A sample account, start to finish.
This sample account follows a real account's day-by-day returns (one of ours), started at $145,000. The holdings and trades are made up. All of it runs through the same maths that runs on yours. Scroll to see what you would get.
Overview
Where the account stands and how it compares with the S&P 500 (SPY), from Dec 27, 2024 to Oct 2, 2026.
How the account compares
Performance
Two fair ways to measure growth, and every month laid out with the losing ones included.
Month by month
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | −2.0% | −2.0% |
| 2025 | −6.6% | +4.2% | −15.9% | +3.3% | +19.8% | +12.7% | +3.4% | +5.3% | +9.9% | +5.8% | +0.3% | +2.0% | +47.9% |
| 2026 | +2.8% | −4.0% | +1.1% | +17.8% | +3.5% | −7.2% | +8.8% | +9.4% | +1.8% | +1.8% | · | · | +39.2% |
Risk
What it took to get the return: how bumpy the ride was, how far it fell, and how the account's link to the market changed.
How the market exposure changed
Beta against the S&P 500 (SPY) over each trailing year. Above 1, the account moved more than the market.
Skill check
The question most trackers skip: is the gap between you and the market bigger than luck would explain?
Skill check against S&P 500 (SPY)
Ahead, but not yet proven
You are ahead of the benchmark, but by an amount luck could easily produce over about 21 months (t = 1.12, p = 0.26). If the same pattern held, roughly 3.8 more years of data would make it clear.
- Alpha (yearly)
- +19.2%
- Beta
- 1.88
- t-stat
- 1.12
- p-value
- 0.26
Trade review
Every position opened and closed, set against the prices around it. A record of what happened, never advice.
In hindsight
Shares
See the trades behind it
- MSFT · sold Apr 22, 2025Would have made $6,106 had you held 30 more days−$6,106
- JNJ · sold May 27, 2025Would have made $2,193 had you held 30 more days−$2,193
- AAPL · sold Nov 24, 2025Would have made $2,106 had you held 30 more days−$2,106
- JNJ · sold Aug 11, 2025Would have made $2,037 had you held 30 more days−$2,037
- NVDA · sold Apr 27, 2026Would have made $1,827 had you held 30 more days−$1,827
- JNJ · sold May 18, 2026Would have lost $1,150 had you held 30 more days+$1,150
- KO · sold May 21, 2026Would have lost $576 had you held 30 more days+$576
- NVDA · sold Sep 12, 2025Would have lost $396 had you held 30 more days+$396
See the trades behind it
- AMZN · Aug 10, 2026 to Sep 14, 2026Up $1,246 at its best, finished −$4,239−$5,485
- AAPL · Oct 30, 2025 to Nov 24, 2025Up $208 at its best, finished −$1,074−$1,282
- AMZN · Mar 7, 2025 to Apr 4, 2025Up $61 at its best, finished −$1,192−$1,254
- JNJ · Aug 12, 2026 to Sep 8, 2026Up $1,482 at its best, finished +$344−$1,138
- JNJ · Apr 16, 2026 to May 18, 2026Up $1,280 at its best, finished +$359−$922
Options
- Calls and puts you bought−$208
- Puts you sold+$305
- Calls you sold on shares you held−$1,096
Each figure is your result minus the alternative, so green always means you did better.
By strategy
| Strategy | Share of trades | Win rate | Average trade | Average days held | Profit factor | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shares bought | 68% · 79 | 77% | +$206.09 | 30 | 2.45 | +$16,280.88 |
| Puts sold | 15% · 17 | 88% | +$103.65 | 16 | 45.05 | +$1,762.00 |
| Covered calls | 11% · 13 | 46% | −$84.31 | 14 | 0.47 | −$1,096.00 |
| Calls bought | 4% · 5 | 40% | +$49.60 | 18 | 1.61 | +$248.00 |
| Puts bought | 2% · 2 | 50% | −$34.50 | 9 | 0.26 | −$69.00 |
Holdings
What is held, how spread out it is, and what the options could ask of the account.
- Stocks44.1%
- ETFs37.0%
- Cash13.4%
- Options5.5%
Ready to see your own?
The rest of the sample, and every page of it with your real numbers, comes with a plan. Both start with 7 days free.
A sample account: a real account's daily returns from a $145,000 start, with made-up holdings and trades. Past results describe what happened and say nothing about what any account will do.