Portfolio risk
Portfolio risk
Three positions, one sum
This calculator adds up the risk across every position you have open at the same time. For each position you enter the amount you would lose if your stop was hit · the tool sums those amounts, expresses the total as a percentage of your account size, and shows each position's share of the whole.
The result is your worst-case simultaneous exposure: the scenario where every stop gets hit at once. That scenario is far from theoretical when instruments are correlated, such as pairs sharing the same currency. Once more than 10% of the account is exposed at once, the tool shows a visual marker · a common risk-management convention, not a rule.
The formula
Total risk = the sum of the risk amounts of every position (negative values are ignored). Risk in percent = total risk divided by account size, multiplied by 100. A position's share = its risk amount divided by total risk, multiplied by 100. The tool adds raw risks with no reduction for diversification: it is the worst-case calculation, where every position loses at the same time.
The example, step by step · three positions, one number
Your account holds $10,000 and three positions are open. On EUR/USD your stop would cost $100 if hit · on GBP/USD, $150 · on gold, $50. The tool first adds the three amounts: 100 + 150 + 50 = $300. It then relates that sum to the account: 300 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 3%. Finally it computes each position's share of the total risk: 100 ÷ 300 = 33.3% for EUR/USD, 150 ÷ 300 = 50% for GBP/USD, 50 ÷ 300 = 16.7% for gold. Three numbers to remember: $300 exposed, 3% of the account, and half of that risk carried by a single position. One verifiable detail in the formula: a negative amount is ignored, it counts as zero in the sum.
Total exposure by number of positions
A $10,000 account · at $200 per position, five positions are enough to reach the 10% marker.
| Open positions | $50 each | $100 each | $200 each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1% | 2% | 4% |
| 3 | 1.5% | 3% | 6% |
| 4 | 2% | 4% | 8% |
| 5 | 2.5% | 5% | 10% |
| 6 | 3% | 6% | 12% |
What the number does not tell you
This sum assumes every stop is executed at its set price · on a news release or a liquidity gap, the real loss can exceed the amount you entered. It is only valid at the moment you compute it: opening a position, closing one or moving a stop changes the total, and the tool cannot know that for you. It also says nothing about the direction of your positions: two deliberately opposite trades that partly hedge each other show the same total as two trades that lose together · the raw sum always assumes the worst case, which is both its caution and its limit. Finally, a position without a stop has no bounded loss · no amount can represent it honestly in this calculation.
The classic mistake · thinking trade by trade
Each position looks reasonable on its own · it is the sum that nobody checks. Three trades opened back to back on EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/USD share the same currency: when the dollar moves against you, all three stops can be hit on the same day, and your three small risks were really one risk, three times bigger. Your account only knows the total. The other common mix-up: entering the margin held or the position size instead of the amount lost at the stop · margin is not what you risk, it is what your broker locks up.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't the tool reduce the total for correlations?
Because adding raw risks matches the scenario where every position loses together · which is exactly what happens when instruments are correlated, like EURUSD and GBPUSD often moving in the same direction. A total discounted for diversification would need continuously measured correlation data and would produce a falsely reassuring number. The plain sum is the prudent, honest reference.
What amount should I enter for each position?
The amount you would lose if your stop was hit, not the position size and not the margin held. You can get it from a position size calculator: stop distance multiplied by pip value and the number of lots. For a position without a stop, the possible loss is unbounded and no single number can represent it faithfully.
What does the alert above 10% mean?
It is a visual marker, not a rule: having 10% of the account exposed at once is a common risk-management convention. Beyond that, a single bad day where several stops get hit takes a serious bite out of the capital. The tool only flags the threshold · judging what fits your situation remains up to you.
My stop is at break-even · what amount should I enter?
The amount follows your current stop, not your original one. If you have moved your stop to your entry price, the loss if it triggers is zero: enter zero, and the position no longer weighs on your exposure. If your stop already locks in a gain, the calculation ignores it the same way · the formula only counts positive amounts, a negative risk counts as zero in the sum.
How is this exposure different from my used margin?
Margin is the deposit your broker locks up to keep a position open · it depends on leverage, not on your stop. The exposure computed here is the loss if every stop is hit. The two numbers have no reason to match: with high leverage a position can lock $200 of margin while risking $500 at the stop, or the other way round. To know what one bad day can cost, exposure answers, not margin.
See also
Drawdown
Enter a loss percentage and see the exact gain required to get back to breakeven. Understand why a 50% drawdown takes a 100% gain to erase, instantly.
Risk of ruin
Estimate the probability of losing your entire trading account from your win rate, risk-reward ratio and risk per trade. Instant result, no sign-up needed.
Position size
Work out how many lots to open from your account size, risk percentage and stop loss distance in pips. Free, no sign-up, runs entirely in your browser.