Collective2 Review: Scam-Free Auto Trading

Collective2 is a pioneer in social investing for automated trading strategies. The platform has accumulated 19,000 traders and 58,000 strategies since it was launched in 2001. C2’s founder, Matthew Klein, is a visionary in the retail algorithmic trading space. Subscribers to the service are motivated to find a hidden quant-driven algorithmic trading genius who may even help them get rich. The platform works on the same model as social investment networks such as etoro and ZuluTrade. When you select a system developer to follow, a portion of your capital will be allocated to mirror the trades of that developer. You decide how much money you want to risk on each trade. Realmoney.co.uk reviews the complete C2 offering.

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Trading involves a high risk of loss. T&Cs Apply.

Introducing Broker Model

Unlike some rival networks in the increasingly popular social trading space, C2 does not offer new clients any incentives for opening a trading account. As C2 is an introducing broker, the vast majority of accounts using the platform are opened directly with its broker partners. These brokers may offer their own incentives for opening a trading account but such offers are not related to providing access to the portal. C2 works with a variety of brokers including NinjaTrader and FXCM.

Follow a Quant Trading Guru

C2 is an investment social network specialising in algorithmic and automated trading strategies. The network has set itself up as an Ebay of social investing, taking a small percentage of any subscriptions that get processed through the website. The system supports trading in stocks, futures, Forex and options and has a global footprint, encompassing markets in the US, UK and Asia. If you find an autotrading system that you’d like to follow, you pay the operator a fee and C2 extracts a piece of the transaction. As this type of trading is still in its relative infancy, following such systems is without question a high-risk form of investing. While some may boast highly profitable returns, past performance is of course no guarantee of future profits. The underlying trading strategy is of paramount importance.

C2 is open to traders with a quantitative background to set themselves up as funds and accumulate a pool of followers who will want to share in their success in the markets. If you sign up as a subscriber, you have the opportunity to follow automatically a system set up by a system creator. Users can view the trade history of system providers as the broker urges automated traders to consistently enter their trading signals into the portal and have them verified and monitored by the website. While the fees for using the autotrading system stand at £75 per month, C2 does not charge any fees to people who join the platform and search for trading strategies. The monthly fee will be levied only when a user subscribes to following a trading strategy. System operators also have to charge a listing fee for each trading system that is made available on the platform. Listings fees are paid upfront and are not refundable.

Signal traders set their portfolio size and then the broker analyses the trading history in order to determine the amount of funds needed to be deposited into an account to follow the system effectively. As most systems utilise levered instruments such as futures, Forex and options, the recommended minimum account deposits on the platform stands at about £10,000.

Mobile App in the Pipeline

At the time of writing the review, C2 did not have a mobile trading app available. Klein says the platform released experimental iPhone and Android apps in 2013 but these were withdrawn as it was unable to support a good mobile trading experience for its users at that time. The network promises the delivery of a native mobile app in the final quarter of this year.

Trading Ideas

As C2 caters for more educated investors, the platform itself is not equipped with trading tools or educational resources. However, the network has a forum where users can exchange trading ideas and provide each other with advice on trading strategies. This is a valuable resource for users and provides an opportunity for traders to learn from the experiences of other users on the platform. Users can review the different trading systems on the platform and exchange trading ideas. This is a great way for preparing to trade with a real money broker.

Mindful that not all users have the time and resources to analyse all the trading systems on the platform, users can obtain access to ScoutAlpha, which consists of trading programs based on the C2 trading strategies. The service allows traders to add algorithmic trading systems to their portfolio. Trading is overseen by the network without any need for the investor to be involved on a day-by-day basis.

One click from Facebook to Demo Account

You can set up an account instantly on the platform that enables you to test systems and trade in demo mode. This is a great way of finding out how to trade on a social trading network. This can be done via Facebook or Linkedin. If you click on The Grid you’ll be able to view the most popular systems over the previous 24 hours. You can also view reviews of the different systems by other users on the platform.

The Collective2 Demo Account: Practice with virtual cash in the demo account Discover autotrading and C2 trading system Manage positions and check on performance Share your results with 90,000+ members Monitor trades in real-time

Help at Hand

C2 is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). If you have a query on the platform you can contact the company on 001 914 610 3979 or by e-mail at help@collective2.com . Alternatively, you can leave your telephone details and a customer service representative from the New York based company will call you back. As scam outfits are targeting unwitting investors it is important to sign up with a broker offering such comprehensive customer service fulfilling all regulatory requirements as a protection against fraud. The CFTC enforces strict guidelines to prevent retail investors being hit by fraud.

Masters of the Universe in Waiting can Apply

C2’s stated mission is to bring the world of automated trading to human beings. The network has stood the test of time and recently celebrated its 15-year anniversary in marked contrast to the many fly-by-night scam outfits that mimic the copy trader model. While there are bigger social investment networks, the network has established a niche in the ‘quant jock’ sector where algorithmic traders dream up automated trading strategies for others to follow. This is scam-free copy trading at its best. If you are an experienced investor who is interested in broadening your portfolio to automated trading, C2 offers its own miniature universe of trading opportunities.

Risk Warning:There is a substantial risk of loss in futures and forex trading. Online trading of stocks and options is extremely risky. Assume you will lose money. Don’t trade with money you cannot afford to lose.