http://www.fxcm.com/mini/mini_winners.html This contest was run with real money. Goes to show how large one's returns can be with leverage. Would be interesting to see how well these guys go in the next two months of the contest.
if that guy is smart he will quit trading for the rest of the year and brag about his 300+% gain for the year come january.
303% ---> what they fail to mention is the starting amount of capital. You only need to have > $1000 to participate in the contest. The results would be much more meaningful if account capital and the trades were posted.
def, Don't worry. Since you work for IB you will probably have access to my account statements. 300% will be a bad month for me.
I don't think the amount of capital is relevant. Unlike stockmarkets, currency traders can buy millions without moving the market. What is relevant, though, is the amount of leverage employed. The 303% return probably involved a large amount of margin, and therefore risk. It would be more interesting to see a % return on buying power.
Not exactly. A 300% return on 1000 bucks is not the same feat in my mind as say a 30% return on a million bucks - especially if you can consistently achieve those 30% compounded returns. When these contest allow low amounts of capital to be employed, they encourage one to take risks they otherwise wouldn't ordinarily take. The winners get bragging rights (and probably an easy marketing tool to raise capital) at a very low cost.
You raise a good point def. Originally I thought your complaint referred to slippage in a million dollar account, but now I see where you are coming from. I wonder if FXCM would bother to have a contest with the "normal" (non-mini) account, where the stakes are much higher?