Growing as a Trader Without Risking Your Capital

Introduction

In the world of trading, aspiring traders often face a significant challenge: the need for capital to kickstart their journey. Many traders, especially those starting, grapple with the dilemma of how to build a track record and attract investors without putting their own capital at risk. In this article, we will explore a unique solution that addresses this challenge, known as Darwinex Zero (D-Zero).

D-Zero: A Risk-Free Path to Trading Success

D-Zero is a groundbreaking platform that offers traders an opportunity to grow and attract capital without risking their own funds. It provides a structured and professional environment for traders to hone their skills, build a trustworthy track record, and eventually become attractive to investors. Let’s delve into the key features and stages of D-Zero.

Zero Risk, Zero Limits, Zero Restrictions

With D-Zero, traders can operate within a virtually risk-free environment. Instead of using their own capital, traders pay a monthly subscription fee of €38. This fee grants them access to a virtual trading account that mirrors real market conditions, allowing them to trade a wide range of assets, including CFDs, stocks, ETFs, indices, commodities, and forex. The platform also supports MetaTrader 4 and 5, providing familiar tools for traders to execute their strategies.

One of the standout features of D-Zero is the absence of limitations and restrictions. Traders are not bound by monthly return requirements or restricted trading hours that might impact their strategy. This freedom empowers traders to focus on their long-term growth without the pressure of generating quick returns.

Stages of Growth

D-Zero offers a structured path for traders to progress and attract capital. The journey begins with a training phase, where traders gain experience by trading global markets. This initial stage sets the foundation for their future success.

Stage Zero: Training

In this phase, traders can explore and practice their trading strategies on D-Zero’s virtual account. They can trade a diverse range of assets, including CFDs on stocks, ETFs, indices, commodities, and forex, as well as futures (coming soon) and cryptocurrencies (coming soon). Access to MetaTrader 4 and 5 ensures a seamless trading experience.

First Stage: DarwinIASILVER

After completing the training phase, traders progress to the DarwinIASILVER stage. Here, they have the opportunity to receive capital ranging from €25,000 to €350,000 for three months. This allocation is part of Darwinex’s DarwinIA seed capital allocation program.

Second Stage: DarwinIAGOLD

The journey continues with DarwinIAGOLD, where traders can receive up to €500,000 in capital for six months. This stage allows traders to further refine their strategies and track records.

Third Stage: Investors

Once traders have established a strong track record, their strategies become open to external investment. This stage marks a significant milestone in their journey, as they can attract investor capital and grow their trading business.

Final Stage: Darwinex PRO

In the final stage, traders can approach their own investors, build their brand, and set their fee structure. Darwinex PRO offers the flexibility and autonomy to manage investor relationships independently.

In the Words of Javier Colón

Javier Colón, a trader and co-founder of Darwinex, emphasizes the importance of a long-term approach to trading. He highlights the risks associated with quick gains and high leverage in the trading industry. D-Zero provides a solution for traders with long-term ambition and limited capital. It rewards traders based on their ability to generate consistent returns, creating a professional and pressure-free environment.

The Darwinex Ecosystem

D-Zero is just one gateway into the broader Darwinex ecosystem. Founded in 2012, Darwinex is an asset manager and multi-asset broker with regulated entities in the UK and EU, managing over $130 million in assets. Darwinex backs talented traders who trade with their own capital and have already attracted significant investment.

Building Trust with DARWIN Indices

One of the unique aspects of D-Zero is the creation of DARWIN indices. These indices serve as independently risk-managed and investable benchmarks for traders’ strategies. They provide real-time quote information and standardize risk levels, making it easier for investors to trust and compare different trading strategies. DARWIN indices protect traders’ intellectual property by keeping their trades hidden from investors in real-time.

The Role of Risk Engine

D-Zero employs a sophisticated risk engine to manage and control risk levels for DARWIN indices. The engine adapts the DARWIN’s risk to maintain a consistent 6.5% monthly Value at Risk (VaR) with a 95% confidence level. This risk management mechanism ensures that traders’ strategies align with investor expectations and minimize the likelihood of undesired losses.

