It is always interesting to watch how people make their choice and then understand why it happened. What is meant here is not future USA presidential elections, but the choice of the investors, subscribing to trading signals in the same-name service in MT4 platform. After all, people are not just subscribing, they virtually trust their, often considerable!, funds to a given trader - provider of the signals.
It is well-known that anything money-related requires special attention. Naturally, this also applies to automatic copying of trades of other traders. Technically, it is possible just to choose the provider of the signals showing the maximum profit and copy his trading. But is it always the best option? As usual, the leading analyst of NordFX broker company John Gordon expresses his opinion on the subject. And, as often happens, he is not inclined to look at the choice of the subscribers only through rose-coloured glasses.
Following the results of September 2016, Top 10 of the most popular signals among the subscribers is as follows:
Place |
Name of signal |
Growth, % |
Number of subscribers |
Price of subscription per month $ |
I |
2045 |
498 |
26 |
|
II |
91 |
468 |
Free |
|
III |
301 |
336 |
20 |
|
IV |
4138 |
317 |
20 |
|
V |
44 |
261 |
20 |
|
VI |
468 |
143 |
34 |
|
VII |
1544 |
122 |
25 |
|
VIII |
281 |
98 |
25 |
|
IX |
38 |
91 |
25 |
|
X |
2060 |
84 |
25 |
“If you don't mind”, J. Gordon peers at the monitor of his computer, “I will begin the analysis with the signal called CALM – the newbie of our TOP rating, which entered the TOP 10 for the first time. I tell you straight away that it took the first place not only among the subscribers, but also in the rating created by MetaQuotes company. And this is by no means unimportant, as two of these ratings very often don't match among themselves.
So, why do more than fifteen hundred investors have such a deep fascination for that signal, so that they entrusted to it $2.200.000 for management?
I guess, I'll be right in assuming, that its author has solid history as PAMM-manager. This is evident from his another signal – HOZYIN, which is accompanied by numerous deposits and withdrawal of funds.
As for CALM, this signal is a little more than one year old, and during the first 12 months it showed the growth of about 25% per month. With this, the drawdown repeatedly appeared in the area of 40% from the deposit, after which the author of the signal decided to lower the risks at least to 30%. But, as often happens, together with the risk the profitability also fell. According to the forecasts of the author, it will make from 10% to 15% per month now, and it's possible that with such parameters the signal will leave TOP 10 investors' preferences. But so far it makes an impression of a quite stable and profitable signal.”
“Here I want to pay attention to one specific moment connected with online monitoring on the website MQL5.com," J. Gordon continues. “Among the main and most marked parameters ‘The maximum drawdown’ is specified here. This parameter, on the one hand, is rather terrifying for the investors, but on the other hand – it is not reasonably objective. The paradox is that eventually it can only increase, but not decrease in any way.
Let's try to look into the matter of this nuance by the example of the same CALM signal.
When it started in life its author applied a rather risky strategy, and the maximum drawdown on equity at that time made 44%. If he began to risk even more, and the drawdown would increase, let's say, up to 60%, then it would be fixed in the corresponding column. However, our author reduced the risks, and value of his maximum drawdown fell to 30%. So what? He can trade another five, ten, twenty years, reducing the drawdown from 44% to 30%, 10%, to zero! But in this column from here to eternity those 44%, which were formed at the time of ‘wild youth’ of this signal, will be specified.
Does that sound fair?
In my opinion, such lifelong 'black spot' (do you remember the novel “Treasure island” by Stevenson?) isn't not quite fair. And the only option to get rid of this 'curse' is to register a new signal. But then the whole months-long or long-term work of the provider will be ruined, and this new signal will be at the very bottom of the rating, which no potential subscriber and investor will ever get to.
In my opinion, at least one more parameter – the average value of the drawdown for the whole life span of the signal - could be set forth near the maximum drawdown. Until this happens, I urge you to look attentively at the chart of the drawdown, which is included in monitoring of each signal. And before subscribing, compare dynamics of this chart to the data on profitability of the signal. This will give a true and fair view.
Data on profitability is generally very important and evident parameter which allows picturing what to expect from a subscription. Let's take, for example, Revolution signal – the IV place in this rating. The growth in a year and a half makes more than 4000% with the maximum drawdown of 8% – one would wonder what more could it be asked for? But if we look at the results of last months, it turns out that everything is not in the way that it wished to be. Indeed, last May 2015, the profit made 150%, and currently, in recent months, the picture has been absolutely different: April – 1.66%, May – 0, June – 1.53%, July – 6.79%, August – 3.31%, September (at the time of this article writing) – 0.62% at all! What thousands of percents are there to talk about? The annual forecast of MQL5.com – is just over 16% per year. It is up to you, dear readers, to decide whether it is worth subscribing to such signal.”
“And one more piece of advice", J. Gordon continues, “choose for subscription only those signals which can be analyzable on rather long time period – at least about a year. Otherwise, in a number of cases, you can discover unpleasant surprises. I don't want to suspect anybody of anything, but sometimes the results on the growth chart before the thin vertical gray line and after it differ significantly.
To clarify, this line means the beginning of online monitoring on the part of MQL5.com.
So, for example, in August one more signal, which in a month with the drawdown of less than 35% gained over 2800% of profit, approached TOP 10. Like I said: more than 2800% in 31 days! It's incredible! But it had been prior to the beginning of the independent online monitoring. And afterward – in September – it showed 37% of profit and drawdown of almost 60%. (That very drawdown which with a bonus of 100% most often leads to closing of accounts). I don't know how the author of this signal can explain such a decline in profit by 75 times. But I know that in September he instantly registered two new signals which showed the growth of... 6000% and 7000%, respectively, in less than a month!”
“I will watch this fantastic trader closely and I will surely tell you about his progress (or failures). Meanwhile I want to emphasize”, the leading analyst of NordFX sums up, “that we aren't going either to frighten investors, or, on the contrary, persuade them to subscribe to any given signal. We only want to share our experience of analysis of signals, to show what hides behind the figures and charts of monitoring, and to ensure that you received if not stratospheric, but though real profit. Admit that a bird in the hand is worth two in the wood. It is, by the way, one of the fundamental principles of work of our company – stability and reliability. Forex is serious business, which you should take extremely seriously. And, certainly, respectfully!”
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