A commitment package changes one number — your share of the profit — in exchange for one promise: the allocation stays with a master for a fixed term. Whether that trade is worth it is a question of arithmetic, and the arithmetic is best seen over a full year with real-looking numbers.
The setup
Two copiers each allocate $5,000 to the same gold master on 1 January. Copier A takes a standard copy: 50% of profit, stop whenever. Copier B takes the twelve-month package — the one with the largest bonus share, +5% for the term, giving 55% of profit — with the amount locked with this master until 31 December. Same master, so identical trades and identical gross results.
The master's gross results on a $5,000 allocation, month by month (a plausible year for a good master: ten winning months, two losing, about 4% average):
| Month | Gross | A: 50% | B: 55% | Month | Gross | A: 50% | B: 55% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | +$240 | +$120 | +$132 | Jul | +$210 | +$105 | +$116 |
| Feb | +$180 | +$90 | +$99 | Aug | −$150 | −$150 | −$150 |
| Mar | −$120 | −$120 | −$120 | Sep | +$260 | +$130 | +$143 |
| Apr | +$300 | +$150 | +$165 | Oct | +$190 | +$95 | +$105 |
| May | +$220 | +$110 | +$121 | Nov | +$170 | +$85 | +$94 |
| Jun | +$150 | +$75 | +$83 | Dec | +$230 | +$115 | +$127 |
Losing months cost both copiers the full loss — there is no fee and no share on a loss, so the package makes no difference there.
The year's totals
| Copier A (standard) | Copier B (package) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross profit, winning months | $2,150 | $2,150 |
| Copier's share | $1,075 | $1,183 |
| Losses | −$270 | −$270 |
| Net for the year | $805 | $913 |
| Return on $5,000 | 16.1% | 18.3% |
The package earned $108 more on the same trades — about 13% more net profit — for the promise of staying twelve months. On a good year with a good master, that is what the bonus share is worth.
What stopping early costs
Now suppose Copier B decides in July to stop. The package rule: stopping before the term ends forfeits the package bonus — the copier receives the standard 50% share on the profit made, not 55%, and the term's bonus is cancelled. On the first six months' gross profit of $1,090, that is a difference of $55: Copier B receives $545 instead of $600 in profit share for the half-year and, on this master and these terms, nothing more. The Package Terms shown at confirmation set out the exact treatment for the package you choose; the principle is always that the bonus rewards completing the term.
What stopping early does not cost is the investment or the standard profit. Copier B does not lose the $5,000, and does not lose the 50% that a standard copier would have received. The penalty is the bonus, no more.
The alternative to stopping: changing
If Copier B's reason for stopping is the master rather than the money, there is a better move. Change master moves the package — term, bonus and all — to a different master. The July change would settle six months' profit at 55%, keep the package, and continue the remaining term with the new master. The bonus is only forfeited by leaving the platform's copy entirely, not by leaving a particular trader.
The lock is on the master, not the money
A detail worth stating plainly: the package locks the allocation to a master, not your account. Your other wallets are untouched, your other copies are untouched, and the locked amount is still in your Copy Wallet — earmarked, visible on the wallet page as locked, and moved back to unlocked the day the term ends. What you give up is the ability to pull that allocation out early without losing the bonus, and the ability to sit in cash with it. What you keep is everything else, including the ability to change the master it is locked with. People sometimes read "locked" as "gone"; it is neither gone nor inaccessible in an emergency — stopping is always possible — it is simply committed, and the bonus is the price of walking away from the commitment.
When the package is worth it
- The master has a record longer than the term you are committing to, and it includes a bad month.
- The allocation is money you are certain you will not need during the term.
- You would follow this master on a standard copy anyway; the package is the bonus on a decision already made.
When it is not
- A master you have followed for a few weeks. The bonus does not compensate for committing to an untested record.
- Money that might be needed. The bonus is 5% of profit; an emergency is 100% of the allocation.
- Any situation where the package is the reason to follow. Then it is the wrong reason.
The smaller packages
The three-month and six-month packages carry smaller bonuses for shorter promises. The same arithmetic applies: on the year above, a three-month package at +0.5% would add about $11 per quarter; a six-month at +2% about $43 per half-year. They suit copiers who want to test the discipline of a term before committing to a long one — and they suit money that is available for months rather than a year.
A twelve-month package on a good year is worth about a tenth more profit. Stopping early costs the bonus, not the capital. Changing master keeps it. Commit to a record, not to a promise — and to a term you will keep.
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.