Is Futures Trading Profitable For Most?
The reason we all ultimately get into futures trading is to make money. Naturally one question a new or prospective futures trader will have early on is “how much money do futures traders make?”.
Now this is obviously not an easy question to answer. “A lot of money” to one person might be pennies to another. As well no 2 futures traders will trade the same amount of time, the same products, the same style, and more. Is the trader who makes $10,000 a month but trades 40 hours a week more or less rich than the person who makes $7,000 but only trades 10 hours a week? Dollarwise obviously the $10,000 traders makes more as a whole. But on an hourly basis, the $7,000 does.
How Many Futures Traders Are Successful?
First let’s start by answering the question just how many futures traders make ANY money. The sad reality is only about 5% or less of futures traders (or stock traders, options traders, crypto traders, etc) are actually profitable in the long run. Sure you can have a great trade or a great week, but can you be profitable long term?
Those are grim odds honestly. I will give you some hope though. In my experience quite a few of the traders who fail repeatedly just don’t learn from their mistakes. They spend no time looking within, to see how they can improve their trading. Trading isn’t just about looking at charts and clicking buttons. You have to hone the craft and commit to getting better at it. Doing so will give you a far better chance at landing in that successful 5%.
How Much Money Can You Make A Year In Futures Trading?
Alright, let’s talk money. Obviously the bottom you can make is $0. You can trade your heart out only to tread water and after commissions get no where. We aren’t even talking about losing money, let’s focus on some bit of positivity in making money. But yes, you could lose everything you commit to trading. (read the disclosures if you don’t believe me).
On the upside, really there is no limit. Futures trading isn’t a “pay per hour” type of job. Myself for example as the Canadian Futures Trader, I only trade 4 hours per day, 4 days a week (Monday to Thursday). That’s a total of 16 hours a week, give or take (I sometimes will skip a day, end a day early, or trade a bit longer if I’m in the mood). I encourage you to get away from any thinking that more time spent trading means more money. There are diminishing returns. You start to get bored. You start to get frustrated. You start looking for action. Trading 8 hours a day in my opinion is a horrible idea. Trading more does NOT mean more money, it means less. Find the sweet spot of when you are in the zone and making money.
Still we don’t have our answer. How much money can you make trading futures? Let’s be honest, there’s not too many multi million dollar traders out there. It might seem like there are, but given the huge pool of traders in the world, very few are making millions a year. But is making more money than you would say at a corporate job, even a good one, be possible? 100% absolutely. The idea of making $100,000 isn’t even a question.
Trading Income Isn’t Stable or Linear
Another concept I encourage you to keep in mind is your profits will vary by day, week, month and year. You don’t climb the corporate ladder of trading, making more each year. You can have a fantastic year only to be followed by changing market dynamics that make it tough for you the next.
I suggest you set realistic goals for yourself and hold yourself accountable to them. Work on becoming a $100,000 a year trader to start. When you get there, become a $200,000 a year trader. Then $500,000, then $1 million. Progress takes time and it takes dedication.
Conclusion – Sky Is The Limit But The Sky Is Hard To Reach
Futures trading can be very, very profitable. Those who reach that level though are an elite group. Remember, less than 5% success long term. The spoils are there though if you put in the very hard work and dedicate yourself to continually learning and evolving.
Interested To Learn More?
My website will be a valuable resource for you. I’ve spent the last several years updating it with information for traders both in the futures space in general, as well as the funded futures trading space.
- Read my Funded Futures Trader Evaluation Reviews – learn who I recommend. As someone who has gone through and passed about every program out there, I only recommend the best of the best.
- Ready to get started? I have several exclusive Deals and Promos on Funded Futures Evaluations. I only work with companies I recommend and am personally funded with as well.
- Sign up for Email Alerts about new trader evaluation promos. Companies will often run flash sales, and usually they are pretty great. I’m the first to know and let you guys know.
- I write Articles About Futures Trading. Several different topics, I encourage you to learn more about the industry.
- I have a Free Futures Trading Course you can learn more about how to trade. 100% free, no upsells. Nothing on my website is for sale, only deals, discounts and information for you all, all for free.
- Check out my other Free Resources – I’ve put together a list of podcasts, YouTube videos, book recommendations and more for you to help learn futures trading.
Ready to get started? Check out my Deals and Promotions page for the best current trader evaluation deals and discounts. I get access to exclusive discounts for you!
My top rated trader evaluation is Apex Trader Funding. Always use code CFTPROMO for the best promo and discount off any evaluation! I’ve passed multiple $300K evaluations with Apex, and it has changed my life.
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Risk Disclosure:
Futures and forex trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing ones’ financial security or life style. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Hypothetical Performance Disclosure:
Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown; in fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight.
In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk of actual trading. for example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses are material points which can also adversely affect actual trading results. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all which can adversely affect trading results.
You can read more here: Risk Disclosure
Affiliate Disclosure:
The external links on my site and in my video descriptions to trader evaluation companies and software companies are primarily affiliate links. I earn a commission from these companies on any sale made from people visiting these links. That said, I only recommend companies and software I personally use and actually do recommend. Believe me, I turn down a lot of companies who approach me. You can read my full Affiliate Disclosure here.
Additional Disclosure:
The content provided is for informational purposes only. I do my best to keep the content current and accurate by updating it frequently. Sometimes the actual data, rules, requirements and other can differ from what’s stated on our website. CanadianFuturesTrader.ca is an independent website. You should always consult the rules, faqs, knowledge base and support of any of the websites and companies we link to or talk about on our site. The information on their site will always be what ultimately dictates the current rules of their program, software or other. While we are independent, we may be compensated for advertisem*nts, sponsored products, or when you click on a link on our website. The contributors and authors are not registered or certified financial advisors. You should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions.
