Lets collect some stats here - with the aim that it will help everyone benchmark their performance against the best and to see where they fall on the bell curve. Irrespective of your account size/prop leverage available to you, please report how many points do you make on average per year in following categories: 1) Main Futures viz ES/NQ/YM, CL, ZB/ZN, GC/SI, Ags etc. 2) FX: All fx pairs taken together 3) Stocks: All stocks together I will do a classification for 3 categories viz: futures, fx and stocks separately. Within futures, if I get sufficient data, I will do a future specific data analysis and post the results here on the forum for everyone's benefit. For example, if we get 50 responses, I will post a final data analysis with distribution curves (bell curves) showing average points gained per annum for each category and within futures for different futures contract. Please also mention for how long you have been trading profitably. If data allows, I will post the results like how many points a 1yr profitable trader makes vs a 5 yr profitable traders. I will start myself - My full time trading experience for a living is 6 months. I mostly trade FX. My #1 system made 200 pips over last 6 months. I run 25 leverage on this system, so that makes for 50% return in 6 months, with 10% drawdown. In my account, alongwith above system, I trade on discretionary basis also, and net result from both systematic+discretionary on fx was around 730 pips over last 6 months, at an average leverage of 20. I lost 150 points in ES over the last 6 months. Thanks every one!
Someone sent me a PM about my language. I apologize I wasn't clear. I do not wish to know the total points you made for the year 'cumulative for all' the contracts that you have been trading. Rather, I am asking you to please report how many points did you make for 1 ES contract in a year or for 1 CL contract in a year and so on, without considering if you are 5 car trader or a 200 car trader. So, please report results on a base of 1 contract. If you don't want to post such info on the forum, please feel free to PM me with the info. I will add it in the spreadsheet I am creating and use it while reporting final results. And yes, even if you are 15 yr or a 30yr veteran trader, please post your results. That will be valuable Thanks so much!
Yes, that is true. But irrespective of the fact whether you are a 10yr trader or a 3yr trader, knowing where you are on the bell curve is a good thing to know. Am sure it can only have a positive influence - in terms of motivating oneself to become more consistent/profitable. Volente - I hope you will provide your stats. I know its a little bit of work, but you are one of the more successful ES traders out here on ET. Thanks
Hey you, i tell you what, i am happy if i can make 100pips a week in my FX. Then i feel good. Sometimes its more. Its my average minimum goal per week. I reach it minimum all 3 of 4 weeks. For futures, like Gold and Oil its just the same kind of move, but then in Dollars of course. Dont know how much others make, and i am not interested, why, because my trading is only about me and the markets. Its not a competition too me. Cheers
Thanks Hatetherisk, So, you make roughly 300 pips in fx per month, I will say around 3500 pips per year. Correct ? But can you clarify how many points do you make in gold and oil ? Also, for how long you have been trading. This is all the info that is required. Thanks. EDIT: I will like to clarify, the idea of this thread is not to foster competition, far from it. Rather, it will just allow a trader first to benchmark himself against other professional/independent traders. And secondly, let us say if someone is trying to develop a systematic strategy on ES, and he is making 1 point a day, he will have a fair idea of how much more improvement is possible in his system. This kind of bench-marking is available to all the hfs and prop groups out there, but independent traders are mostly deprived of such kind of data. Importantly, I don't want this to become into an ego contest, I am confident independent traders trading for a living on this forum are mature enough to allow that. Cheers,
If my performance is of any relevance, I made around 300 ES points in four months time with a very consistent trend following strategy. That's 75 points per month on average.
Yes, ofcourse it is very relevant. I think it will be extremely hard for anyone to beat your performance! Imo, you will see yourself in the right tail.
Hello, that 100pips a week in FX is just a minimum for me, where i am satisfied, of course i am trying to achieve more than that. I trade many markets in FX and Futures - i dont need any Stocks, Options or ETFs. FX and Futures is all i need. So its really different each week, and just how i feel and how the prices move and so how many trades i put on. A average good FX week is aroung 150 - 250p, because thats an average normal weekly strong move in the FX majors. So lets say i make 150p a week all 2 of 4 weeks, 200p 1 week and 50p 1 week, to be honest and calculate any mistakes what steal me time and stop making profits into my time factor. I dont think in Monthly or Yearly profits, i only calculate in Weekly terms. But it would be then around 600 pips a month = for 11,5 months (do not count the december, because their i only trade 2 weeks) = 6.900p / - about 1 month of holidays = about 6.300pips in FX. Thats a good profit for a year i think. In futures i trade mainly Oil Brent and Gold vs USD, besides that i sometimes trade US Bonds, Wheat, Corn, S+P500, Coffe robusta + arabica, Sugar White and normal !!! While i also trade sometimes FX exotics, like SGDJPY or ILS or SEK or ZAR or whatever, where ever i can spot the best Setup for the current week. For Gold a good weekly profit is about: 50$. In Brent Crude Oil its about: 27$. But i have many weeks where i make much more than average, because i am in the mood for it and the markets give me the chance to take bigger profits then my minimum target and push the profit. Also i have weeks where i make less than average, because i made a mistake or was too lazy or i missed the right spot for a setup. Also my profits are not mainly influenced by the points, pips, or Dollars or Euros, in what the product is listed in, - i make, but by the Leverage i use. Usually when i have a good run, i push i so much how i can, means i bet more and more. On the other hand, if i start to see i am making mistakes i slow it down until i am back in the warrior mood for fighting for my money....... Thats how it is.