Copy Trading Update – Etoro – 26/March/2019

I've switched one of my traders again!

I've switched Analisisciclico for Berrau. So Berrau's in, and Analisisciclico is out...

Both of these traders have roughly the same risk scores and are focused on trading forex. Out of the two of them, I can just see more history for Berrau, so he's a safer bet. I may copy Analisisciclico again in future when I have more money, but for now, I'm going with Berrau.

How are the other traders doing?

Citadelpoint is still easily in the lead, making me the most money. Recently, his risk management has been great; lower leverage, avoiding big news events, taking profits regularly, and cutting off losers.

I've actually been removing money from my copy with him every time he makes a new $10 profit, and then adding those profits to my other lower-risk traders. It feels very counter-intuitive as it's like punishing the best performer, but there is reason behind it... It's part of my low-risk strategy so I'm carrying on for now.

The goal is still to reduce my portfolio's exposure to him, so that if his risky behaviour ever goes the wrong way, I won't be caught out too badly. Long may his winning streak continue though! It's amazing.

Chocowin also trading beautifully

Chocowin has also been trading exceptionally well, making steady profits and trading a range of asset classes. He's been taking opportunities as the market presents them, which is great. I'm always really impressed by the way some traders seem to understand how assets are correlated.

They can move from commodities to equities, to forex, understanding the links between them all, and using their understanding to generate profitable trade ideas. It's impressive, and good to see.

Is Olivier Danvel Still in green?

Yes he is 🙂 He's made roughly 1% this month which is basically his monthly target. Olivier is still taking his time with his entry points - not rushing into trades. He's all about timing and limited exposure from what I can see so far.

He uses a small proportion of his account size on each trade, buys into trades slowly, and seems to have defined exit targets from trades too. They're all factors which help him to keep his risk scores really low.

He's doing well, and his consistency is still very reassuring. Markets are volatile, trading is risky, but Mr Danvel seems to have found a method for sailing through it all pretty steadily. Excellent.

Is Alnayef still worrying?

Yes he is - he's still holding onto some very old trades - keeping them open until they turn green. The fees are mounting and the trades aren't profitable yet. I think he's been a bit unfortunate of late, as many of the trades he's opened have gone against him. The problem is that he keeps the losing trades open, tying up the capital I've used to copy him.

Eventually I see it getting to the point where all of the money that I've invested with him is tied up in losing trades. Until now, he's had some extra funds available to make some small side trades which were profitable...

The time's approaching though, where he has no additional funds to trade, as it's all tied up. That's wouldn't be a great situation at all, as it would leave no real room for manoeuvre. Very frustrating... I'm still copying him, but there are an increasing number of comments questioning why, given his recent performance. I'm still going to wait and see a little longer...

How's the new trader Berrau doing?

It's one of those difficult situations where you copy a new trader just as they start losing. It's difficult psychologically when you see red  results rather than green, but it's not always the best indication of what's happening...

If I look at Alnayef for example, his profit for me was much higher, and has drawn down significantly in recent weeks. If I combine the money he's lost with the fees he's incurred for me, I think Berrau is still actually doing better than Alnayef. But when you see green, even if it's less green than before, it's still psychologically easier than any amount of red.

It's not a great indicator of how well everyone is comparatively doing though. I'm sticking with Berrau, and giving him the time and space to show what he's capable of. He's actually one of the first Popular Investors I saw on Etoro when I joined in 2016.

Back then, he was the superstar of the platform, but amid the rollercoaster / rocketship of the 2017 crypto boom, his low-risk approach went quickly out of favour. 2018 was a different story. So many of us saw those crypto-wins turn into losses, and attention shifted back to stability and history. I'm actually glad to be copying him - I'm really looking for consistency and stability right now.

The portfolio in general

For now, it's going well I think. My risk score's coming down, as is my max yearly drawdown - it's getting more stable and starting to turn upwards 🙂

I'm continuing to move my assets out of the riskier traders in my portfolio and into the lower risk guys. That still feels weird, as the riskier guys have been outperforming everyone else, but it's part of the plan so I'm sticking to it. All in all, I like the way things are going right now.

Thanks to Lloyd Bazaar!

I got a very nice piece of news this week as it seems another youtuber called Lloyd Bazzar, who has a channel called Financial Freedom 101 mentioned me on his channel. Thank you Lloyd!

Very kind of him indeed - he actually told people to check out my videos and subscribe as they were useful. I'll mention him and his channel in my next video. It's lovely when people just do kind things like that 🙂