Evaluating a provider honestly
Reading a track record
4 min
A glossy equity curve climbing left to right is the easiest thing in the world to produce and the easiest to misread. Learn what actually matters.
Look past the headline return
"+312% in a year" tells you almost nothing on its own. You need to know:
- Over what period? A great year can hide a catastrophic one before or after it.
- With how much risk? A 300% gain achieved by betting the whole account is not skill, it is a coin flip that happened to land.
- Verified by whom? A screenshot is not evidence. Independent, broker-verified statements are.
The numbers that count
- Net return after all costs — spreads, fees, slippage. Gross figures flatter.
- Length of history — months are noise; multiple years across different market conditions begin to mean something.
- Consistency — was the return steady, or one lucky trade carrying everything?
The mindset
You are not trying to be impressed; you are trying to be un-fooled. Assume every record is presented in its most flattering light and work to strip that flattery away. If the provider resists giving you verifiable, cost-inclusive, long-horizon data, that resistance is itself your answer.
This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment, financial, tax or legal advice. Trading and investing carry risk, including the possible loss of capital. Any performance shown by third-party tools is hypothetical and not a promise of future results. Do your own research and consider professional advice before making any decision.