Access to Advanced Analytics

D-Zero provides traders with access to an analytical toolkit that includes advanced statistics, trading indicators, and metrics. These tools allow traders to analyze their trading strategies comprehensively. They can monitor key metrics such as return, maximum drawdown, open trades, and asset distribution across various timeframes.

Real Market Conditions

D-Zero’s virtual accounts simulate real market conditions, including latency and market depth, ensuring that traders experience a realistic trading environment. Traders can access a wide range of liquid CFDs on MetaTrader 4 and 5, giving them the opportunity to trade various asset classes.

Pricing and Payment

Traders can join D-Zero by paying a one-time sign-up fee of €95, which covers the training phase and the first month’s participation in the DarwinIA capital allocation program. Afterward, traders pay a monthly subscription fee of €38 for FX and CFDs accounts. Futures accounts are also available for €45 per month (coming soon).

Frequently Asked Questions

Discover How It All Works

D-Zero Ecosystem What is Darwinex Zero (D-Zero)? D-Zero is a monthly subscription service that empowers traders worldwide to build their trading track record and attract investor capital from a virtual trading account, all without bearing any financial risk.

How does Darwinex Zero work?

1. Register with us and pay the one-time 95 euros sign-up fee.
2. Accumulate 20 risk-equivalent trading decisions over a minimum of 10 trading days to train and calibrate our risk engine. This process packages your strategy as a DARWIN index. (For more details, refer to our FAQ: “Why do I need a DARWIN index”).
3. Participate in our seed capital allocation program, DarwinIA SILVER, alongside fellow traders. This marks your first exposure to investment opportunities and your chance to manage seed capital while earning performance fees. Please note that your monthly subscription fee (38 euros for FX and CFDs accounts) commences from your second DarwinIA SILVER participation.
4. Advance to DarwinIA GOLD, an exclusive league for traders with robust medium-to-long-term strategies. At this stage, we expose your DARWIN index to third-party investors that we attract to our platform.
5. As investors invest in your strategy and your DARWIN index succeeds, we pay you a 15% success fee per investor.
6. Attract your own investors using your own fees, brand, and marketing materials with Darwinex Pro, our Hedge Fund as a Service.

Is Darwinex Zero a trustworthy company? D-Zero operates on Darwinex’s proprietary technology. Established in 2012, Darwinex owns regulated entities in the UK (Tradeslide Trading Tech Limited) and the EU (Sapiens Markets EU Sociedad de Valores SA).

Who can subscribe to the service? Traders from all corners of the globe who possess the ambition and determination to outperform the markets.

What’s the difference between Darwinex Zero and funding programs? D-Zero enables you to grow as a trader without risking your own capital. It allows you to build a transparent and certified track record that investors can trust.

Darwinex Zero’s model is scalable and transparent, designed for the long term. It allows you to trade without constraints while providing seed and investor capital along the way.

Our infrastructure operates on proprietary technology and enjoys the trust of thousands of retail and professional investors, currently managing over $130 million in assets.

Does Darwinex Zero have a partners program? Indeed, we do! If you share our vision and can assist in attracting talent from trading academies, trader communities, social networks, or any other channel where trading talent may thrive, we want to hear from you. Visit our partners page and get in touch to help us spread the word.

How can I contact you? You can reach us via email at info@darwinexzero.com. We have a dedicated customer success team ready to address all your inquiries.

What’s the difference between Darwinex Zero and Darwinex classic offering? Darwinex.com services are accessible from a live trading account using your own capital, while with Darwinex Zero, you trade and attract capital from a virtual account through a monthly subscription fee.

Darwinex Zero is available to traders worldwide, including those in the USA, Canada, and Japan. Due to its EU and UK regulation, Darwinex Classic has limitations on where it can offer its services and cannot serve users residing in the USA, Canada, Japan, and other regions.

