We have written about the startup firm,TopTradr, before at Forex Magnates, from the point of view of being an innovative tool in the industry, but now we would like to review the app as users and see what it can offer traders.
TopTradr works as an app that sits on the mobile device of the trader and ranks his performance for success and Risk Management .
TopTradr Screenshot
The first thing you will notice is that the TopTradr app is not independent, but requires the user to have an FXCM mobile Trade Station app installed (with a demo or live FXCM account).
I downloaded the Android OS versions of the two mobile apps and the process was quick and easy on an HTC One phone. After signing up for an account with TopTradr, opening an account with FXCM was just another click.
The app adds all the gamelike features the FXCM mobile Trade Station lacks, including a Score, Experience Points, Levels, badges, Leaderboards, Achievements and competition, as well as an option to sign in with Facebook and add your friends. You can also share your trades on Facebook and Twitter if you want to impress or get feedback from your friends.
Once I placed a trade on the FXCM app it appeared instantly on TopTradr and my score was updated. (Now you know who to expect as next month's winner.) Throughout the process I did not need to access a desktop computer and it was all done efficiently on the phone. Hopefully in the future, the TopTradr app will also support other Trading Platform and brokers.
TopTradr already has had a number of winners and we will be publishing an interview with them in the future for the benefit of traders who are interested in learning how it's done. The regular prize money is actually a $75,000 capital allocation equivalent, so the winners cannot withdraw it. Instead, using TopTradr's UK FCA regulation as an asset manager (prop trading firm), the winner can trade on behalf of the firm and earn a performance fee of 25% on any profits that he or she generates, similar to a professional hedge fund manager.
How the Founder Sees the Offer
TopTradr Founder, Francois Nembrini
Speaking with Forex Magnates, the TopTradr Founder, Francois Nembrini, described the service as a global talent competition to find the best fund managers in the world. They have a university students’ demo tournament to win $10,000 scholarships, a monthly competition of a $75,000 hedge fund and a yearly tournament to manage a $1,000,000 hedge fund.
The TopTradr platform is geared towards measuring a trader’s ability in real-time and scores their trades when they display the kind of trading behavior sought by hedge funds. CEO Nembrini explained: “Our algorithm award points for low-risk/high-reward trades and equity growth consistency. On that basis, traders with the highest TopTradr scores are awarded the equivalent of a $75,000 fund to manage."
Important for traders who want to establish themselves as trade leaders, CEO Nembrini also expects his firm's approach will prove more successful than regular copy trading methods because regulators might decide to discourage them. He said: "As social trading is becoming increasingly popular, people will look for an independent validation of a trader profile, which is exactly what we’re working towards with the TopTradr algorithm and score. Like a social trading ‘Klout’ score if you will. I think there will also be a certain amount of ‘clean up’ in the industry as the regulation is reviewed and this will massively benefit the industry.”
CEO Nembrini explained the approach to social his startup is taking: “TopTradr encourages discussion, to learn how best to manage risk and losses. It’s about creating a community where we can easily challenge our own ideas, rather than blindly copying others.” Adding, "It acts as a tool for educating traders and identifying talent, allowing someone who lives somewhere that would otherwise have no access to financial markets to get discovered, without having to move to New York or London."
