A copy ratio decides how big your trades are compared with the trader you are copying. The provider opens 1.00 lot; do you open 1.00, 0.10, or 0.05? The ratio sets that, and it is the single setting that most often turns a sensible strategy into a blown account — or a good provider into a return too small to bother with. Get the provider right and the ratio wrong, and you still lose.
What it is
When you copy a trader, their trades have to be resized to fit your account. A £5,000 account cannot safely mirror a £100,000 account lot-for-lot. The copy ratio is the rule that translates the provider's position size into yours. Set it well and you take the same risk they do, scaled to your balance. Set it badly and you either take far more risk than they do, or so little that the strategy earns nothing worth having.
The common methods
- Proportional by balance or equity — your sizes scale to the ratio of the two account balances. The usual default.
- Fixed lot — every provider trade becomes a set size on your side, say 0.10 lots, whatever they traded.
- Multiplier — take the proportional size and multiply it: 0.5x for half the risk, 2x for double.
- Risk-based — copy by percentage risked per trade rather than lot size, where the platform supports it.
A worked example
The provider runs a £50,000 account and opens 0.50 lots on a trade. You have £5,000 — one tenth of their balance.
- Proportional (matched by balance) — you open 0.05 lots and carry the same percentage risk they do.
- Fixed 0.50 lots — you copy their size outright. On a tenth of the capital, that is ten times their risk. A drawdown they shrug off can margin-call you.
- Multiplier 2x — proportional size doubled to 0.10 lots. Their 10% drawdown becomes roughly 20% on your account.
Same provider, same trades, three completely different outcomes — decided entirely by the ratio you chose.
Copy ratio scales the wins and the losses by the same amount. Doubling the size to chase a bigger gain doubles the drawdown you have to sit through to get it. No setting lifts return without lifting risk.
Why it matters
Most copy-trading blow-ups come from oversized ratios, not bad providers. A follower sees a strong record, sets the size too high to speed things up, and the first normal drawdown — one the provider survives comfortably — wipes them out. Matching the provider's risk means matching their drawdown as a percentage, then deciding whether you can actually sit through it on your balance. If a 20% fall would make you close everything at the bottom, your ratio is too high regardless of the maths.
The Karnek note
Karnek shows the copied trades landing on your account live — sizes, open positions, and the drawdown your chosen ratio is producing — read straight from the terminal. You can see whether the ratio is doing what you intended before it costs you. Karnek only reads the account and can never place, resize or close a trade.
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Written and reviewed by the Karnek Research team. Last updated August 2026.
Educational content only - not financial advice. Past performance does not predict future results. Trading carries significant risk.