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Earning 150 pips per month consistently - is it possible?

  • #1
  • First Post: Aug 2, 2008 8:49am Aug 2, 2008 8:49am
Hi everyone,

I'm in this business for about 5 months and in this time I've managed to earn about 120 pips per month (far from spectacular, I know) for the last three months. Well, the July was kind of funny, since I've finished the month with 1 pip of profit.

Anyway, I trade Jacko style, which promotes less trading and more waiting (for right opportunities) which I really like and believe, that it is a valid way for making nice profits.

Well, I wonder, if expecting to earn 150 pips per month consistenly is a realistic expectation, because after I up my game from currently risking 3% to 5% per trade (as Jacko does) and after adding more money to my account (I have a small "learning" account of $4500, to which I will add about $20.000), earning 150 pips per month would be quite nice. That would be about $1800/month of extra income. Not bad.

I would apprechiate, if some of you could share your views on earning a certain amout of pips per month, and if you are constantly (well, most of the time) profitable, how much pips do you earn (on average) per month?

Thanks and GL!

p.s. forgive me, if I will be a bit slow with my responses, because each time I want to go on the internet, I have to move my laptop (from my working room) in the kitchen, where I can access my neighbours WLAN, while waiting for my new ISP to send me the modem.
  • #2
  • Aug 2, 2008 9:39am Aug 2, 2008 9:39am
The question is not if it's possible.
The question is can you do it?
  • #3
  • Aug 2, 2008 10:10am Aug 2, 2008 10:10am
Quoting Tjpld
The question is not if it's possible.
The question is can you do it?
Well spoken.
  • #4
  • Aug 2, 2008 10:16am Aug 2, 2008 10:16am
it depends on how much percent of your equity is 120 pips ...
my take is that u need to build your account along with your trading skill ...
in the beginning try 1% profit a month , once that feels easy try 2% and keep on increasing that it till u get a feel of your risk appetite...
once u know your risk appetite , u need to keep pushing yourself to become a better trader ,that is increasing your profitability without increasing ur risk ...
i learned there is no limit in this game ... u can go as far as u willing to ...
but ur experience and skills need to match that ...
good luck to u ...
To Live is the rarest thing in the world , Most people exist , that is all
  • #5
  • Aug 2, 2008 10:29am Aug 2, 2008 10:29am
Quoting hendrix
Hi everyone,

I'm in this business for about 5 months and in this time I've managed to earn about 120 pips per month (far from spectacular, I know) for the last three months. Well, the July was kind of funny, since I've finished the month with 1 pip of profit.

Anyway, I trade Jacko style, which promotes less trading and more waiting (for right opportunities) which I really like and believe, that it is a valid way for making nice profits.

Well, I wonder, if expecting to earn 150 pips per month consistenly is a realistic expectation, because after I up my game from currently risking 3% to 5% per trade (as Jacko does) and after adding more money to my account (I have a small "learning" account of $4500, to which I will add about $20.000), earning 150 pips per month would be quite nice. That would be about $1800/month of extra income. Not bad.

I would apprechiate, if some of you could share your views on earning a certain amout of pips per month, and if you are constantly (well, most of the time) profitable, how much pips do you earn (on average) per month?

Thanks and GL!

p.s. forgive me, if I will be a bit slow with my responses, because each time I want to go on the internet, I have to move my laptop (from my working room) in the kitchen, where I can access my neighbours WLAN, while waiting for my new ISP to send me the modem.
Hello there,

Yes it is possible, dont call it consistent but calculate the average pips/month over a long past period of time with a good maximum drawdown with your risk. I earn 250 pips per month as an average every month. It is consistent as an average but not as a monthly value. Some months I am higher, other I am lower but the average is 250 pips/month. I make around 80 trades/ month

KR
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
  • #6
  • Aug 2, 2008 11:24am Aug 2, 2008 11:24am
Quoting maheswara
it depends on how much percent of your equity is 120 pips ...
my take is that u need to build your account along with your trading skill ...
in the beginning try 1% profit a month , once that feels easy try 2% and keep on increasing that it till u get a feel of your risk appetite...
once u know your risk appetite , u need to keep pushing yourself to become a better trader ,that is increasing your profitability without increasing ur risk ...
i learned there is no limit in this game ... u can go as far as u willing to ...
but ur experience and skills need to match that ...
good luck to u ...
Yup, that is what I do - I started small, but as I feel more comfortable, I will put in some more money.