The DarwinIA capital allocation program at D-Zero is included in your subscription fee, whereas in Darwinex, it’s included at no additional cost in your DARWIN account.

Darwinex Zero Accounts How do I start? The process is straightforward:

1. Complete your registration by providing your email address and preferred account username; no extra paperwork is required.
2. Make the sign-up fee payment (which covers the training phase and your first participation in DarwinIA SILVER).
3. Receive your credentials to begin trading.

What’s your pricing plan? Sign-up fee: €95 (one-time)

The sign-up fee covers the training phase and your initial participation in DarwinIA SILVER.

Monthly subscription for FX and CFDs account: €38

Monthly subscription for Futures account: €45 (coming soon)

Your monthly subscription fee starts after your first participation in DarwinIA SILVER.

Darwinex Zero offers virtual accounts. Are there any differences between a virtual account and a demo account? Absolutely! Darwinex Zero virtual accounts have virtual funds and are hosted on a real server, simulating actual market conditions, including latency and liquidity. Darwinex Zero does not offer demo accounts as they do not provide the real and professional environment we aim to provide for our traders to develop in.

What’s the training phase, and how do I complete it? During the training phase, you must complete 20 risk-equivalent trading decisions over a minimum of 10 trading days. This is necessary for us to gather sufficient data to analyze your trading signals and calibrate your DARWIN. There is no return requirement; our system only needs a certain amount of information (measured by the number of trades and trading days) to create your DARWIN.

Upon meeting these criteria, your DARWIN will be automatically created, and you will participate in the first edition of DarwinIA SILVER for which you are eligible. Please note that you have a time limit of 90 days from subscription to complete the training phase.

I passed the training phase, now what? Once your trading account accumulates the required experience, your DARWIN will be automatically created the following Monday (unless that Monday falls on the 25th of the month or later, in which case it will be the next Monday).

At this point, your DARWIN will automatically participate for the first time in DarwinIA SILVER.

How can I pay my monthly subscription? You can pay using a credit card and, soon, via your performance fees obtained from previous capital allocations (if any).

When do you charge my card? We collect payments on the 25th day of each calendar month. Your initial payment includes the first month of participation in DarwinIA SILVER (after the training phase).

What assets can I trade? This depends on your subscription plan and platform:

• CFDs in forex, indices, and commodities can be traded on both MT4 and MT5.
• Single Stock CFDs and CFDs of ETFs can be traded in MT5.
• Futures, stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies will soon be available for trading, but only in MT5.

What platforms do you offer? We offer MT4 and MT5 desktop, web, and mobile platforms.

What leverage can I get? Your trading account comes with default leverage as follows:

• 10:1 for Forex pairs.
• 3:1 for Indices.
• 2:1 for US stocks.

However, we encourage you not to focus on leverage. The standard CFD account comes with $100k in virtual equity, which is more than sufficient to demonstrate your ability to generate a stable and positive return. The performance of your DARWIN Index, not your underlying signals, determines seed and third-party capital allocation.

What’s my initial account equity? Accounts are set with $100,000 as the initial balance by default for CFDs accounts and $200,000 for accounts that allow futures trading (coming soon).

How do performance fees work? The better your DARWIN index performs, the more you and our investors benefit. You earn a 15% performance fee on the profits you generate on Darwinex Zero allocations.

The fee collection is transparent and automated. We use the High Water Mark (HWM) principle to ensure that you only receive fees for the profits you have actually generated, without overlap with profits from previous time periods.

How do I withdraw my performance fees? Performance fees can be withdrawn starting from a minimum of €100. You can make a withdrawal request at any time from within the platform. Please note that while Darwinex Zero aims to provide a global service, payments to certain jurisdictions may be limited to EUR, GBP, or USD. It is your responsibility to ensure you can accept payment in the required currency.

