ZuluTrade at Glance
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ZuluTrade is a Greek fintech company that operates an online Social and Copy Trading platform which also available on a mobile app. The platform allows users to copy other traders in the Forex and Financial market. As of 2014 ZuluTrade had around one million users and an executed trading volume of over $800 billion.
The ZuluTrade service is a Social and Copy trading online platform that allows users to mimic the investing strategies of trading "experts" in Forex markets. The user base is typically split into two categories: Signal providers and Followers. Signal providers are generally traders that have developed a strategy willing to share and can be copied by their followers. Followers can also mimic strategies of the portfolios created by other followers. Signal provider compensation fees are based on the success and popularity of their trading strategies. Keep in mind that ZuluTrade is a cross-Broker platform which means that it mediates as a bridge between Brokers. In that way, you must choose your Broker and the Signal Provider you intend to copy.
The company has partnerships with over 64 global Brokerages and continues to expand globally. The best Broker to operate with ZuluTrade is AAAFX, a Greek Brokerage firm, regulated in Europe, registered under the HCMC (Hellenic Capital Market Commission), and compliant with MiFID. If you already have an account with one of the Broker partners, you can request to connect the accounts. The advantage of these partnerships is being able to exploit the ZuluTrade service (both as Signal Provider and as Follower) through a trusted intermediary.
ZuluTrade Review
ZuluTrade is a Social and CopyTrading Network and platform that connects you with thousands of traders (aka ‘signal providers’) around the world. Like other similar platforms (eToro etc) instead of studying the market and trading yourself, you select the signal providers you choose to follow instead. The Zulutrade platform converts their advice and trades directly into your own account.
However, this does not mean you don’t have full command over your account because at any given time, you can close trades opened in your account by these traders manually yourself. In the ZuluTrade interface, you can also set limits on what trades you like to take at the account level (e.g. only EUR/USD trades) or at signal provider level (e.g. no more than 5 open trades at any time). This implies that working with ZuluTrade is not as simple as with other companies such as eToro, as some technical notions are needed.
More than any other social trading network and auto-trading platform, ZuluTrade is “open” and accessible to everyone. For you (the investor) this is great. There’s a free fully functioning demo and you can start investing with “real money” from as little as $300, £210, 250 Euro, 25,000 JPY or 300 AUD. The sign-up procedure is easy and straight-forward. However, this openness is a two-edged knife as it also means everyone can become a Signal Provider this is why ZuluTrade has focused its policy on transparent and in-depth sharing of the statistical and operational data of the Signal Provider’s strategy, so as to allow followers to construct their opinion on certain data and not only on the opinions of others
You can have two types of accounts.
- Classic Account – This is recommended for advanced users. You will benefit from manual or fully customized copy-trading, plus standard volume-based commissions. The follower DOES NOT pay performance fees to the trader at the end of the month, on the other hand, the spread paid by the follower for each transaction is slightly higher.
- Profit Sharing Account – This option is recommended for beginners and there is a fixed $30 monthly subscription plus 25% share of profits but you benefit from reduced commissions.
Both options give you access to charts, data, alerts, and Forex signals. Both also allow for straightforward account maintenance. Head over to ‘my account’ and you will get access to all the basic functions, from reviewing performance rankings to the ‘delete account’ button.
History
ZuluTrade was founded in 2007 by Leon Yohai and Kosta Eleftheriou. The company was founded in Yohai's living room in the U.S. state of Virginia. Eleftheriou left the company in 2008. Yohai traded on the FXCM trading platform prior to founding ZuluTrade. He created a software connected to FXCM's API that allowed him to copy trading strategies in his realm of interest. The concept was then put into beta in 2008. By 2009, the company had over 4,500 "expert" trader (or "signal provider") portfolios whose trading strategies could be copied by the platform's user base.
In 2011, ZuluTrade was listed among The Daily Telegraph's "Start-Up 100" in the category of "Finance, Payments and E-commerce."The company also unveiled several new features including the ability to follow other followers (rather than just signal providers) and the requirement for signal providers to be profitable in order to receive payment. In November 2012, ZuluTrade redesigned their website and added more new features including ZuluGuard. By the end of 2013, the company had around 120 employees, 40 of whom were designated for customer support.
In September 2014, Zulutrade expanded in Japan through the acquisition of a regulated investment advisor, Market Crew Investment Advisor Co., Ltd., and launched its collaboration with local FX retail Brokers. The first Japanese Broker was Arena FX Co., Ltd. In March 2015, ZuluTrade Group announced that the platform was awarded an EU Portfolio Management License from the European Union. The designation made the company a licensed portfolio management company in the EU.
In 2017, after 10 years of growth and innovation, ZuluTrade was acquired by Formax Group, a large Chinese group, who also purchased Dayo, the company holding the patents used by ZuluTrade. It began to transition into more of a fintech company with research and development in cryptocurrency, stocks, and trading performance. The acquisition also allowed brand’s expansion in Asia where it was already licensed in Japan.
Special Features
- ZuluGuard, It is an effective account protection feature, that automatically unfollows a signal provider if their trading strategies change, this should help keep your income safe from erratic traders. Also, note you can manually set the ZuluGuard protection by looking at the Advanced Mode in the Settings section of your account.
