The endpoint hides the experience
An equity series can finish above its starting value after spending much of its history below a previous peak. Total change describes the endpoints. Drawdown describes the path from each running peak. Both are needed to interpret an investment result; neither, alone, establishes suitability.
Consider six invented observations: 100, 110, 99, 105, 120, 108. They are arbitrary units, not dates, trades, Atlas results or a market index. The running peaks are 100, 110, 110, 110, 120 and 120.
A calculation with no hidden assumptions
At each observation, divide equity by the highest equity seen so far and subtract one. The observations at 99 and 108 are each 10% below their preceding running peak. The maximum observed drawdown is therefore 10%.
This example samples only six points. A finer observation interval could reveal a deeper intermediate loss. A published report must state whether its drawdown uses intraday, daily or another sampling convention. Comparing a daily close-to-close number with an intraday number without that context can be misleading.
Recovery is asymmetric
After a fractional loss d, the gain required to regain the starting value is d / (1 − d), assuming no deposits or withdrawals. After a 10% loss, that is 11.11%; after a 50% loss, it is 100%. The denominator has changed because the recovery begins from a smaller capital base.
Cash flows complicate the calculation. A deposit can lift account equity without representing investment profit. Any real report needs an explicit cash-flow policy before its equity series can support a performance claim.
Reproduce the example
The research laboratory publishes all six observations, a plotted path, the running peaks, a downloadable CSV and the calculation source. Changing the cost inputs affects a separate arithmetic example; it does not change these synthetic observations.
The example demonstrates the calculation. It does not validate either Wealthoak engine, predict returns or establish historical testing coverage. The performance disclosure standard explains what would be required for a real report.