What kind of result are you looking at?
Begin by identifying a historical simulation, a demo account or a live account. These are different forms of evidence. Ask for the account currency, reporting dates, broker, EA version and settings used. A cropped chart without this context cannot answer whether the record resembles your intended setup.
Keep the full period, including quiet and losing months. Record when the evidence was obtained and which parts you could independently inspect. Read-only account access or an exported statement can add detail, but neither alone proves that a particular EA caused every trade or that the same outcome will repeat.
Why review equity as well as balance?
MT5 exposes balance, current profit and equity as distinct account values. Balance alone cannot describe the current account while positions remain open. Ask for both curves and the observation interval rather than assuming a closed-trade chart captured every loss experienced along the way.
For example, an illustrative account with a 10,000 balance and 2,000 floating loss can look unchanged on a balance-only snapshot while open exposure matters materially. This simplified example excludes credits and other adjustments. Ask how the report handles those items instead of applying it as a complete broker calculation.
Which drawdown should you compare?
The MT5 tester distinguishes balance and equity drawdown, and distinguishes absolute, maximal and relative drawdown. A cash peak-to-trough loss and a percentage peak-to-trough loss answer different questions. Match the definition, currency, period and underlying curve before comparing two reports.
Ask when the worst decline occurred, how long recovery took and what exposure was open during it. The worst historical decline is an observed result within that record, not a future loss ceiling. A short reporting period may simply omit the conditions that would produce a larger decline.
Were costs and cash movements separated?
Request a reconciliation of trading profit, commission, swaps, other charges, deposits and withdrawals. MT5's trading report separates several of these components; its gross-profit figures and net trade results do not use identical cost treatment. Read the specific field definition rather than assuming every displayed total is after costs.
Keep software, hosting and any separately billed performance fees in a second cost record if they are absent from the trading statement. Adding funds can raise an account balance without creating trading profit. A fair comparison uses an explicit return method that addresses cash flows instead of dividing the final balance by the first deposit.
Did the EA generate the whole record?
Find out whether manual trades, other EAs or copied trades share the account. Ask how trades were attributed, whether partial closes were grouped and whether the report includes all relevant history. An account-wide result should be labelled account-wide even when a gold EA was attached throughout.
Compare like with like: the same version, settings, contract conditions and accounting approach. Explain any differences you cannot normalize. More decimal places do not repair missing provenance, and a green verification badge without an explained check does not establish trade attribution.
What makes the evidence useful for a decision?
Write a one-page review covering evidence type, duration, trade count, costs, worst equity decline and unresolved gaps. State what the record establishes and what it leaves unknown. This makes the comparison repeatable when another report arrives.
Gold EA's website presentations contain illustrative data, not a verified customer track record. Use them to understand the reporting layout. Evaluate any actual performance evidence separately, and stop the comparison when missing history or attribution prevents a reliable conclusion. Past results cannot settle how a future account will perform.
Sources & further reading
Official documentation helps you confirm how the terminal works. Product-specific settings should follow your current Gold EA guide.
MQL5 Reference: Account PropertiesMetaTrader 5 Help: Testing ReportMetaTrader 5 Help: Trading Report