Position Size
Runs offlineSize a trade from your risk tolerance and stop.
% of account
Position size
$5,000.00
Units
1.666667
Amount at risk
$250.00
Stop distance
5.00%
Implied leverage
0.2×
Risking 1.00% of the account needs $5,000.00 of exposure, which is 0.2× your balance. The stop is what caps the loss — without one, this number means nothing.
About position size
Most position sizing is done backwards — a size is picked first and the stop is hoped to hold. The arithmetic runs the other way: the percentage of the account at risk and the distance to the stop together determine the size. A 1% risk with a 5% stop means a position worth 20% of the account; the same 1% risk with a 1% stop means the whole account. The leverage figure here is an output, not an input, which is the point.