Mistakes of First-Time Copy-Traders
Introduction
You’re on the correct track if the the info on how to copy-trade is now at your fingertips. However, before you press the Start copying button, be aware of common mistakes that could result in a loss of money.
Make sure the trader is a long-term top performer, not just a lucky devil.
Analyze your influencer’s techniques to determine how skilled he or she is. Check to see if the trader was successful only once throughout the year or if he failed multiple times but was able to recoup his losses and make a two-time profit. Take note of the massive drawdowns that have occurred throughout history. Do not duplicate this pattern if the trader has them on a regular basis.
The ideal time to view the historical performance of a trader is at least 3 months.
Some traders become famous for all the wrong reasons.
A single profitable deal might generate a lot of buzz for this person and gain him copiers. Do not follow in the footsteps of these individuals.
When it comes to copy trading, “less is more” is not the best approach.
We recommend that you diversify your assets and invest in a number of traders. If you go this route, you will be protected against unforeseeable losses. Even if one market performer fails, there are others who can be more successful.
Be cautious, smart, and willing to accept the repercussions of the actions you entrust to others.
How to find a Top Performer
Profit Growth
It shows a profit that the initial investment earns for a selected period for Haswell Short. It is expressed in percentage. Pay attention to the Gain percentage. This is is a representation of a graph from January to May 2022 performance. A 34.08% growth is considered optimal, given that this strategy has only been fully-operated around the beginning of March 2022.
Drawdown
Drawdowns are always a part of trading, it happens when a balance or equity of a portfolio is negative. Drawdowns do happen most all the time, however, what you should need to look at is your risk appetite in investing.
To give you a reference, Haswell Short, the one shown above with a 22.26% drawdown, is set to be on a conservative setting.
There are 3 types of risk appetite
Low-risk
<10% Drawdown
Medium/ Conservative
<50% Drawdown
High / Agrressive
>50% Drawdown
Please note that there are two types of drawdown in copy trading:
Balance drawdown
This refers to actual lossess after a trade has been closed
Equity drawdown
These are temporary or paper losses which occurs while the trades are open, it’s only a matter of time that it’ll be changed to positive, only if the market allows it to.
On the graph above, the growth or balance (black line) is steadily moving upwards, hence it is not mostly showing actual losses, but periodical equity or temporary lossess (blue line).
Total Closed Orders
It shows the overall number of closed trades as well as the wins and losses rates. A high number of trades in a short amount of time means that the trader is actively trading, but it shows both positive and negative sides.
A very high trading activity, for example: 10 trades per day, seems to be too much, unless the trader is making very small trades for a very small profitability known as scalping. For any other strategies, overtrading is not recommended, it only adds more risk to the portfolio.
On the positive note, a great example for healthy trading would be an average of 3-5 trades per day. Other than the excitement that this will show you on a daily basis, this will also be easier for you to regain the amount that you initially paid for to copy the trades, depending on the subscription amount and the balance you initially put in.
Conclusion
Copy trading is a great way for beginner investors to succeed in Forex and other investing instruments available in the market. Just in case you wanted to jumpstart your copy-trading journey, it would be best for you to educate yourself more regarding on what broker and platforms to choose. By then, you can proceed with selecting which trading strategy/trader that suits the best for you.
If you already have an idea on which type of trader/ investor you are, you may check out these conservative and/or aggressive strategies.