Time in market (exposure)
Time in market, or exposure, is the share of a period during which a strategy holds a position. It matters because risk is only taken while positioned: two strategies with the same profit have different risk profiles if one earns it in a tenth of the time the other spends exposed.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
At a glance
- Exposure
- Time holding a position ÷ length of the reference period
- Related figures
- Average hold, maximum hold, total time in position
- Watch the denominator
- Full session, trading window or span of activity
- In Senzoukria
- Performance panel, Time section
Why exposure is a risk measure
Market risk exists only while a position is open. A strategy in the market 80% of the session carries overnight-like surprises, news releases and gaps far more often than one exposed 10% of the time. Dividing a profit by the time exposed gives a return per unit of exposure, which is a fairer comparison between a rule that holds positions for hours and one that holds them for minutes.
Exposure also shapes interaction with account rules. A rule measured on open equity is exposed to intraday excursions only while a trade is open, and a flat-by-close requirement constrains strategies with long holds more than scalping ones.
The denominator trap
Exposure is a ratio, and its denominator must be stated. Suppose the first trade of a session opens at 9:35 and the last one closes at 11:05, and the trades add up to 30 minutes in position. Measured against the 90-minute span of activity, exposure is 33%. Measured against the 6.5-hour US cash session, it is about 7.7%. Both are correct; they answer different questions.
In Senzoukria
The Performance panel of the Replay screen has a Time section with Average hold, Max hold, Time in position and Exposure. Time in position is a sum of trade durations, which is exact because positions cannot overlap in the simulated account. Exposure is described as the share of the session spent in position, and its denominator is the span from the first trade opened to the last trade closed, not the whole trading session, so it reads high for a session with a few trades close together. The Performance panel also draws P&L by holding time when the trades of the run are still in memory, which shows whether short or long holds carry the result.
Common mistakes
- Comparing exposure figures computed over different reference periods.
- Treating low exposure as low risk when the positions that are taken are large.
- Ignoring that a strategy with high exposure is the one most affected by gaps and session breaks.
Related
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Frequently asked questions
- Is lower exposure always better?
- Not by itself. Lower exposure means fewer hours at risk, but the size of the positions and the path inside them matter as much. Compare return per unit of exposure together with drawdown and maximum adverse excursion.
- Why does the desktop show a high exposure for a session with only three short trades?
- Because its exposure is measured against the span between the first trade's entry and the last trade's exit. Three trades taken within twenty minutes can fill most of that span even if the session lasted hours.