TA Benchmark Project

We believe fervently that the practice of Technical Analysis, in any form, immeasurably improves the profitability and survivability of any investment or trading account. And we are in the process of proving it.
A proposition like this can only be proven with facts. So we are in the process of gathering facts. In our own graduate seminars and workshops we require students to compile their portfolio statistics accumulated before taking the course. Then we harass them regularly each six months thereafter to update their data. Eventually we expect to aggregate and publish this study. In the meantime we solicit technical analysts to enlist in this effort. Nothing would black the eye of the fundamentalists like hard data on this subject.

Illustrated here is the form used (a working version, subject to suggestions from other practitioners). An Excel spreadsheet version is available.

Portfolio Statistics for Technical Analysts and ex-Students of Bassetti 1st Quarter 2001

Item Pre-Course 1st Qtr 2001 2nd Qtr 2001

Number of Trades
Winning Trades
Losing Trades

Winning Statistics
Median profit per trade
Median time per trade
Average profit per trade
Average time per trade

Losing Statistics
Median loss per trade
Median time per trade
Average loss per trade
Average time per trade

Costs per trade
Total Costs

Average Drawdown
Maximum Drawdown

Original Risk per trade
Median
Average

Portfolio Risk
Daily Operational
Annualized
Catastrophic

Ratios
Win/Loss
Profit/Loss
Costs/Capital
Risk/Capital
Risk/Reward

Note: This information remains strictly private. Statistics will be run and reported across the class.
I have no interest in amount of capital, or actually even
in name of respondent, so you can report under a nom de bourse (psudeonym) if concerned about
privacy. Include your comments about the form and its contents and any suggestions.