Why equity, not balance

What happens. A balance curve moves only when a trade is closed. While a losing position stays open, the balance stands still and looks smooth — even if the account is losing a third of its value at that moment. Equity is balance plus the floating result of open positions: the real value of the account at every point in time.

Why it matters for trust. The classic trick behind pretty statistics is sitting through losses: never closing a position until it turns positive. On a balance curve such trading looks like a series of neat wins with no drawdowns. Equity shows what the capital actually lived through: the depth of floating loss, the true drawdown, the true risk. The difference can be dramatic — a “3% drawdown” by balance can turn out to be a 40% drawdown by equity.

How it works here. For MT4/MT5 the service reconstructs the equity curve from trade history and minute-level quotes: at each moment it computes the floating result of open positions (including swap), and the drawdown is searched over that whole curve, not over closing points. For EXANTE and Interactive Brokers the same role is played by NAV — the portfolio value at current security prices. Deposits and withdrawals don't distort the picture: returns are time-weighted (TWR), and a money transfer counts as neither profit nor drawdown.

If an account's instruments aren't covered by quotes, the service honestly shows the coverage share and never passes a reconstruction off as a measurement — the origin of every curve point is labeled.