> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.hydravision.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.hydravision.ai/products/asset-profiler/when-to-re-profile.md).

# When to re-profile

A profile describes one asset, on one broker, over one window. All three can change.

### Re-profile when any of these happen

**You changed broker, or account type.** This is the big one. Spread and commission come from the live symbol, so a Standard-account profile tells you very little about a Raw account even at the same broker. Every cost figure, the band floor, the compression and the verdict all move.

**Your commission changed.** Volume tiers, promotional rates, a renegotiated agreement. This matters most on assets where commission dominates the entry cost.

**Volatility has clearly shifted.** The ceiling of your range comes from how much the asset moves. A market that has calmed down or woken up has a different ceiling, and a step that was sensible six months ago may now sit outside the range.

**The broker changed its spread schedule.** Less visible than the others, and worth checking periodically rather than waiting to notice.

**A new Profiler version ships.** The formulas improve. Re-running gives you the current model's view.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Profiles made before Profiler v1.23.** Three kinds of profile are worth re-running with v1.23:

* **Indices** (GER40, US30 and similar). The step range itself was right, but older profiles don't record the unit Hydra Vision reads **Minimum Step Size** in. The portal now works it out from the symbol name and marks the value **(estimated)**.
* **Crypto.** The same applies, and the unit depends on the price, so the estimate is less certain.
* **Currency pairs a broker lists with a small contract** (for example 1,000 rather than 100,000). Older versions treated them as non-FX, so the figures were shown in price instead of pips and the step range used the much wider non-FX band. The portal asks for a re-run on these instead of showing a Minimum Step Size value.

See [Ticks, pips and price](/products/asset-profiler/ticks-pips-and-price.md) for how Minimum Step Size is counted on each kind of asset.
{% endhint %}

### How often, if nothing obvious happened

Quarterly is a reasonable rhythm for assets you're actively trading. It costs a few minutes and it means you notice drift before it costs you.

For assets on a watchlist you're not trading, re-profile when you're about to act on them rather than on a schedule.

### Keep the old files

Profiles are small. Keeping them is how you tell the difference between an asset that changed and a market that had one unusual quarter.

The filename carries the identity (symbol, window and broker), so a folder of old profiles is self-describing.

{% hint style="info" %}
**About version numbers.** Every profile records the Profiler version that produced it. When the model changes, that record is what lets you tell whether a different answer came from the asset changing or from the model improving. If you're comparing an old profile with a new one and the versions differ, re-run the old window with the current version before drawing conclusions.
{% endhint %}

### Comparing two profiles of the same asset

Look at these four, in this order:

| What to compare              | What a change means                                                                      |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Verdict**                  | The headline. A move from Tradeable to Marginal deserves investigation.                  |
| **Floor set by**             | A switch from `volatility` to `cost` means your costs went up, or the market went quiet. |
| **Band compression**         | Quantifies the same thing. A rise means costs took more of your range.                   |
| **The ceiling of the range** | Moves with volatility. A falling ceiling means a calmer market.                          |

A useful diagnostic: if the **floor** moved but the **ceiling** didn't, that's a cost change. If the ceiling moved but the floor didn't, that's a volatility change. If both moved, look at compression to see which one dominated.

### Re-profiling after a change in your own trading

Worth mentioning because it's easy to miss. If you decide to restrict yourself to one session (the usual response to a **material** session badge), the average spread you actually pay is no longer the all-session average the report used.

The report can't model that for you. But it's a reason to treat the cost figures as conservative rather than exact once you've made that change.

### What to do with this

* Re-profile immediately on any broker, account or commission change.
* Quarterly otherwise, for assets you're actively trading.
* Keep old profiles — the comparison is where most of the value is.