Comparing results with other traders
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 6:28 am
Every trading community has the person who made a hundred percent last month. Comparing against them is natural and almost always harmful.
The comparison ignores risk. That hundred percent may have come from a leverage level one blown-up account away from zero. It also ignores survivorship: for every visible winner there are many silent losers, and the account being compared against might not exist in three months.
Even honest comparisons mislead. Different strategies, capital levels, session hours and risk tolerance make direct comparison meaningless.
A healthier benchmark is the trader's own past. Is expectancy improving? Is rule adherence higher than last quarter? Is the drawdown smaller? Those questions have answers that actually guide decisions.
If external comparison is unavoidable, compare risk-adjusted numbers, such as return divided by maximum drawdown, over a long period, with verified statements.
Another quiet distortion is time. A screenshot shows one good week, never the six flat ones around it, so the comparison is between a highlight reel and an ordinary Tuesday.
What metrics get compared month to month against the trader's own history?
The comparison ignores risk. That hundred percent may have come from a leverage level one blown-up account away from zero. It also ignores survivorship: for every visible winner there are many silent losers, and the account being compared against might not exist in three months.
Even honest comparisons mislead. Different strategies, capital levels, session hours and risk tolerance make direct comparison meaningless.
A healthier benchmark is the trader's own past. Is expectancy improving? Is rule adherence higher than last quarter? Is the drawdown smaller? Those questions have answers that actually guide decisions.
If external comparison is unavoidable, compare risk-adjusted numbers, such as return divided by maximum drawdown, over a long period, with verified statements.
Another quiet distortion is time. A screenshot shows one good week, never the six flat ones around it, so the comparison is between a highlight reel and an ordinary Tuesday.
What metrics get compared month to month against the trader's own history?