Tradelyser Logo
Metrics
Updated 2025-06-04·Editorial policy·Trading system

What is MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion)?

Maximum adverse excursion measures how far price moved against you before exit.

Formula

MAE (long) = Entry Price − Lowest Intrabar Price During Trade MAE (short) = Highest Intrabar Price During Trade − Entry Price MAE (%) = MAE / Entry Price × 100

Indian market context (NSE)

Reference levels: Nifty 50 at 24,300, Reliance Industries at ₹1,300, Bank Nifty futures at 55,000 (lot size 30). Examples below show how MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) shows up on Indian index, equity, and futures books — update to live quotes in your journal.

Nifty 50 perspective

Apply Maximum Adverse Excursion (MAE) to your Nifty 50 sleeve (spot near 24,300): track the metric on closed index F&O or ETF trades over at least 30 sessions before changing rules. NSE costs and slippage on fast opens often widen the gap between spreadsheet maximum adverse excursion (mae) and bank P&L.

Reliance Industries perspective

On Reliance (₹1,300) delivery or intraday trades, calculate maximum adverse excursion (mae) with contract-note costs included. Single-name results can look strong on maximum adverse excursion (mae) while your Nifty-correlated book tells the opposite — tag “RELIANCE” separately in TradeLyser.

Bank Nifty futures perspective

Bank Nifty futures near 55,000 (lot 30) amplify maximum adverse excursion (mae) swings versus cash — one volatile session can move the metric more than a week of Nifty trades. Log margin mode (MIS/NRML) with each entry for honest review.

How to validate

  • Minimum sample: 30 closed trades on one strategy tag before trusting MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion).
  • Check for one outlier week inflating MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) — export largest winners and losers.
  • Recompute MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) after including brokerage, STT, and slippage on F&O tags.
  • Compare MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) on the same date range as profit factor and max drawdown.

How to track in TradeLyser

  • Open Strategy Board or analytics → filter by strategy tag and review period.
  • Locate the widget or column reporting MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) (or export trades to compute manually).
  • Store snapshot values in weekly review: MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion), profit factor, drawdown, trade count.
  • If MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) is custom, add a spreadsheet column fed from TradeLyser CSV export.

Best practices

  • Publish MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) per strategy, not only at account level.
  • Use the same calculation window (weekly vs monthly) year-round.
  • Pair MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) with sample size in every review slide or note.
  • Document formula used so mentors interpret the same number.

Common pitfalls

  • Changing rules after fewer than 20 trades because MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) moved slightly.
  • Mixing intraday and positional tags when computing MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion).
  • Ignoring costs so MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) looks better than banked P&L.
  • Letting one outlier trade dominate the MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion) reading.

How to use this in TradeLyser

Log MAE in R at exit; compare to stop distance on winners vs losers monthly.

Related terms

FAQ

MAE on closed winners only?

Study MAE on all trades — winners show how much heat you tolerated.

MAE from entry or add level?

Pick entry anchor; note if you scale in.

Start journaling with TradeLyser

Connect your broker, tag strategies, and review performance with AI-assisted insights.