When can I cancel my subscription? You can cancel your subscription at any time and will retain access and full functionality through the end of the current billing period. Keep in mind that subscriptions are paid in advance on the 25th of each month, so to cancel the following month’s subscription, you should do so before the 25th of the current month.

Can I create multiple accounts? You cannot have multiple subscriptions simultaneously, but you can request to start a new account whenever you like. Starting a new account involves closing your existing account and beginning a new training stage with a new DARWIN index. The cost for this is a €65 (excluding applicable taxes) restart fee.

Can I restart my canceled subscription? It’s not possible to cancel your subscription and later restart your trading activity, linking it to your previous trading account.

DARWIN Index Creation Why do I need a DARWIN index? Investors require transparency regarding the risk associated with your track record before investing. We certify your strategy as an investable index with a known and controlled risk level, referred to as a DARWIN.

DARWINs have standardized risk levels similar to the S&P 500, allowing for easy comparison. This ensures a level playing field, where only the most consistent traders rise to the top and gain investors’ trust. Indexing your strategy also safeguards your intellectual property, as third-party investors do not have real-time access to your trades.

When can I create my DARWIN index? Your DARWIN index is automatically created when you accumulate a sufficient number of risk-equivalent trading decisions over a minimum of 10 trading days.

How do you protect my intellectual property? Your trading journal remains private for third parties, and if your DARWIN index attracts investor capital, your last three trades are not publicly revealed to investors. This precaution prevents investors from replicating your trades without compensation.

What’s the VaR (Value at Risk)? VaR, or Value at Risk, is a risk measurement method that answers questions about potential losses, their likelihood, and the timeframe over which they may occur. Darwinex Zero establishes a target maximum monthly VaR of 6.5% with a 95% confidence level (actual VaR ranges from 3.25% to 6.5%). This means there’s a 95% probability that the DARWIN’s maximum monthly loss won’t exceed 6.5%.

How does the risk engine work? The risk engine sits between your underlying strategy and the DARWIN, adjusting the DARWIN’s risk to maintain a consistent target of 6.5% monthly VaR. It calculates the underlying strategy’s VaR and adjusts the exposure in each position to ensure the DARWIN replicates with the target VaR. Consequently, your DARWIN’s volatility might differ from your strategy’s if your strategy’s VaR is above or below 6.5%.

What’s the High Water Mark? The High Water Mark (HWM) serves as a reference point to ensure that performance fees only apply to actual profits generated and do not overlap with profits from previous periods. If you’ve earned $150 in performance fees on $1,000 in profits, you’ll only receive additional performance fees on profits exceeding the $1,000 HWM.

Capital Allocation What’s DarwinIA? DarwinIA is our monthly seed capital allocation program and the first step for your strategy to attract investment. After completing the training phase, you automatically enter DarwinIA SILVER, the initial stage where you compete with other traders for seed capital allocation. DarwinIA GOLD is the second level, accessible when your DARWIN index proves its reliability over the medium to long term. At this stage, you vie for seed capital and your index becomes open to third-party investors.

Seed Capital Allocations Seed capital allocations in DarwinIA are notional (virtual) allocations that come with a compensation commitment to the trader in the form of performance fees. These allocations motivate traders to build a trustworthy track record for investors in the short term, rather than engage in risky and highly leveraged strategies.

Can I participate in both levels of DarwinIA simultaneously? No, participation in each level during a given month is independent. If you participate in DarwinIA GOLD, you won’t participate in DarwinIA SILVER in that month. If you no longer meet the eligibility requirements for DarwinIA GOLD, you’ll automatically participate in DarwinIA SILVER.

How fast can I receive my first allocation? Once you’ve completed the training phase, which typically takes 15-20 calendar days, you’ll automatically be entered into DarwinIA SILVER. If your performance in the first month is strong, receiving a DarwinIA SILVER allocation in your very first month is possible.

How much capital can I attract? The maximum cumulative seed capital via our DarwinIA programs is €1,050,000 for SILVER and €3.0 million for GOLD. Once you reach GOLD, your DARWIN will be open to external investment, with the potential to attract capital limited only by your trading style and performance.

