Copy trading

Another trader’s decisions, in your account.

Copy trading reproduces a provider’s trades in your own account, at your own scale and your own risk. This page explains the mechanism before anything else.

Illustration of the mechanism. It shows no real provider and no results.

The delay

A copied order reaches the market after the provider’s. In a fast market the difference in price, known as slippage, can be material. It is one of the risks set out below.

What it is

Copy trading is an arrangement in which trades placed by one trader, usually called a provider, are reproduced automatically in the accounts of the people who choose to follow that trader.

The positions are opened in your own account, with your own money, at your own risk. You are not handing funds to the provider. You are giving an instruction that your account should do what theirs does, in proportion.

How it works, mechanically.

01
A provider trades their own account
Every order the provider places becomes a signal.
02
The signal is scaled to your account
Your copy is sized according to the amount you allocated, not the provider’s balance.
03
The trade is placed in your account
It is filled at the price available at that moment, which may differ from the provider’s price.
04
You can stop at any time
Pausing or ending the subscription is your decision. What happens to positions already open depends on the settings and should be understood beforehand.
05
The provider is paid from profits
A share of the profit a copier makes is normally paid to the provider. The rate and the schedule are terms of the programme.

A general description of the arrangement. GIO4X’s own terms are set out below, where they have been published.

At GIO4X

What GIO4X has published.

GIO4X offers copy trading. Both previous websites describe the same four steps and the same two controls; on almost everything else they differ, so the rest is listed as pending.

Published consistently

Published: A stop loss and a take profit can be set on what you copy.
Published: The amount you allocate to copying can be adjusted.

The steps, as GIO4X has described them

1Open a trading account
2Complete the copy-trading subscription
3Subscribe to a provider
4Monitor your portfolio

Not yet published

Provider profit share and when it is paidNot yet published
Minimum amount to start copyingNot yet published
How many providers you may copy at onceNot yet published
How many copiers a provider may haveNot yet published
How providers are assessed before they are listedNot yet published
Any other feesNot yet published

These have not been published consistently, so none is stated here. Ask before you take part: info@gio4x.com or the contact page.

Risks

What can go wrong.

Copying a trader does not transfer the risk to them. It transfers their decisions to you.

Past results are not a forecast: A provider’s history tells you what happened, under those conditions, at that size. It does not tell you what will happen next.
Your fills will differ: A copied order reaches the market after the provider’s. In a fast market the difference in price, known as slippage, can be material.
Leverage copies too: If the provider trades with high leverage, so does your copy. A drawdown that is tolerable for them may be a stop out for you.
Size does not always scale: Minimum trade sizes mean a small allocation cannot always reproduce a provider’s position exactly. The risk you actually carry may differ from theirs.
Their incentives are not yours: A provider paid from profits is rewarded for gains and does not share your losses.
Delegating is still deciding: Choosing a provider is a trading decision, and the account remains your responsibility.

Before you take part

Questions worth asking first.

If you cannot get a clear answer to one of these, that is itself an answer.

Ask GIO4X

1
How long is the provider’s record, and does it cover a period when markets fell?
2
What was the largest drawdown, and how long did recovery take?
3
How much leverage does the provider typically use?
4
What exactly is the provider paid, and when?
5
What happens to my open positions if I stop copying, or if the provider stops trading?
6
Can I set my own stop on the whole allocation?
7
How much of my capital am I prepared to lose on this, and is that the amount I have allocated?

Risk warning

Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose.

Risk disclosure

Continue

Fetching the page

How it works, mechanically.

A provider trades their own account

Every order the provider places becomes a signal.

The signal is scaled to your account

Your copy is sized according to the amount you allocated, not the provider’s balance.

The trade is placed in your account

It is filled at the price available at that moment, which may differ from the provider’s price.

You can stop at any time

Pausing or ending the subscription is your decision. What happens to positions already open depends on the settings and should be understood beforehand.

The provider is paid from profits

A share of the profit a copier makes is normally paid to the provider. The rate and the schedule are terms of the programme.

A general description of the arrangement. GIO4X’s own terms are set out below, where they have been published.

Risk warning

Risk disclosure