VERTEXCAPITAL MARKETS

VCM / TRADING LEARNING CENTRE

Understand the process.
Ask better trading questions.

Practical explanations of automation, trading risk and broker-held account management. General education from Vertex Capital Markets; not personalized investment advice.

How should you evaluate a trading bot?

Begin with rules you can explain: what triggers an entry, how position size is chosen, and when the system stops trading. Ask which broker, platform and instruments it supports. A backtest shows behaviour on historical inputs; it does not establish how the software will perform with future prices or actual execution.

  • Request assumptions for spreads, commissions and slippage in every test.
  • Review losing periods and maximum drawdown alongside returns.
  • Forward-test in a broker demo, then compare observed behaviour with the written specification.
  • Agree installation, licence, support and acceptance criteria before paying.
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What do equity and drawdown tell you?

Balance usually reflects completed account transactions. Equity includes the current effect of open positions. An account can show a positive closed-trade balance while open losses reduce its equity. Drawdown measures a decline from a previous peak; always state whether it is based on balance or equity and which period is measured.

  • Separate realized results from unrealized gains and losses.
  • Include costs when comparing results across periods.
  • A fall from $10,000 to $8,000 is a 20% drawdown; returning to $10,000 requires a 25% gain from $8,000.
  • Set position and loss limits before trading; a stop order cannot guarantee an exact exit price.
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What should an individual management agreement explain?

Clarify who owns the broker account, who holds the money, what authority the manager receives and how that authority can be revoked. Trading authority and withdrawal authority are different permissions. Ask for the relevant legal entity and permissions, a written mandate, dated reports and a documented complaints process.

  • Deposit and withdraw through your own broker account. VCM does not collect trading capital through this website.
  • Confirm all costs, the profit-share calculation period and how earlier losses are recovered before fees become due.
  • VCM’s proposed share is 50% of net realized profit after costs and recovery of prior losses, subject to an agreed contract.
  • Premium individual-management applications start at $5,000 and remain subject to eligibility and authorization.
Read individual account-management information →

Before using market charts or a broker demo

A price panel can be delayed, show a closed session or use a different instrument from your broker. Check its source and timestamp. Demo accounts use virtual funds, and fills can differ from funded trading.

Market data guideBroker demo setupTrading risk disclosureDiscuss your requirements

Published by Vertex Capital Markets · 25 October 2026. Trading involves a risk of substantial loss. Examples explain calculations and are not forecasts.