

Will you still have faith in the system after a losing streak? The answer might not be evident when real money is at stake because you never know if the drawdown is temporary or permanent.ĭrawdown is very important for a trader because they significantly impact your compounding abilities. What is your risk tolerance for drawdowns in trading? Drawdowns increase the risk of behavioral mistakes. These three simple reasons should always be in the back of your mind in the development process. Am I doing something wrong? You pause the strategy and alter the variables before resuming (with a new strategy).Is this the beginning of a larger drawdown? You are unsure and stop trading.During a drawdown, you ask yourself: Has the system stopped working? You hesitate and stop trading.Why Is Max Drawdown Important In Trading? Likewise, the close-to-close drawdown might fool you into unrealistic expectations when an intraday drawdown might force a margin call. Nassim Nicholas Taleb writes that “you shouldn’t cross a river that is on average four feet deep”. These two types might differ, primarily if you use leverage. We have two types of drawdowns: closed and open:Ī closed drawdown is a drawdown measured from the closing price to the next closing price, while an open drawdown include the intraday drawdown between the closing prices. Such a poor performance would gut most traders and investors. We are confident those investors and traders give up and lose interest. You need a strong character to not lose hope after such a disastrous performance. This means 100 000 invested at the peak, was only worth 17 000 two years later. The max drawdown during this period was a hefty 83% in late 2002. The drawdown didn’t end until 2015! 15 years is a pretty long time to wait for a drawdown to recover. Graphical examples of drawdownsīelow is a graphical example of a drawdown in the ETF QQQ: The drawdown ends when your equity sets a new peak above 95 000, and the process starts again. Hence, the 10 000 is your drawdown.ĭrawdowns are better valued in percentages. Your equity drops 10 000 in nominal value. Let’s assume your equity today is at a record 95 000, but over the next two months, it drops to 85 000. We discuss why in this article.ĭrawdowns are best explained with an example: How do you calculate a drawdown? (How to calculate) Still, when it reaches double percentage digits, the drawdown can significantly affect your future returns because of our trading biases. Most of the time, the drawdown is minuscule and nothing to worry about. Thus, most of the time, you’ll be in a drawdown! You are in a drawdown if your equity is not at an all-time high. It’s a peak-to-trough decline over a certain period. Conclusion: Why is max drawdown important in trading?Ī drawdown in trading is the percentage you are down from the latest equity peak.Trading is about preserving your capital.How Much Pain Can You Take? Risk, Hindsight, Consistency And Paper Trading.Preparing the mind for inevitable drawdowns.It’s easier to predict risk than returns.Changes that have taken place over the last 180 years.Looking at drawdowns over a period of 180 years.Drawdown in a historical perspective – 180 years of stock market drawdowns.The biggest trading drawdown is yet to come.When you add a strategy to your portfolio, make sure it adds diversification and is uncorrelated with the other strategies.Trade small sizes and stay well within your comfort zone.Trade many markets – low correlation reduces trading drawdowns.Reduce and decrease trading drawdowns by trading many strategies.Align your trading style with your personality.

Most strategies stop working sooner or later.Don’t avoid drawdowns in trading- accept them and use them to your advantage.Why you need to accept drawdowns as part of cost of doing business.Drawdowns and the Sharpe ratio – the least amount of pain for the same return.Low drawdowns can take advantage of leverage.A low drawdown equals compounding from a higher level.Drawdowns result in lower CAGR and compounding.How much drawdown can you handle before you give up?.Low drawdowns limit behavioral mistakes.Why Is Max Drawdown Important In Trading?.Two types of drawdowns: closed and open.How do you calculate a drawdown? (How to calculate).
