Your PnL as a Copier differs from the Copy Leader due to profit sharing rates, trading and funding fees, slippage on entry prices, customised risk management settings, and differences in margin asset composition between your account and the leader’s. Several factors cause the profit and loss on your Copy Trading account to differ from the Copy Leader’s results.
What Causes PnL Differences Between a Copier and a Copy Leader?
Several factors cause the profit and loss on your Copy Trading account to differ from the Copy Leader’s results. These differences are a normal part of how Copy Trading operates on BitMEX.
Profit sharing rates directly reduce your net profit. When you choose a Copy Leader, you agree to their profit share percentage. This deduction applies to your earnings and lowers your final PnL compared to the leader’s.
Trading fees are charged on every copied trade. Trading fees and funding fees are deducted in the same way as when trading futures or perpetual contracts on BitMEX. These costs reduce your net return.
Slippage affects your average entry price. The execution price for a particular contract varies depending on order size, the order book, and resting liquidity at the time of execution. A different entry price produces a different final PnL.
Customised risk management settings alter your trade outcomes. If you have chosen to set your own Stop Loss or Take Profit to override the Copy Leader’s parameters, your positions may close at different levels. This changes your realised PnL.
Margin asset differences create ROI discrepancies. BitMEX currently matches only the margins of BMEX, BTC, and USDT using the Spot market between Copy Leaders and Copiers. If a leader holds assets other than BMEX, BTC, or USDT, the difference in assets can be a major factor in ROI discrepancies. The margin mode itself does not have a significant impact, as positions are matched based on portfolio value and rebalanced to maintain the same ratio.