Trading Report Monthly Wrap, a detailed look at where we made and lost money during the month.
In an attempt to improve our service, we will now report our performance on a monthly basis, dividing our trades into three portfolios, Australian Stocks, UK Stocks, and Global Markets, which comprises commodities, currencies, bonds, and US indices. Going forward, we will report overall portfolio results for each of the three trading accounts, each in their home currency, AUD, GBP, and USD.
For each trading portfolio, we will provide
- A table of the closed trades from the month, with a combined Profit and Loss (P/L)
- A Portfolio Performance Table. The information in this table is rolling, i.e. the trades for the month are added to this table on a continuous basis. This table contains trades that were opened after 1 Dec 2008.
Below are a few notes which provide further explanation.
Current Account Balance – includes all closed trades from 1 Dec 2008 to the current month end
Overall Return – Total P/L to date, as a percentage of our starting balance
Win % - Percentage of trades where we book a profit
Scratched Trades – Trades where we were stopped out at break even
Max % Drawdown – This is the maximum amount, in percentage terms, in which our account decreases from our maximum equity line. Graphically, it is the maximum distance between our Maximum Equity (Pink) Line and our Current Account Balance (Blue) Line in the chart below.
AU Equities – October 2009
As evident from the table below, October has been quite an active month in the Australian Equities portfolio, with 16 trades closed out. However, after starting the month strongly, several losing trades towards the end of the month resulted in a capital loss of $553.02 in total.
As Members would be aware, we aim to capture trends, and avoid trying to pick tops and bottoms in markets. And with the broader market moving higher over the past few months; it comes as no surprise that we have been issuing mainly buy recommendations. As a result, the sharp correction at the end of the month caught us a little overexposed to the long side.
With a trend style of trading, you have to expect a drawdown in your equity when the trend of the market turns from up to down, and vice versa.
To the overall trading account, and after eleven months of trading, the Australian Equities account is currently sitting on a capital return of 51.64%, with a win rate of 59.74%.
Closed Trades for October 2009
Portfolio Performance from 1 Dec 2008
Equity Chart from 1 Dec 2008
To reiterate, the blue line is our equity line, and is updated every time a trade is closed out, while the pink line shows our equity maximum line. Put another way, this is the highest level our trading account has registered. As can be seen, despite only losing $553.02 for the month, our equity line is down noticeably from the equity high line registered earlier in the month. However, draw downs are always a part of trading.
UK Equities – October 2009
To the UK Equities account, and out of 9 trades closed out for the month, we booked 7 winners, while 2 trades lost us money. In total, we made GBP 1,538.10 for a monthly return of 7.79%.
Unlike the Australian Equities account, this account was square heading into the end of the month, which proved to be ideal, considering the increase in downside volatility. At any point in time, a trader can be long, short, or square, and often square is a good place to be.
Closed Trades for October 2009
Portfolio Performance from 1 Dec 2008
Equity Chart from 1 Dec 2008
Global Markets – October 2009
The Global Markets account was the standout performer for October, with solid profits made in gold and oil. Beginning in early September, we bought gold 5 times; booking gains on all five trades in mid October. In addition, we made solid money trading oil from the long side. In total, we booked USD 5,101.50 for the month, which was a monthly return of 17.87%.
As Members would be aware, we initially bought November Crude Oil, before rolling out into the December contract. This explains why there are 4 Oil trades in the table below, when we really only issued 2 trading recommendations. For ease of reporting, we have listed both legs to each trade.
To the overall trading account, and after 11 months of trading, the Global markets account has returned 34.58% on capital, with a win rate of 75%.
Closed Trades for October 2009
Portfolio Performance from 1 Dec 2008
Equity Chart from 1 Dec 2008
The Month Ahead
The declining US Dollar continues to keep equities and commodities bid, however daily volatility is definitely on the increase. So while the recent trends in equities and commodities remain largely intact, this is making trading a little more difficult at the present time. It is times like this that a conservative approach is warranted. Remember, rule number 1 is to preserve our trading capital. By doing this we will be in a position to participate when the better times return.
Happy Trading!