Should you copy other traders' trades

Updated: 7 November 2026

In short: Copy trading automatically repeats a chosen trader's trades in your account. It does not remove risk: past returns do not guarantee future ones, and the leaderboard stars often take far too much risk. It does not replace learning yourself.

If you try it, what to look at

Not the return but the maximum drawdown and the track record length: a steady year with a drawdown under 20% beats +300% in a month. Start small.

The main drawback

You do not know why a trade was opened or when the strategy will stop working. At the first deep drawdown most people switch copying off right at the bottom.

Example: why someone else's returns do not carry over

A trader shows +80% over six months. You join just as their losing streak begins: their account falls from 180% to 150% of the starting balance, while yours, starting from zero, goes to −17%. On top of that, their stop may be designed for a large account, while for you the minimum position size turns the same signal into a different risk.

How to judge a trader to copy

Look not at returns but at the maximum drawdown: if it is over 30%, sooner or later it will happen to your money. History — at least a year. Number of trades — hundreds, not a dozen lucky ones. Consistent size: if the trader sharply increases positions after losses, that is a sign of revenge trading.

Why it is worth learning yourself

When copying, you do not understand why a trade is opened and cannot decide when to stop. When the trader you copy starts losing, you will be the last to know. Your own chart-reading skill stays with you for good and does not depend on anyone else's decisions.