I'm kinda of more inclined to earn certain amount of pips rather than a certain % on my account. If I am able to earn 150 pips consistently, I can increase my risk % at will (but I would never go beyond 5%, except on very, very rare occasions)
  • #7
  • Aug 2, 2008 11:32am Aug 2, 2008 11:32am
Quoting micho
Hello there,

Yes it is possible, dont call it consistent but calculate the average pips/month over a long past period of time with a good maximum drawdown with your risk. I earn 250 pips per month as an average every month. It is consistent as an average but not as a monthly value. Some months I am higher, other I am lower but the average is 250 pips/month. I make around 80 trades/ month

KR
Hi! Wow, that's nice to know, thank you. On average I take about 8 trades per month... Let's see, if this will be enough. I am now also running a more "aggressive" demo account, which would produce about 12 trades/month, but that is as high as I am willing to go, since my mentor (Jacko), who I greatly admire, also suggested, that a more aggressive approach might yield better results for some.
  • #8
  • Aug 2, 2008 11:54am Aug 2, 2008 11:54am
How many pips per month you make is completely irrelevant to how much your going to make or how successful your going to be.

If I make 60 pips per month using 50:1 leverage

and you made

400 pips per month using 5:1 leverage


The person making those 'measly' 60 pips @ 50:1 leverage is going to make a ton more money.
Private message me for a link to my order flow website.
  • #9
  • Edited 11:57am Aug 2, 2008 11:57am | Edited 11:57am
It is absolutely possible.

If I already have a full-time job (that I am happy with) then 150 pips = $1800 a month is not bad for extra income on a part time basis.

If I trade full time then, for myself it wouldn't be worth it because my expenses are much more than that.

If you feel comfortable and are happy with X amount of $$$'s, then that is all that matters.

Everyone's situation is unique.

Good to luck to you and everyone!
Humble Lifetime Member
  • #10
  • Aug 2, 2008 12:06pm Aug 2, 2008 12:06pm
I make 400-1000 pips per month....I do it by trading 4 hr and 1 day charts 90% of the time....Currency moves in the same patterns on every chart but the smaller time frame you are trading with, the smaller the fractal.....150-200 pips per month can be darn tough trading 1,5 and 10 min charts plus you will live in front of your computer looking for or monatoring trades....do not increase the % you put at risk per trade.....you survive this game with capital preservation.........learn to trade a better system on a higher time frame...... I risk 2.5% per trade and make a 10-20% return on my money per month. learn to trade off the higher time frames and not only will you make money, but you will get your life back, you'll be able to do something other than stare at a screen ruining your eyes.....
  • #11
  • Aug 2, 2008 12:12pm Aug 2, 2008 12:12pm
Quoting grkfx
How many pips per month you make is completely irrelevant to how much your going to make or how successful your going to be.

If I make 60 pips per month using 50:1 leverage

and you made

400 pips per month using 5:1 leverage


The person making those 'measly' 60 pips @ 50:1 leverage is going to make a ton more money.
Please go back and learn how leverage works. Just because you CAN buy more lots doesn't mean you SHOULD buy more lots. 1 standard lot at 5:1 leverage is worth exactly the same per pip as 1 standard lot at 50:1 leverage.

To the orginal poster: I must applaud your slow and steady approach to forex. Too many people treat forex like it is a one night stand. They act like it will all end by sunrise tomorrow. Take your time and as your skills develop you will start to increase your number of pips per month. I wouldn't worry about increasing your risk, just let your winning trades run longer. You will keep the risk down to a manageable level and your reward will increase naturally. Take notes on every trade you make. Take the time to learn from both the winners and the losers. List what went right and what went wrong. Over time you will start to shrink the column that has the what went wrong information. I am on my 11th journal for this year. I like the manual version because it forces me to analyze my trades more methodically because I won't make a trade until it is entered in the journal.
  • #12
  • Aug 2, 2008 12:47pm Aug 2, 2008 12:47pm
Quoting magnumfreak
Please go back and learn how leverage works. Just because you CAN buy more lots doesn't mean you SHOULD buy more lots. 1 standard lot at 5:1 leverage is worth exactly the same per pip as 1 standard lot at 50:1 leverage.

To the orginal poster: I must applaud your slow and steady approach to forex. Too many people treat forex like it is a one night stand. They act like it will all end by sunrise tomorrow. Take your time and as your skills develop you will start to increase your number of pips per month. I wouldn't worry about increasing your risk, just let your winning trades run longer. You will keep the risk down to a manageable level and your reward will increase naturally. Take notes on every trade you make. Take the time to learn from both the winners and the losers. List what went right and what went wrong. Over time you will start to shrink the column that has the what went wrong information. I am on my 11th journal for this year. I like the manual version because it forces me to analyze my trades more methodically because I won't make a trade until it is entered in the journal.
Thanks. That is exactly what I plan to do. If I am able to consistently earn 150 pips/month, I will surely try to find a way to earn 200 pips/month. And with adequate capital, which I eventually could add, that would be more than enough for me.

