The purpose of this thread is not for you to disclose your largest single gain/loss but to give a picture of where you are relative to where to started and any memorable movements in portfolio value. I'm asking because I just paid Mrs. Market 12k in exchange for some very important lessons (basically burned account). How are your portfolios doing in % or $ compared to where you started? Has it been a bumpy ride?
I've averaged 25% annualized the past 5 years, over 50% the last 2. And that's end of day trading of stocks, not day trading. Early on drawdowns were in the 20-25% range, then less than 20%. Haven't gone below 10% the last year and a half since I started trading long and short. 5 years ago I had some good ideas, and in 2007 and 2008 I was learning how to apply them. I think it really all started coming together for me in 2009 but I am still learning and improving.
I have created a system for US equities and I am able to average 3% monthly(unleveraged) yet due to some background issues I am unable to go the "prop shop" route. Looking to sell my picks or partner with someone that can help me benefit from this monthly equity system I have discerned.
When I was first getting started, I had run up about 75k in profit in about 3 months. Then one day I lost ~50k. a rude awakening!