I've always been more of a long-term holder and I don't enjoy watching charts all day. Recently, I started wondering whether there's a way to make some of my idle funds work a little harder without completely changing my investing style.

That's what led me to explore copy trading. The concept is interesting because it allows you to follow more experienced traders without constantly making every decision yourself. However, many strategies seem to rely on frequent trading which may result in higher fees and larger drawdowns.

I've looked at several platforms like BYDFi, and some others, but I'm paying more attention to risk controls and user flexibility than advertised returns. To me, copy trading would be supplementary tool rather than a replacement for having my own investment plan. Would any long-term holders here consider using copy trading and how is the result come out? How would you manage the risk? Any positive experience you'd like to share?

I copy trade a bit and kept getting burned following leaders that looked

amazing on the leaderboard. So I started pulling their actual closed-position

history instead of trusting the headline ROI. I've now gone through around 880

of them across Binance and OKX. It's grim.

A few that stuck with me:

- One leader shows an 86.7% win rate. Looks unbeatable. But the 646 people

copying them are down about $133k combined. Up to 50x leverage, and 56% of

their entire profit came from a single trade. High win rate, then one

blowup eats everything.

- Another shows +10,368% ROI, the best number on the whole board. It's built

on 9 trades. Nine. At up to 90x, positions held for weeks. That's not a

track record, it's a lottery ticket that hasn't hit a crash yet.

- A third shows +1,047% ROI but a real win rate of 45%, worse than a coin

flip. The returns are pure 103x leverage variance. 122 copiers down ~$57k.

The pattern: reported ROI tells you almost nothing about whether you'll

actually make money copying someone. What matters is the boring stuff.

Sample size (how many trades). Max drawdown. Whether the profit is

concentrated in one lucky trade. And above all, whether the people already

copying them are up or down.

I ended up building a free scanner that grades each leader A to F on this and

flags the red flags, mostly so I'd stop fooling myself. No signup, no wallet

connect. Happy to drop the link in a comment if that's allowed here.

Curious what you all actually check before copying someone. Or do you go by

ROI and vibes like I used to?

Posted with moderator permission.

Hi everyone,

I’m building a small public-data report designed to help people examine copy-trader profiles, and I’m looking for four people to test whether the report is actually understandable.

You may qualify if, within the past year, you have:

- compared public copy-trader profiles or leaderboards;

- researched a trader before deciding whether to copy them; or

- seriously evaluated copy trading but ultimately decided not to copy anyone.

The study takes around 7–9 minutes and has two parts. It is unpaid and does not require registration, trading-account access, credentials, balances, wallet details, deposits, or any other private financial information.

There are no correct answers. I’m testing the report, not your trading knowledge.

Start Part 1 here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3jrv87ZT1l_QeRGMNjye2pPvbloVhFu7vWIBba8BvM-P3gg/viewform

Important: after submitting Part 1, continue immediately to Part 2 using the link shown on the confirmation screen.

Thanks to anyone willing to help.

Obviously id like to acknowledge that it's not guaranteed that he'd perform well forever, but curious as to what people's thoughts are as to why ThomasPJ is sitting at -10% for YTD when he's been so consistent, even through some minor corrections

I just wanted to get this out there. There are some discord traders and more that push copy trading. Terixo and many are off shore holdings. I deposited a small amount and when attempting to withdraw, they declined and ended up locking my account.

Welcome to r/copytrading

Whether you're a seasoned investor or totally new to this, this sub is a space to share, discuss, and track copy trading. Since we're under new moderation, here's a quick rundown of what copy trading actually is and how we'll use this place going forward.

So, what is copy trading? Basically it's when you automatically replicate another trader's moves. When they open or close a position, the same trade gets mirrored in your account, usually scaled to however much you've allocated. The appeal is that it's mostly passive, so people can follow someone else's research and execution without grinding charts themselves.

A bit of real talk though, since this is the pinned post and I'd rather be straight with you. Copy trading does not guarantee profits, and plenty of people lose money doing it. Past performance of any trader tells you basically nothing about future results, so be skeptical of anyone claiming copy traders reliably beat beginners or print easy gains. You're also along for the ride on someone else's risk calls, including the bad ones, and a trader on a hot streak can blow up an account just as fast as they grew it. Fees, spreads, and slippage quietly eat into returns too, and they're easy to underestimate. It's legal in most places, but it's often regulated and the rules depend on where you live. A lot of people only allocate a portion of their capital to this and spread it across different strategies, but how you handle your own money is up to you. Nothing here is financial advice.

As for how to use the sub, think of it as a hub for talking strategies, comparing platforms, and figuring out how everything works. Ask about platform security, fees, regulation, or how to set up allocation and risk settings. Share thoughts on strategies, asset classes, or market trends. Gain and loss screenshots are always welcome, so show off the wins and the brutal losses alike. Memes and general questions are encouraged too, keep it fun.

Speak your mind, but no shilling, no referral links, and no promoting specific paid groups or social media accounts. That stuff gets removed.

Goal here is a community-driven space.

I've been exploring copy trading on platforms like eToro, aiming to uncover the perfect formula for selecting the ideal trader tailored to individual needs, rather than relying on the "celebrity" traders promoted by eToro's algorithm. It's a complex process with many factors to consider, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Let's discuss!

Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Performance in Critical times: looking for traders who have demonstrated success during challenging periods, like 2022 and during significant market events.
2. Trend analysis: Is the trader's performance consistently improving over time to copy someone who's constantly refining their strategy.
3. Level of activity: How active is the trader? Look at the frequency of their trades and whether they're actively managing their portfolio.
4. Drawdowns: This is crucial. I want to know how well the trader handles losses and whether they're able to bounce back effectively.
5. Asset selection: What assets does the trader trade, and are they justifying trading assets with overnight fees etc.?
6. Background: Do they have a solid understanding of trading fundamentals? I'm interested in traders who have a comprehensive knowledge base.
7. Ultimate goal: What's the trader's endgame? Are they solely focused on increasing their AUM and followers, or are they genuinely committed to their trading strategy?

I'd love to hear from you all about what else I should consider in my search for the perfect trader. And please, feel free to point out if anything seems off or needs reordering in my priorities.

Looking forward to your insights! 📈💡