MAE and MFE, the two columns most journals skip
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 9:56 am
MAE is maximum adverse excursion. It is how far a trade went against the entry before it closed. MFE is maximum favourable excursion, the best open profit the trade ever showed before closing. Both get measured in pips (or R) from entry, and both come from the high and low of the trade, not just the exit.
Why bother? The exit price only tells part of the story. A trade closed for +4 pips might have touched +11 along the way. Another closed for +4 might have dipped -6 first and nearly hit the stop. The result column looks identical for both and the reality was completely different.
Logging MFE shows how much the target leaves on the table, or how often price reached the target by a pip and then reversed. Logging MAE shows how close winners came to being losers.
Some platforms export it, many do not. A cheap workaround is to note the worst and best price while the trade is open, or to replay the trade afterwards on a 1-minute or tick chart.
Fills matter here too. A stop that triggered during a spread spike shows up as a big MAE that was partly the quote, not the market.
A scatter of MAE for winners against MAE for losers is also one of the few charts that turns stop placement into a data question instead of a feeling. It does cost effort, though. Every trade needs two extra numbers, and on a busy day that adds up fast.
Do you track MAE and MFE, and if so, how do you capture them without it turning into a second job?
Why bother? The exit price only tells part of the story. A trade closed for +4 pips might have touched +11 along the way. Another closed for +4 might have dipped -6 first and nearly hit the stop. The result column looks identical for both and the reality was completely different.
Logging MFE shows how much the target leaves on the table, or how often price reached the target by a pip and then reversed. Logging MAE shows how close winners came to being losers.
Some platforms export it, many do not. A cheap workaround is to note the worst and best price while the trade is open, or to replay the trade afterwards on a 1-minute or tick chart.
Fills matter here too. A stop that triggered during a spread spike shows up as a big MAE that was partly the quote, not the market.
A scatter of MAE for winners against MAE for losers is also one of the few charts that turns stop placement into a data question instead of a feeling. It does cost effort, though. Every trade needs two extra numbers, and on a busy day that adds up fast.
Do you track MAE and MFE, and if so, how do you capture them without it turning into a second job?