Every master on IDTraders chooses a settlement cadence — daily, weekly or monthly — and it is shown on their profile. Settlement is the moment the profit on closed copied trades is shared: your share is credited to your copy, the master's share goes to the master, and the introducer pool is distributed. Nothing about the trading changes with the cadence. Quite a lot about the experience does.
What settles, and what does not
Only closed trades settle. A trade still open at the settlement time is simply carried across and settles when it closes. Losses reduce the copy's balance as they happen; there is no fee on them, so there is nothing to settle. At settlement the platform adds up the profit on the copied trades that closed since the last settlement, takes the fee — 50% of that profit on a standard copy, less on a commitment package — and credits the rest to you.
So the cadence changes when the arithmetic is done, not what the arithmetic is. Over a year, a daily-settling master and a monthly-settling master with identical trades produce identical fees and identical net profit. What differs is timing and texture.
Daily
Profit on trades closed during the day is settled that evening. Your copy's realised balance updates every day; the unsettled profit figure never grows large. This suits scalpers and day traders, who close everything within hours, and copiers who like to see results land frequently. The cost is psychological: a daily settlement makes every day feel like a verdict, and a run of small losing days can feel worse than one weekly figure would.
Weekly
Settled once a week, typically at the weekly break. This is the cadence most day-and-swing traders choose. A week is long enough to average out a bad Tuesday and short enough that you are never far from seeing a credit. For most copiers it is the middle path.
Monthly
Settled once a month. Suits swing and position traders who hold for days or weeks, and copiers who want to judge a master by months rather than days. The unsettled profit figure can grow substantial before it lands, which some copiers find unnerving ("where is my money?") — it is not missing; it is waiting for the date. Monthly cadences also smooth the fee experience: one deduction, once, rather than thirty small ones.
An example month
A copy with $2,000 allocated makes the same eight trades under all three cadences: net profit on closed trades of $120 in week one, −$40 in week two, $90 in week three and $60 in week four. Standard copy, 50% share.
| Daily / weekly | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 settlement | $120 profit → $60 fee → $60 to you | Nothing yet |
| Week 2 | −$40: no settlement, balance falls | Nothing yet |
| Week 3 settlement | $90 → $45 → $45 to you | Nothing yet |
| Week 4 settlement | $60 → $30 → $30 to you | $230 net → $115 fee → $115 to you |
| Total to you | $135, less the $40 loss = $95 | $115, less the $40 loss = $75 |
Wait — the totals differ. That is because in the weekly version, week two's loss was never netted against a profit before a fee was taken; the fee was charged on each profitable week's gross. In the monthly version the loss reduced the month's net before the fee. Whether this favours you depends on the pattern: if losses and profits alternate, longer cadences net more of the losses against gains before the fee is taken. It is a real difference, and one reason position traders prefer monthly settlement.
Stopping mid-cycle
If you stop a copy, or change master, before the settlement date, the platform settles whatever is owed at that moment: profit on closed trades since the last settlement is shared and credited immediately, and the allocation is returned to your Copy Wallet. You do not lose an unsettled period by leaving early. Commitment packages have their own rules about stopping before the term ends, but the settlement itself is the same.
Choosing
- If you will look at Social Copies every day, a daily or weekly master matches your rhythm; a monthly one will frustrate you.
- If you have decided to judge the copy monthly (the better habit), a monthly master keeps you honest and nets more losses before fees.
- If you follow several masters, mixing cadences means something is always settling, which some people like and others find noisy.
The cadence is the master's choice, not yours, so in practice you choose it by choosing the master. It is a minor factor against drawdown and sizing — but it is the factor that decides what your first month feels like.
Cadence changes when profit is shared, not how much. Longer cadences net more losses before the fee; shorter ones show results sooner. Pick the master, and the cadence comes with them.
This article is education, not investment advice. Trading and copy trading in leveraged instruments carry a high risk of losing the funds you allocate. Read the Risk Disclosure.