Closed trades

Discussion in 'Trading Software' started by progman, Aug 9, 2002.

  1. progman

    progman

    Hello,

    I have a question about back-test performance reporting for trading systems that can scale in and out of positions. Reports will include basic statistics, such as number of winning/losing trades, number of long/short trades, etc.

    If, for example, the system enters a long position by buying 300 shares of XYZ, and then makes 3 partial exits of 100 shares each, should it be reported as 1 closed trade or as 3 closed trades?

    Or, if the system enters a long position by buying 100 shares, after that adds another 200 shares, and then makes 3 exits of 100 shares each, how many closed trades should be reported?

    In other words, should a trade be considered closed when at least partial profits are taken, or only when the entire position is liquidated?

    Any opinions will be greatly appreciated.