How are signal % gain calculated? Can they be gamed
Hi all
I am curious on how % gain works on signals.
Whenever I have posted my own signal it seems to work perfectly, but I have seen other signals where it doesn't make sense.
e.g. the one below (name of signal removed)
250 deposit, 1674 profit.. Great result but definitely not over 4000% by any calculations I know..
Is it because of the constant withdrawals? Is that a way of gaming the % gain for a signal?
Any insight anyone has would be appreciated.
Withdrawals:
Lachlan, the growth (and not profit) you see is the accummulated return of the signal, regardless its withdrawals.
If you had invested your money in the signal from the very first day and hadn't made any withdrawals whatsover, your account would have grown by this percentage.
Don't confuse the growth value with the profit over the initial deposit, these are 2 different things.
As it is explained in another website:
Growth = Time-Weighted Return (TWR) that measures the performance of an amount invested in the system since inception. TWR measurement is required by the Global Investments Performance Standards published by the CFA Institute.
Profit = Absolute Gain: Return of the investment as a percentage of the total deposits. By definition, new deposits will affect the absolute gain.
Lachlan, the growth (and not profit) you see is the accummulated return of the signal, regardless its withdrawals.
If you had invested your money in the signal from the very first day and hadn't made any withdrawals whatsover, your account would have grown by this percentage.
Don't confuse the growth value with the profit over the initial deposit, these are 2 different things.
As it is explained in another website:
Growth = Time-Weighted Return (TWR) that measures the performance of an amount invested in the system since inception. TWR measurement is required by the Global Investments Performance Standards published by the CFA Institute.
Profit = Absolute Gain: Return of the investment as a percentage of the total deposits. By definition, new deposits will affect the absolute gain.
Thanks Eleni.. To my old school understanding turning 250 into 1924.46 is 770% so I will have to look into how TWR works to make it clear as the figures are a long way apart.
Thanks Eleni.. To my old school understanding turning 250 into 1924.46 is 770% so I will have to look into how TWR works to make it clear as the figures are a long way apart.
You have to go back to school then, to refresh your maths.
You are absolutely correct! There is nothing wrong with your math. MetaQuotes has definitely messed up on that one and several other signals I checked (not all, just some of the ones I checked were wrong).
You have to go back to school then, to refresh your maths.
I am happy to see your are not always friendly. 
You are absolutely correct! There is nothing wrong with your math. MetaQuotes has definitely messed up on that one and several other signals I checked (not all, just some of the ones I checked were wrong).
Can you please show the math as to how you got to that value please? Maybe I am calculating it incorrectly too, but I checked several signals and my math was correct for several of them but not for others like this one. It was not consistent!
OK! I now know what the reason for the dependencies and way a was getting a different value. However, I don't agree with MetaQuotes interpretation and how they calculating it.
Instead of the net final growth, they are compounding the monthly growths instead which I totally disagree as it inflates the value when withdrawals are made on a regular basis.
The OP is then correct. They are using the withdrawals as a means to "fudge" the values and gain unfair advantage because MetaQuotes has not properly applied the net growth calculations.
Can you please show the math as to how you got to that values please? Maybe I am calculating it incorrectly too, but I checked several signals and my maths was correct for several of them but not for others like this one. It was not consistent!
| Capital | % growth | Calculation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | 250 | 58.52 | 250 * (1 + 58.52%) |
| September | 396.30 | 156.34 | 396.3 * (1 + 156.34%) |
| October | 1015.87 | 196.38 | 1015.87 * (1 + 196.38%) |
| November | 3010.85 | 110.38 | 3010.85 * (1 + 110.38%) |
| December | 6334.22 | 65.36 | 6334.22 * (1 + 65.36%) |
| Total | 10474.28 | 4189% | (10474.28 / 250) |
4189% instead of 4090%, the difference is probably due to a different way to round (?).
| Capital | % growth | Calculation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | 250 | 58.52 | 250 * (1 + 58.52%) |
| September | 396.30 | 156.34 | 396.3 * (1 + 156.34%) |
| October | 1015.87 | 196.38 | 1015.87 * (1 + 196.38%) |
| November | 3010.85 | 110.38 | 3010.85 * (1 + 110.38%) |
| December | 6334.22 | 65.36 | 6334.22 * (1 + 65.36%) |
| Total | 10474.28 | 4189% | (10474.28 / 250) |
4189% instead of 4090%, the difference is probably due to a different way to round (?).
Oops I was editing my post while you were answering me. Yes, I already figured it out. Thanks! Please see my edited version.
EDIT: As you can see from the signal data, the true balance would be $1.924,46 and not the $10.474,28 as you calculation shows so the net growth is totally incorrect due to the withdrawals "fudging" the data.
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Hi all
I am curious on how % gain works on signals.
Whenever I have posted my own signal it seems to work perfectly, but I have seen other signals where it doesn't make sense.
e.g. the one below (name of signal removed)
250 deposit, 1674 profit.. Great result but definitely not over 4000% by any calculations I know..
Is it because of the constant withdrawals? Is that a way of gaming the % gain for a signal?
Any insight anyone has would be appreciated.
Withdrawals: