Quick definition — A trade result is the realized monetary outcome of the closed quantity, reconstructed from actual fills and applicable costs. It is account data: by itself, it does not measure decision quality, plan adherence, or a future edge.
For a fully closed position, the journal can distinguish gross result, explicit costs, and net result. If some quantity remains open, the realized result of the closed portion and the unrealized P&L of the remaining portion stay in separate fields. Accounting conventions, mark-to-market, multipliers, and currency conversion depend on the product and broker; confirmations and statements are the operational records to reconcile.
The monetary value may be accompanied by an R-multiple only if the initial 1R was defined before entry and remains reliably reconstructable. The R-multiple normalizes the outcome against chosen risk, but does not replace amounts, fills, costs, or currency.
From fills to the net result
Fields to retain
| Field | Purpose | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|
| Entry and exit fills | Evidence of executed quantity, price, and time | Desired order or chart price |
| Realized gross result | Monetary difference on the closed quantity before explicit costs | Unrealized P&L on the open quantity |
| Costs | Commissions, fees, and separate charges; markups or markdowns as reported | |
| Realized net result | Gross less explicit costs under the chosen reporting convention | Total change in balance or equity |
| R-multiple | Net result relative to documented initial 1R | Skill or edge: the metric establishes neither |
| Process | Positive or negative sign of the outcome |
If the product currency differs from the account currency, record the conversion rate, source, and time. If there are multiple legs or partial exits, retain every fill and state how costs were allocated. Do not reconstruct precision that the broker's records do not support.
Reconciliation procedure
- Verify instrument, side, quantity, date, and time against the trade confirmation.
- Match every entry and exit fill, including partial closures.
- Separate closed and remaining quantities; do not turn open P&L into a realized result.
- Calculate or import the gross result using the product's actual specifications.
- Deduct only commissions and explicit costs not already embedded in execution prices; do not count slippage, markups, or markdowns twice.
- Record the currency and, when needed, the conversion convention.
- Add an R-multiple only with a reliable initial 1R, retaining extra decimals before report rounding.
- Reconcile the figure with the confirmation and account statement, recording any discrepancy.
Outcome, process, and series
A positive result does not automatically make the decision correct; a negative result does not automatically prove an error. Baron and Hershey's study documents outcome bias: knowing an outcome can alter judgments of the quality of a decision made under uncertainty. The exit reason and plan adherence should therefore be evaluated using the information available when the choice was made.
Even a positive series describes only the observed sample. To make interpretation more transparent, it may be useful—depending on the purpose of the analysis—to state the observation count, period, costs, missing trades, mean and median, dispersion, drawdown, and rule changes. This is an editorial checklist, not a universal minimum; no trade count automatically turns results into proof of skill, edge, or future profitability.
Limitation — This entry offers a documentation framework, not an accounting or tax standard. Definitions of P&L, settlement, and costs can vary across products, jurisdictions, and brokers; check the reporting rules that apply.
Sources
- FINRA, Are You Checking Your Trade Confirmations? — official source on confirmation data: date, price, quantity, time when available, commissions, and other charges.
- Investor.gov, How Fees and Expenses Affect Your Investment Portfolio — official SEC source on transaction costs that reduce net results.
- Investor.gov, Better Understanding Your Brokerage Account Statement — distinguishes realized and unrealized gains and losses on an account statement.
- Investor.gov, Executing an Order — describes order execution and the possible difference between a quote and an execution price.
- Baron and Hershey, Outcome Bias in Decision Evaluation — Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — peer-reviewed study of decision evaluation after the outcome becomes known.