Mechanics before access
The copy is never
the original.
Copy-trading means a strategy account sends instructions and the broker repeats them on your account, scaled to your balance and limited by your rules. Every step adds a difference. Here is each one, with its downside.
From instruction to fill
Four stages,
one gap.
The timings are placeholders for measured values. On a live record each one is the broker-sourced average for the period, and the worst case is printed beside it.
- +0 msSOURCE
The strategy account sends an instruction: instrument, side, size, stop.
- +xx msROUTER
Your copy boundary is applied: risk scale, exclusions, exposure cap, daily stop.
- +xxx msBROKER
The scaled order reaches the broker and is filled at the next available price.
- x.x pipDIFFERENCE
Your fill departs from the source. It is printed, never averaged away.
Latency and slippage, explained
Where the
difference comes from.
Latency is the time between the strategy's order and yours. Slippage is the price that moved in that time, plus any difference in the price your broker can fill. In a quiet market both are small. Around a release, both can be large, and they do not average out in your favour.
Opens x.xx lots EURUSD at x.xxxxx.
Risk scale x.x applies; the broker rounds to x.xx lots.
Filled at x.xxxxx, the next available price.
Printed on your copy statement, every trade.
Illustrative. Every value is a placeholder; the shape of the calculation is what this example shows.
Every assumption, with its downside
What sits between
source and copy.
These are the settings the copy service applies. Each one exists for a reason and each one has a cost.
Minimum lot sizes distort small accounts: some trades round down to nothing, others round up.
In a fast market the price the source saw can be gone before your order arrives.
A model is an average. It cannot promise the next available fill on your account.
Orders beyond the deviation are rejected, so your account can miss a trade the source took.
Your position can be smaller than intended, and its result will differ from the record.
Overnight financing differs by broker and account type and is charged to your account, not the source's.
An alert does not close exposure that is already open. You remain responsible for it.
Shown before the button
Connection is a
risk-control sequence.
- 01PROVIDER
Open an account with the broker.
Kestrelmoor Markets checks who you are and whether its products are appropriate for you. Tapeline never sees your documents or holds your money.
- 02RECORD
Read the record before the button.
Choose a strategy from its worst number upward: maximum drawdown, worst day, losing days. Then decide whether you could hold through them.
- 03LIMITS
Set the copy boundary.
Risk scale, maximum exposure, a daily stop and the instruments you exclude. The boundary is applied before any order reaches your account.
- 04SLIPPAGE
Read the difference model.
Your fills will not match the source. The latency and slippage allowances you accept are shown to you, with their downside, before you confirm.
- 05STOP
Confirm, or do nothing.
Copying starts only when you confirm on the broker's own portal. You can pause or disconnect there at any time; open positions stay yours to manage.
Before you ask the desk
Plain answers.
Does Tapeline hold or manage my money?
No. Your money stays in your own account at Kestrelmoor Markets. Tapeline publishes strategies and the record; the broker's copy service places the orders on your account inside the limits you set.
Why will my result differ from the record?
Because your orders arrive later, at a different price, scaled to a different balance and rounded to the broker's lot sizes. Your financing and any trades you skip or close yourself also change the result.
Can I stop copying at any time?
Yes, on the broker's portal. Stopping prevents new copied orders. It does not close positions that are already open; those remain yours to manage.
What happens if the connection drops?
New instructions are rejected while the link is down and you are alerted. Positions already open stay open, without the strategy's later instructions, until you act or the link returns.
Is a strategy a recommendation to me?
No. A strategy is a published set of rules and a simulated record. Whether copying it suits your circumstances is your decision. If you are unsure, take independent advice.