Participation Criteria What’s the participation criteria for DarwinIA SILVER and GOLD? DarwinIA SILVER:

• Active subscription.
• 3-month correlation with all DARWINs < 0.95. If the correlation between two DARWINs is ≥0.95, the one with lower cumulative returns during the previous 5 months and the current month will be excluded.

DarwinIA GOLD:

• DARWINs must have a signal history exceeding 8 months and meet one of the following conditions:
  • 1-year return (or since inception if DARWIN lifetime is shorter) > 20% and Return/Drawdown > 2.5.
  • 2-year return > 25% and Return/Drawdown > 2.5.
  • 3-year return > 30% and Return/Drawdown > 2.5.
  • 4-year return > 35% and Return/Drawdown > 2.5.
  • 5-year return > 40% and Return/Drawdown > 2.5.
  • The same correlation eligibility criteria as SILVER applies to GOLD. If a DARWIN no longer meets GOLD criteria due to a drawdown, it will automatically participate in DarwinIA SILVER.

Allocation Criteria What’s the allocation criteria in DarwinIA SILVER and GOLD? DarwinIA SILVER:

• A minimum rating is set each month to receive an allocation. If the DARWIN rating meets the minimum, it receives an allocation.
• The top-rated DARWINs receive increasing allocations each month, while the remaining DARWINs that meet the minimum rating receive a fixed allocation.

DarwinIA GOLD:

• Ranking depends solely on the current monthly return.
• Unlike SILVER, there is no minimum rating guaranteeing an allocation. Allocations depend entirely on the final position in the leaderboard, with the number of allocations changing based on the number of participants in DarwinIA GOLD.

How do you calculate the rating? The rating is calculated using three inputs:

• Current calendar month return.
• Cumulative 5-month calendar return prior to the current calendar month.
• Maximum drawdown across the current month and preceding 5 calendar months.

How many traders get seed capital every month? There is no fixed number of traders who receive capital each month. The rating is calculated monthly, and all traders meeting the minimum requirements receive an allocation in DarwinIA SILVER. In DarwinIA GOLD, allocations depend solely on the final position in the leaderboard.

Is there any exclusion policy? All DARWINs meeting the following requirements will participate:

• Active subscription.
• 3-month correlation with all DARWINs < 0.95. If the correlation between two DARWINs is ≥0.95, the one with lower cumulative returns during the previous 5 months and the current month will be excluded. This inclusion criterion is necessary to prevent the use of commercially available Expert Advisors (EAs) where you are not the main user or owner.

How do I access investor capital? When you reach DarwinIA GOLD, your DARWIN will become open to external investment. If you believe your trading strategy is worth offering to investors before reaching DarwinIA GOLD, contact us, and we will assess your case individually. In the event of a DARWIN losing its GOLD status due to a drawdown, it will still remain open to third-party investor capital.

Why do you pay 15% performance fees? The global standard for key executives and portfolio managers at leading hedge funds is a 20% success fee. Darwinex Zero reflects the professional environment found in the real world. Our investors pay a 20% fee for the returns your DARWIN index generates, with 5% going to D-Zero and 15% to you.

Darwinex PRO What’s Darwinex PRO? Darwinex PRO is our Hedge Fund as a Service (HFaaS). It provides you with the resources necessary to approach your own investors, using your own brand and fee structure, without competing with other DARWIN indices.

Conclusion

Darwinex Zero (D-Zero) offers traders a unique and risk-free path to becoming successful and attracting investor capital. By providing a structured journey, risk management tools, and access to a supportive ecosystem, D-Zero empowers traders to focus on their long-term growth and trading ambitions. It’s a testament to the evolution of the trading industry, where traders can thrive without putting their capital at risk and build a sustainable source of income. D-Zero invites traders to embrace trading as a career and demonstrate to the world what independent traders are capable of achieving.