It’s more like a draft for the time being. I will keep refining it and adding any relevant information needed.
Since many of you are asking me the same questions I’m compiling this list of most common ones in order to make sure that all your doubts are cleared. In case for further questions you’re always free to mention me in a post or ask in the Discord channel I set up for our great community of traders and investors!
1) How much should I copy you with?
The minimum by design on eToro is 200$, but I recommend a different minimum which is 1000$. I increase the size of the investment fund by about 10% every quarter.
It would be ideal if you did the same with the copy. You will be notified in advance to give you enough time.
Why 200$ you would ask? Copying with less than this amount can’t guarantee a performance on par with my portfolio, because not all positions will be available in your copy. eToro doesn’t allow positions smaller than 1$, therefore if I open a position with say 0.50% of my equity and you copy me with 100$ this position won’t appear, because 0.50$ < 1$.
I recommend an investment of 1000$ or more for higher montly profits and dividends and also quarterly additions in order to grow your investment and keep compounding.
2) How should I copy you?
I suggest the following:
- Minimum amount: 200$
- Minimum suggested time frame: 24 months
- Copy all open trades (tick it)
- Copy Stop Loss (CSL): 70%
I explained the first in the previous answer for question (1).
I suggest four months because my strategy is medium/long-term and sometimes shit will hit the fan and you have to wait for things to recover and for my strategy to kick in with its benefits. So patience is required, you won’t be disappointed, just look at the profitability rates and track record. Of course longer times will bring more benefits.
About the CSL I suggest 70% but you can set the one that makes you feel more comfortable, but if you set it too tight it might kick off especially at first.
3) When should I copy your portfolio?
My strategy is a long term one, therefore any time is good to copy. Remember that it’s normal to see red at the start of the copy because you pay the spread for all the positions that are opened in that moment, like if they were normal trades. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you copy a trader the positions are opened at the current price, not the same one of the investment fund.
4) How can I increase my investment if I already opened a copy?
It’s easy, just add the funds in the copy and they will be used for new positions immediately, the beauty of this is that you won’t need to close the copy and reopen, moreover the new positions will be proportional to the new amount. In case of increases of more than 100% you might consider recopying in order to see immediately most of the funds used. It’s up to you to evaluate the situation! ;)
5) What kind of return can I expect over a month?
I aim at 0.5–1% average monthly realized profits. Which means actual profits made, which differs from temporary drawdown. Being a safe trader I leverage good times for good profit and contain losses with carefully studied money management and exposure.
Actual profits migh easily be higher, this is normal because open positions are at the mercy of the daily fluctuations of the market. Like in January 2019 the realized profit were +0.75% while the performance of the portfolio has been of +1.65%.
I expect the monthly performance of the portofolio to be between +1–2 % on average, but this is a very speculative number. While realized profits are more manageable.
Some quick math:
- over a year with an average 0.5% compounded profit: (1+0,005)¹² -1 = 6.2%
- over a year with an average 1% compounded profit:(1+0,01)¹² -1 = 12.7%
Of course I will work hard to surpass the expectations.
6) Why my copy is different from your portfolio?
Well, this could be due to many factors. Let’s see. First of all ask yourself the following questions:
- did you add/remove funds recently? If so, you might have either impeded the opening of small positions after removing funds or diluted the profits, because you added funds and now the copy is bigger. With time the copy will catch up with the original if you added funds.
- did you copy with at least the minimum amount? If not, you won’t be getting all positions. Check answers at questions (1) and (2) for more.
- did you copy in the weekend? If so, some positions, namely, stocks and commodities won’t be available, because the market are not opens. Just wait for the opening and they will open.
- did you pause the copy? If you pause the copy, you will de-sync the copy from the original investment fund and therefore have a different performance.
7) I copied, now what should I do?
Nothing, mate! It’s all taken care of! Just lay back and enjoy life! Occasionally you might have to add funds, but it’s not compulsory, but a good thing to keep on par with my performance. When I add funds I notify all copiers with some anticipation in order to get you all ready ;)
8) How do I get my profits?
Closing the copy and reopening is not something I would suggest, because that entails paying the spread again and possibly getting worse prices, but it can be done to take the profits. Profits that are in the copy are reinvested automatically by me, so you don’t have to worry about them, they are still part of the copy.
9) Why only X% is invested?
This is one of those I get a lot. So there are many reasons and it depends really on many factors:
- current market valuations if they are too high, might not be wise to buy
- I prefer to keep cash than just throw money for the sake of it
- I’m preparing to buy a dip
- I’ve just completed a round of profit taking and now both initial investment and profits are available
- I’ve put most in orders (that’s always the case! I always have at least 10% on orders)
10) What does pause copy mean?
Pause copy is a feature that let’s you basically freeze your copy in order to block any new further operations. Basically if you pause your copy of a trader, if the trader opens or closes positions these actions won’t be reflected in your copy. I advise against this procedure, but it’s a feature that is available and you can use if you feel the need to.
11) I closed your copy, but it says “Pending Close”. I want my money back!
Ohhh :( I’m sad to see you leave. The copy is pending close, because some positions can’t be closed while the market is closed, you will have to wait for it to open in order to complete the closing.
I hope this clarifies many of your doubts and if you still need assistance let me know!
Peace!
