What holding would have paid

Verdict: Lizard earned 183.99 USD, but the underlying price move over its traded span was far larger. A profitable result can still trail the simplest available benchmark.

Profit needs a benchmark

A positive balance change answers whether the strategy made money. The hold comparison asks whether its active decisions added more than a position in the same instrument over the days it actually traded.

Lizard did not clear that bar. Gold Trade Pro did, while OilVector X only edged past it. These examples show why the benchmark belongs beside the result instead of being treated as a verdict on its own.

Read the limits with the number

The published hold value uses the audit's own traded span and position size. It does not include financing, commission or slippage, so it is a reference point rather than a tradable result.

The comparison also says nothing about the path between the first and last price. A long position can carry losses that the final move hides, while an EA can close positions and change its exposure along the way.

Use it as a second question

First ask whether the EA made money after costs. Then ask whether it beat the movement already available in its instrument. If the answer changes, the product's activity may have added less value than the profit headline suggests.

Open the Lizard audit to see the benchmark beside its costs, drawdown and concentration evidence.