Copy Trading why don't more traders use the Signal service here on MQL5?
Hi
I've only just joined the MQL5 community and was astonished to see the Signal Service here with some signal providers making in access of 100% yet seemingly having only a handful of followers??
Am I missing something here? Seems like a no brainer to me to follow a profitable trader who charge as little as $30 per month?
Also if you are a better trading than them then why not start your own signal service? 100 followers at $30 per month is a nice little $3,000 per month and all you have to do is trade your account exactly as you were before?
What am I missing here???
You can try the signal service and see for yourself how it works.
The 2 main reasons that may affect the audience size of the signals here in MQL5.com are the fact that the profits that you see are not always sustainable and the pressure the signal providers get after they gather a few subscribers and they can't keep trading the way they did when they started.
In any case its a very interesting experience and you can learn a lot about trading by following more experienced traders, but it can also be a painful one, so please check all the aspects of a signal that interests you carefully, before you subscribe to any of them.
A last piece of advice that applies to all kinds of investments, is not to invest money that you can't afford to lose.
Below are the instructions for subscribing to a MQL5.com signal:
To add to what Eleni said, there is also the issue that MQL5 still takes you the subscription fee, even if the signal blows the account in day one or two. It has happened to me more than once. So you lose some money (in time, you become smart enough to not lose as much as the provider account - use the % of the account setting wisely). And than maybe you get some revenge trading and lose some more, if you are still following. Or maybe you don't get any trades at all. But the subscription money is still taken from you. This adds to the frustration and makes you reluctant to invest in other subscriptions later.
A very big plus would be if the signals would have a DD limit. And if the DD limit is exceeded, the subscribers can request their fee back. The same should happen if the provider adds funds while in drawdown, in order to decrease it. This will make providers more responsible. They would know they stand to lose not only their account money, but also the money from subscribers. For popular signals, the subscribers' money are a much more important.
Anyway, you should check very carefully the signal before subscribing. Some of the highest achievers are just lucky gamblers and their luck may run dry soon. Others can use styles of trading that cannot be replicated with a comparable profit. Or even more dubious methods. Look at this signal, for example: https://www.mql5.com/en/signals/1428371?source=Site+Signals+MT5+Table#!tab=history. If you look at the EURUSD price history, on the 6th of April the quotes and times in the signal history do not match with what you will find on the chart. This is certainly not a good sign and if you still decide to subscribe to such a signal, you should consider copying to a demo account first.
But then again, if you are unlucky enough and find after subscribing that it is impossible to replicate what the provider claims he is achieving, it is impossible to report that to MQL5 and get your fee back. After one or two such experiences, people will of course be reluctant to subscribe again.
Later edit: after writing the above, I saw that quite a lot of time has passed since you asked your questions. Did you try signal subscription in the meantime? How did it go?
Hi
I've only just joined the MQL5 community and was astonished to see the Signal Service here with some signal providers making in access of 100% yet seemingly having only a handful of followers??
Am I missing something here? Seems like a no brainer to me to follow a profitable trader who charge as little as $30 per month?
Also if you are a better trading than them then why not start your own signal service? 100 followers at $30 per month is a nice little $3,000 per month and all you have to do is trade your account exactly as you were before?
What am I missing here???
Only people with no brain blindly follow. Stick around for 6 months, follow some of your favorite signals on paper without subscription and you will understand.
To add to what Eleni said, there is also the issue that MQL5 still takes you the subscription fee, even if the signal blows the account in day one or two. It has happened to me more than once. So you lose some money (in time, you become smart enough to not lose as much as the provider account - use the % of the account setting wisely). And than maybe you get some revenge trading and lose some more, if you are still following. Or maybe you don't get any trades at all. But the subscription money is still taken from you. This adds to the frustration and makes you reluctant to invest in other subscriptions later.
A very big plus would be if the signals would have a DD limit. And if the DD limit is exceeded, the subscribers can request their fee back. The same should happen if the provider adds funds while in drawdown, in order to decrease it. This will make providers more responsible. They would know they stand to lose not only their account money, but also the money from subscribers. For popular signals, the subscribers' money are a much more important.
Anyway, you should check very carefully the signal before subscribing. Some of the highest achievers are just lucky gamblers and their luck may run dry soon. Others can use styles of trading that cannot be replicated with a comparable profit. Or even more dubious methods. Look at this signal, for example: https://www.mql5.com/en/signals/1428371?source=Site+Signals+MT5+Table#!tab=history. If you look at the EURUSD price history, on the 6th of April the quotes and times in the signal history do not match with what you will find on the chart. This is certainly not a good sign and if you still decide to subscribe to such a signal, you should consider copying to a demo account first.
But then again, if you are unlucky enough and find after subscribing that it is impossible to replicate what the provider claims he is achieving, it is impossible to report that to MQL5 and get your fee back. After one or two such experiences, people will of course be reluctant to subscribe again.
Later edit: after writing the above, I saw that quite a lot of time has passed since you asked your questions. Did you try signal subscription in the meantime? How did it go?
MQL5.com is not the signal provider, is just the intermediate between the signal provider and subscribers. All risks are well explained and the subscriber agrees to them upon subscription.
There is a max drawdown limit in the Signals settings (Stop if Equity is below ...), but is rarely being used by subscribers.
In other words we are all grown up here, anyone who subscribes to the signal service expect certain things, if these are not delivered the subscriber should stop the subscription in time to avoid disasters.
I agree with the fact that the follower should take precautions to not suffer a big hit on his account. My only issue is that the fee is still taken from me, even if the signal is disastrous. And this encourages reckless behaviour from the signal providers, who know they will cover their lost money with the subscribers' money.
But the fee is for delivering the signal's trades to your trading account, this is MQL5.com's service, it is not for the signal performance.
Don't confuse these 2.
Performance is signal provider's responsibility, not MQL5.com's.When you trade with a broker, you pay commission and/or spread irrespective of it being a profit or a loss trade.
It is the same thing here. You are paying a type of commission or fee for the service, be it a good or bad signal.
The subscriber must take responsibility for his choices and that requires knowledge and experience.
No it is not. In your broker example, you are paying for a completely different service. You are paying for getting access to the market, not for the quality of the trades, which are yours, not the broker's. And regulations on brokers are there just to make sure they provide a decent service.
On signal providing there is no regulation though. And the provider still keeps the subscription money, even though he performed disastrously.
No it is not. In your broker example, you are paying for a completely different service. You are paying for getting access to the market, not for the quality of the trades, which are yours, not the broker's. And regulations on brokers are there just to make sure they provide a decent service.
On signal providing there is no regulation though. And the provider still keeps the subscription money, even though he performed disastrously.
To extend Fernando's example, when you invest in some mutual funds and you pay a commission to the bank for this service, do you ask for this commission back when the money management of the bank has a poor performance?
I've seen mutual funds that invest in stocks or indices with negative performance over the years and the banks or investment firms, still get their commissions.
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Hi
I've only just joined the MQL5 community and was astonished to see the Signal Service here with some signal providers making in access of 100% yet seemingly having only a handful of followers??
Am I missing something here? Seems like a no brainer to me to follow a profitable trader who charge as little as $30 per month?
Also if you are a better trading than them then why not start your own signal service? 100 followers at $30 per month is a nice little $3,000 per month and all you have to do is trade your account exactly as you were before?
What am I missing here???