How an institutional desk reads a track record

A track record makes far more sense with the full picture in front of you. Return, drawdown, Calmar and win rate describe different things — and, read together, they tell the real story of a strategy.

Return

Average return is the first thing that catches the eye, and with good reason: it is what makes an account grow. Alongside the other metrics it also gains context: it stops being an isolated figure and becomes part of a complete picture.

Drawdown

Maximum drawdown describes the largest peak-to-trough fall an account has recorded over the course of its track record. It is context: it shows how a strategy has behaved in its hardest moments too, not only in its best ones.

Calmar

The Calmar ratio relates return to drawdown in a single number. It is a compact way to see performance and the ride it took at a glance, in one measure.

Win rate and profit factor

Win rate measures how often a strategy closes trades in profit. Profit factor compares the total won with the total lost. They read better together, because one describes frequency and the other magnitude.

Why we publish all of them

Showing a single figure is easy. Publishing the full picture — and having a third party verify it — is what lets you check instead of believe. Every QuantBy strategy publishes these metrics openly, audited by Alpha Performance Verification and tracked live on Myfxbook, so you see the whole picture before you decide.