System Quality Number (SQN)
Definition
A statistical metric that measures the risk-adjusted performance of a trading system. A higher SQN generally indicates a more robust and consistent trading strategy.
Formula
SQN = (Average Profit/Loss per Trade * Square Root of Number of Trades) / Standard Deviation of PnL
Example
Let’s assume:
- Average Profit/Loss per Trade: $100
- Number of Trades: 50
- Standard Deviation of PnL: $250
SQN = ($100 * √50) / $250 = 2.83
Key Points
- Risk-Adjusted Performance: SQN helps evaluate trading systems by considering profitability, risk (standard deviation), and the number of trades.
- Strategy Comparison: Can be used to compare the relative quality of different trading strategies.
- Benchmark: Some traders consider an SQN above 2.5 to indicate a good strategy, while an SQN of 6 or higher might be considered excellent.
Considerations
- Sample Size: SQN values are more meaningful with a larger sample size of trades.