

Adjusted starting
equity = $133,444

Performance =
$20,000 / $133,444

Performance = 15%