My multi-currency trade journal

Update as of 8:30 pm EST, 9/15/14
Current month start date: 8/19/14
Current month end date: 9/17/14
Month 4, Day 23

Account balance (8/19/14): $213.60
Account balance (9/15/14): $225.57
Current month's %gain = 5.6%
Floating P/L = -$47.92
Net Asset Value = $177.65
% Floating DD = 21.2%
Positions open: 32
Average No. units per position = 54
Margin used = $42.41
Margin Available = $135.24
% Margin used = 32%
RISK = ~$2.70 pips draw down per position (= ~$86.40 for all open positions)
%RISK = $86.40/$225.57= 38%

Update as of 8:30 pm EST, 9/16/14
Current month start date: 8/19/14
Current month end date: 9/17/14
Month 4, Day 24

Account balance (8/19/14): $213.60
Account balance (9/16/14): $227.36
Current month's %gain = 6.4%
Floating P/L = -$47.05
Net Asset Value = $180.31
% Floating DD = 20.7%
Positions open: 29
Average No. units per position = 52
Margin used = $38.69
Margin Available = $141.63
% Margin used = 27%
RISK = ~$2.60 pips draw down per position (= ~$75.40 for all open positions)
%RISK = $75.40/$227.36= 33%

Hi Dave,

Nothing important at all in my post.

I just would like to say that this 4th month has been really a roller caster in your equity, with a big down curve and then a recovery phase in the last 10 days or so. Really interesting to follow.

Thanks again for updating your journal so regularly.

Cheers,
J-F

Yes J-F,

Its been quite a ride!

Dave

Update as of 5:00 pm EST, 9/17/14
Current month start date: 8/19/14
Current month end date: 9/17/14
End of Month 4

Account balance (8/19/14): $213.60
Account balance (9/16/14): $227.78
Current month's %gain = 6.6%
Floating P/L = -$49.65
Net Asset Value = $178.13
% Floating DD = 21.8%
Positions open: 28
Average No. units per position = 52
Margin used = $37.42
Margin Available = $140.70
% Margin used = 27%
RISK = ~$2.60 pips draw down per position (= ~$72.80 for all open positions)
%RISK = $72.80/$227.78= 32%


All, due to some changes that I'm making in my trading, I'm closing all positions as of 5:00 pm today. I will deposit funds to my account to bring the starting balance to $200.00. The final assessment of this stage in my trading approach is this:

Starting Balance (5-21-14): $104.58
Ending Balance (9-17-14): $98.13 (Note: the ending balance reflects the subtraction of the $40 that was deposited to the account at the end of Month 2 and the $40 deposited at the end of Month 3).
%change = -2.87%

Not even close to the results of my back testing... I believe that the biggest issue was not being able to effectively monitor the positions in "live" trading as was done during the back tests. But... this was a learning opportunity, and I've tweaked my trading approach to overcome this issue and will start a new journal to monitor progress. This marks the end of this journal. Thank you for reading.

Dave

Excellent journal, takes a lot of time, effort and guts to bare your trading on a daily basis.
Well done. You were not far from an profitable long term income producing trading strategy.