P&L Series (account currency)
The P&L series is EquityTruth's cumulative profit curve in account currency. It is additive, not compounded — metrics on it use arithmetic dollar changes, not log-returns. Useful when absolute amounts matter, but it is not size- or time-normalized, so don't compare it across accounts.
- Computed from
- Data series
- Scope
- Single report
- Range
- Any real number
- Direction
- Context-dependent
Variants: close-to-closelow-to-low
The P&L series is the cumulative trading-profit curve in account currency — just the dollars (or euros, etc.) the account made over time. No percentages, no compounding: it's the rawest view of performance, and the one to use when the absolute amount is what matters. The dollars here are real — they're what you actually withdraw, and what a drawdown actually costs you.
How it's built
P&L_t = equity_t − cumulative_cashflows_t
- equity_t
- account equity at time t — your balance plus floating P&L (the running profit on positions still open)
- cumulative_cashflows_t
- all deposits minus withdrawals up to t
Why dollars don't compound
On the Return and TWR curves, returns compound — a +10% then −10% is not flat (you end at 99%) — so those metrics use the matching compounding math. Dollars don't compound: +$100 then −$100 is exactly flat. So every metric computed on the P&L series uses plain arithmetic differences. This is why, for example, the P&L Sharpe depends on your dollar position sizing over time, while the Return Sharpe is scale-free.
One consequence to watch: on a compounding account the P&L curve naturally steepens over time even at constant skill — as the balance grows you trade bigger, so later dollar swings are larger. A rising slope on the P&L curve isn't necessarily improving skill; it can just be a bigger account doing the same thing. For a skill read, use the % curves.
Close-to-close vs low-to-low
The P&L series also has close-to-close and low-to-low variants — the latter walking each day's intraday low dollar point to the next. Full explanation on the Return series.
Related series
For a normalized, comparable view use the Return series (money-weighted %) or the TWR series (cashflow-neutral %). The P&L series is best when the literal dollar amount — not the rate — is the question.