FAQ's

Being a Lead Trader

- What does it mean to be a Lead Trader?

A Lead Trader is someone who has followers that can choose to take part in their actual trades while maintaining control and transparency. The Lead Trader trades as they normally do, except they may or may not choose to charge their followers a fee for following them

- Who can be a Lead Trader?

Anyone can be a Lead Trader, but people are Lead Traders for different reasons. Clients, subscribers, friends and family can all be followers to a Lead Trader. A Lead Trader can be an RIA with clients, a professional trader with subscribers, or Uncle Mike with his friends & family members following his trades.

- Are Lead Traders money-managers?

No, Lead Traders are not money-managers. Lead Traders trade as they normally would, and it is up to the follower’s discretion to take part in the trades.

- Are Lead Traders Registered Investment Advisors?

They can be, but they do not need to be.

- I already have a current service I run. How can I incorporate being a Lead Trader?

A large number of current Lead Trader’s services existed before they created it on Followable. These were money managing services, e-mail alerts, newsletters, and others that either replaced or added to their current services.

Creating/Editing a Page

- How do I create a page?

To create a page, Click “Offer a Service” and fill out the registration information. Once this information has been filled out you will be taken to the page creation process

- What is the difference between listed and unlisted?

If you select “Listed” this means your page will show up in search results. If you select “Unlisted” the only way someone can reach your page is by direct link.

- Can I make a page unlisted once its listed and vice versa?

Yes, you can change your page in “Account Settings”

- Is there an approval process for the page?

Yes. We make sure your page is appropriately created. You will be notified via e-mail whether your page was approved or not. If your page was not approved we will give you instructions as to what changes are needed for the page to be approved.

- What is considered inappropriate?

We are less concerned with “cursing” and “bad words” and more concerned that your page is created accurately. (i.e. links going to the right places, uploaded files working, etc.)

- What should I name my page?

Some people use their real name (i.e. Joe Smith) or a business name (Joe’s Trading). Choose which way you would like to be represented. If you have a pre-existing business or website, we recommend naming your Followable page the same.

- What is a "headline"?

A headline is a secondary line of information about you or your business. Think of it as a mini-bio.

- What kind of image should I use?

Use a .jpg or .gif that will properly make sense with your page name. For example, if your page name is your name, use a personal picture. If your page name is a business name, use the logo.

- What should I put for my contact information?

Include your own website, your e-mail, and your Twitter account that you would like to be reached at by potential followers.

- Under "About", what is the difference for Individual, Business, and Custom?

The difference between Individual and Business is the tense of the lead-ins (I/me vs. We). Custom allows you to write whatever you’d like, in free-form.

- What should I do for my trading history?

Your trading history provides a great opportunity for you to showcase your past results. Simply upload an .xls or .pdf file, name and describe the file to give potential followers an idea of your past results.

- How do I edit my page?

Once you’ve signed in, click “My Page”. On the right-side of the page click “Tools”. Here you can edit all parts of your page.

Please remember to click “Save” after making changes before you change to edit another tab.

- Do I need to get approved each time I make a change?

No, but we do reserve the right at anytime to make your page “Unlisted” if you have made any changes that are deemed inappropriate.

Creating a Service

- How do I create a service?

If your page has been created, please sign-on, click “My Page”, t hen click “Create a Service” to get started.

- What if I have an existing service?

If you have an existing service such as a money-managing business, newsletter, alerts, etc. you can re-create your service here also. Use your Followable pages as an extension of your current business; consider it a new way to be discovered by customers.

- What are the different asset classes I can trade with?

Currently, you can trade U.S. equities, ETFs, and options.

- What are the different position sizing methods and what do they mean?

Percent for Percent: Percent for Percent is a basic trading style. When the lead trader buys an amount of XYZ shares that is equal to 5% of their portfolio, the followers buy a number of XYZ shares that is 5% to your portfolio

Share for Share: Share for Share is another basic trading style. The follower buys the same number of shares as the lead trader buys. If the lead trader buys 100 shares of XYZ, the follower buys 100 shares of XYZ. Simple as that.

Standardized Share for Share: Standardized Share for Share enables the follower to set a baseline amount that locks into a fixed ratio with the Lead Trader’s baseline. For example, if the Lead Trader has set a baseline of 100 and you set a baseline of 50, the follower will trade half of the amount of shares the Lead Trader does. Your baseline will remain fixed until you decide to change it.

XYZ @ $50.00
Stop Loss: $49.00
Difference = $1.00
Max Loss Per Trade = $100
Divided by $1.00
Position Size = 100 shares
The number of shares the follower would trade would be 100 shares

- What if I want to have a service with day trading or options?

If you want your service to have day trading and/or options, the account that is connected to it must be approved for both.

- What is the approval process once a service has been created?

Once your service has been created, your service will be go through an approval process. The approval process is to make sure that the account you have connected your service to, is correctly described in your service’s description. For example, if you have described your service as a Day Trading service, your account must be approved for Day Trading for your service to get approved.

- How many service can I create?

The maximum number of services you can create per page is ten.

Managing a Service

- What can I change about my service once it's been created?

You can edit the name of the service, the trading style, the asset class, the number of trades in a month, the account size, description of the service, the approval e-mail,

- What do I need to talk to my concierge in order to change?

Ditto Trade account number, Receiving Payments, changing to a Day Trading Account, Adding Options, Position Sizing, Pricing and Free Trial.

- How do I approve or deny pending followers?

Under “Manage Services”, click on the “Followers” tab and then click “Pending subscribers”. You can choose to either “Accept” or “Deny” the pending subscriber.

- What happens when a follower cancels?

You will be notified via e-mail of the disconnection. If your service’s payments are being handled by Followable, the follower will no longer be charged as of the end of that trading day.

- How do I disconnect a current follower?

Under “Manage Services”, click on the “Followers” tab and then click on “Current Followers”. Choose the follower and choose “Disconnect.”

An e-mail will be sent to the follower letting them know they have been disconnected.

- How can I customize my approval e-mail?

Under “Manage services” click on the “Approval E-mail.” This is the approval e-mail your followers will receive once you have approved them. While there is a standard e-mail, you are allowed to add your own personal message, whether it is a ‘thank you’, additional information, or anything else you’d like to include, click the checkbox, write your message, and save it.