Risk per trade is the share of portfolio capital that would be lost if a position were stopped out AT its stop-loss — a direct check on whether a single trade could do outsized damage, computed as recommended position size × stop-loss percentage. It is a planning figure, not a guarantee: a stop is an order, not a floor.
Risk per trade = recommended position size × stop-loss percentage. If the recommended size is 8% of the portfolio and the stop-loss sits 15% below entry, risk per trade is 8% × 15% = 1.2% of total portfolio capital — what this single trade costs if the thesis is wrong and the stop fills at its price.
That last condition is the whole game, and it is where most retail risk budgets quietly break. If the stock gaps to 30% below entry overnight, the stop does not fill at −15%; it fills near −30%, and the same 8% position costs about 2.4% of the portfolio — double the budget. Read risk per trade as "what I lose on an orderly exit", and read the position size as "what I can lose if the exit is not orderly".
Keeping risk per trade below roughly 1-2% is a standard capital-preservation rule: even a losing streak of several trades in a row stays a manageable drawdown rather than a portfolio-ending event. This is exactly why Kelly-based position sizing scales DOWN for wider stop-losses (higher volatility) rather than keeping position size fixed — a wide stop on a volatile name must be paired with a smaller position to hold risk per trade constant.
Live example: AAPL's current risk per trade is 0.01% of portfolio capital — what this single position costs if it is stopped out AT its stop price. A gap through the stop costs more. See the full AAPL forecast for the full sizing plan.
Risk per trade caps the loss from ONE trade; max drawdown measures the actual historical peak-to-trough decline across a whole track record, which can compound across several simultaneous or sequential losing trades. A disciplined risk-per-trade ceiling is what keeps a string of individually-small losses from becoming a large drawdown.
Recommended position size × stop-loss percentage — the fraction of total portfolio capital that would be lost if the position were stopped out.
Roughly 1-2% of portfolio capital per trade is a standard capital-preservation ceiling, keeping even a losing streak of several trades to a manageable drawdown rather than a portfolio-ending event.
No — it only bounds the loss from one position. Several positions can still move together in hostile market conditions; risk per trade and diversification are separate, complementary checks.
AAPL analysis shows this metric in context, or browse all S&P 500 tickers.
Educational research only — not investment advice.