I like your way of taking notes. Manual log entries rock, hehe. I also used to print out the charts (with stock investing), because you can kind of "feel" the movement, but with forex, I make "screen recordings" with audio comments (I use an OpenSource software, called CamStudio) and then I review each and every trade on weekends.
  • #13
  • Aug 2, 2008 2:46pm Aug 2, 2008 2:46pm
Quoting magnumfreak
Please go back and learn how leverage works. Just because you CAN buy more lots doesn't mean you SHOULD buy more lots. 1 standard lot at 5:1 leverage is worth exactly the same per pip as 1 standard lot at 50:1 leverage.
Of course it doesn't mean you SHOULD buy more lots. The more important variables are what type of system a trader has and what is % risk per trade.

I was just trying to show that how many pips per month you make doesn't mean anything, because people are trading with different systems, different true leverage, different % risk per trade...
Private message me for a link to my order flow website.
  • #14
  • Aug 2, 2008 3:20pm Aug 2, 2008 3:20pm
Quoting grkfx
Of course it doesn't mean you SHOULD buy more lots. The more important variables are what type of system a trader has and what is % risk per trade.

I was just trying to show that how many pips per month you make doesn't mean anything, because people are trading with different systems, different true leverage, different % risk per trade...
Well, I did point out that I risk 3% per trade and I also use a 100 pip trailing stop loss. Anyway, my true leverage is always 3:1 and I plan to use 5:1 in the future, after I build up my account.
  • #15
  • Aug 2, 2008 8:44pm Aug 2, 2008 8:44pm
Leverage does not make you 1 extra dime on a trade...High leverage allows you to trade to much of your account on a trade because it is what determines margin hold back.........If you trade 3% of your account on a trade, and use say a 100 pip stop......than for every 100 pips the trade goes in your direction you make 3% on your account....doesn't matter if you are 50/1 100/1 or 200/1..........
  • #16
  • Aug 3, 2008 7:11am Aug 3, 2008 7:11am
Quoting 12345abc
Leverage does not make you 1 extra dime on a trade...High leverage allows you to trade to much of your account on a trade because it is what determines margin hold back.........If you trade 3% of your account on a trade, and use say a 100 pip stop......than for every 100 pips the trade goes in your direction you make 3% on your account....doesn't matter if you are 50/1 100/1 or 200/1..........
Leverage DOES allow you to make and lose more else higher leverage would not be offered. I think you are looking at it differently than the OP. For example in the original posters case say he has $10,000 and wants to trade with 3% of his account per trade this equates to the following under 3:1 leverage and 5:1 leverage:

3:1 Leverage
($10,000 * 3%)*3 = $900 meaning 9 cents per pip so 100 pips means $9 profit/loss

5:1 Leverage
($10,000 * 3%)*5 = $1,500 meaning 15 cents per pip or $15 per 100 pips.

The original poster more than likely means he is risking 3% of his account BEFORE leverage. He does not look to risk a total of $300 per trade after leverage meaning with 3:1 leverage this would require $100 or with 5:1 it would require $60....if he were doing this then why would he just not use $3 of his money at 100:1 leverage to achieve the same effect?
  • #17
  • Aug 3, 2008 8:11am Aug 3, 2008 8:11am
Is it possible to earn 150 pips per month consistently?

Well, since you risk 3% per trade and your s/l is 100 pips, then 150 pips is equal to 4.5% of your account. So your question should be if increasing your account by 4.5% each month is possible. I'd say 4.5% each month is quite conservative therefore very realistic.
  • #18
  • Aug 3, 2008 9:45am Aug 3, 2008 9:45am
Quoting soltani
Is it possible to earn 150 pips per month consistently?

Well, since you risk 3% per trade and your s/l is 100 pips, then 150 pips is equal to 4.5% of your account. So your question should be if increasing your account by 4.5% each month is possible. I'd say 4.5% each month is quite conservative therefore very realistic.
i consider 4.5 percents quite high , soros quant fund achieves 50% a yr but thats a fund and u use others money
paul rotter i believe has 50% monthly return , so it really depends on individual risk appetite i guess ...

remember 10% a month compounded can get u to a million dollar in few years from 10k base account ...
To Live is the rarest thing in the world , Most people exist , that is all
  • #19
  • Aug 3, 2008 10:06am Aug 3, 2008 10:06am
I wonder why all people say ahh 5% month after month easy as pie.
But I hardly think they manage to do this. Look at professional CTAs and how they're performing and come back again and they have DDs too.
  • #20
  • Aug 3, 2008 2:57pm Aug 3, 2008 2:57pm
Quoting Tjpld
I wonder why all people say ahh 5% month after month easy as pie.
But I hardly think they manage to do this. Look at professional CTAs and how they're performing and come back again and they have DDs too.
because it is......over the course of a year, I earn OVER 10% per month....worse month I have had this year was a -5%....best was over 20%......longer time frame trading and knowing the tipping points to want to be trading is the key........
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