Understanding balance and returns

Account value is what your trading account is worth at a point in time. Synemer uses the equity reported by your broker or exchange when it is available, and falls back to the settled balance and your logged trades otherwise.

Your starting balance anchors the series. Everything after it is built from realized trades and cash flows, so the curve always starts from a number you trust. Reported values correct the estimate from the moment they arrive.

A deposit is not a gain and a withdrawal is not a loss. Synemer records deposits, withdrawals, transfers, fees and funding separately so they never distort your returns.

If a deposit is missing, the derived balance drifts from the reported one. When that happens, Synemer shows the difference so you can add the missing flow.

Time-weighted return (TWR) strips out the effect of deposit and withdrawal timing. It answers how well your trading did, which is why it is the headline figure.

Money-weighted return (MWR or IRR) reflects what your actual money earned, including when you added or removed funds. Both are shown because they answer different questions.

Max drawdown is the largest peak-to-trough drop in account value. Synemer computes it on value per unit, after removing cash flows, so a deposit can never hide a drawdown.