- Lock Trade allows users to verify the execution of a trade after the signal has been received.
- ZuluScript which allows users the more advanced users to create scripts that designate specific parameters as criteria for trading robots (known as "Expert Advisors") to automatically start making trades, this gives you trade automation, allowing you to execute far more trades than you ever could manually.
- The Automator this works like a personal assistant and it can notify you by email or automatically execute actions when things happen. You can set rules to lock your profit, to update Stop/Limit for selected trades, to close profitable trades or to simply notify you.
ZuluTrade provides rankings of investor performance and allow investors to immediately observe and copy other trader's portfolios. This is provided by simulator which shows overall profit, alerts the user if a margin call occurred and even allows user to download a spreadsheet of all the simulated trades.
What does ZuluTrade offer VS its competitors such as eToro and other systems? You can easily view rankings of investor performance. The simulator also shows the overall profit.
In addition, you can set up email notifications for when margin calls occur. You can even download an Excel spreadsheet of all simulated trades.
Perhaps it is the sheer number of traders you can copy that sets ZuluTrade apart. You have access to over 10,000 traders from 192 countries. You can then use ZuluTrade’s advanced search engine to hone in on the best. For example, you can choose to see only those who have traded their own money, had a maximum drawdown of 20%, and have traded for at least a year.
Many users also like to copy more than one trader. In order to do so, you can utilize UserLists to manage your potential candidates. This will also allow you to monitor an individual for a while before copying. In addition, you can share lists amongst users.
After you have found a trader you wish to follow, you can assign a specific amount you want to trade per signal you copy. Alternatively, there is a ‘Pro rata %’ option. For example, 20% would mean if the trader opened 1 lot, 0.2 lots would be opened in your account. On top of that, you can set a ‘Max Open Position’ for a particular trader.
You can review your account performance at any time. Also, you receive daily and weekly summary reports via email. You will also receive email notifications when the behaviour of one of your signal providers changes. In addition, you can review trade performance by provider and time frame. This should help you establish who has been generating gains and losses in your account.
Customer Support
ZuluTrade has a long-term commitment to reliable customer support. If you have any technical issues or account requests, such as to change leverage, simply head over to the ZuluTrade homepage. From there you can find live chat available 24 hours a day and they speak English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Greek this is the most popular method of contact for ZuluTrade users at present. You can also go about using the ZuluTrade website to submit feedback via an online form or by selecting ‘contact us’.
ZuluTrade accepts traders from Australia, Thailand, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar and most other countries.
Regulation
The ZuluTrade trader program is now regulated. As a copy trading solution for Brokers in the EU, ZuluTrade has obtained a Triple-A Experts SA license from Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC).
Unfortunately, this does not automatically mean you will now be able to receive huge millionaire payouts without any risks. It simply means according to ZuluTrade, that their platform fully complies with EU framework for auto trading service providers. As such, Brokers do not require additional regulation themselves to offer the platform to their clients.
It’s worth noting here that on December 12th 2014 ZuluTrade made some significant changes in accordance with EU legislation and with the aim to increase investor protection and reduce systemic risk. From this date EU residents can only view and follow the top 1,000 traders who all need to comply with the following 3 criteria:
Maximum drawdown less than 30%, average pips per trade profit more than 3 pips, trader has been sending signals for at least 12 weeks.
The knock on effect of this ZuluTrade policy though has meant that all traders now clearly aim to meet those criteria because they all want to be visible to EU customers. Hence the average quality of the traders to follow has increased for all customers.
The list of Crypto traders to copy is currently still a lot smaller and they have much less trading history, obviously because ZuluTrade only introduced this service last year.
Payments Methods
Deposit and withdrawal options are entirely dependent on the Broker the investor or traders uses. ZuluTrade doesn't facilitate the processing of payments, but most of them include:
Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Bank wire transfer
Mobile Trading Platforms
ZuluTrade also provides Android and iPhone trading apps. Those with Windows mobiles and tablets can also download their trading apps. Once in the application, you can view your performance, review new traders to copy, plus close trades manually. In addition, select go ‘real-time’ and you can manage your risk settings.
Overall, the ZuluTrade applications and mobile site effectively complement the desktop-based platform. Plus, functionality has continuously improved with each update.
Fees
A commission is charged per trade by the Brokers, in addition to the normal spread, for linking your account to ZuluTrade. This can be as low as 0 with ZuluTrade’s own Broker, AAAFx, whose headquarters are in Greece, and up to three pips elsewhere.
The spread (the difference between the buy and sell price) will vary between Brokers. The currency pair and time of the day can also influence the spread. For example, Brokers often widen spreads during periods of high volatility. Before you sign up and log in to ZuluTrade, you should also be aware of any additional costs. For example, you can be charged an overnight rollover/swap fee. The amount will depend on the currency pair you are trading. Although these costs can cut into profits over a considerable time period, intraday traders shouldn’t usually encounter these fees.
Within the Profit Sharing Account, traders are charged a monthly fee of $30 plus a 25% performance fee if the account was profitable.
Aside from that, there aren’t any other additional costs. ZuluTrade has explained on their website that the traders you copy are paid directly by ZuluTrade, as part of the commission.
