What Percentage of Forex Traders Lose Money?

Across EU regulatory data, 74% to 89% of retail CFD accounts — the category that includes leveraged spot forex — lose money, with average losses of roughly EUR 1,600 to EUR 29,000 per client (ESMA and national competent authority analyses). Forex trading is high-risk and the clear majority of retail accounts lose. Research and education only — not financial advice.

The short answer

Across the European Union's regulatory record, 74% to 89% of retail CFD accounts — the category that includes leveraged spot forex — lose money, with average losses running from roughly EUR 1,600 to EUR 29,000 per client (ESMA and national competent authority analyses). That is not a survey or a marketing figure; it is drawn from brokers' own client data, collected under a rule that forces the numbers into the open. In forex specifically, the mechanics that produce those losses — spread, leverage, and macro shocks — are, if anything, harsher than in the broader CFD pool.

Key numbers at a glance

Broker figures are reported disclosures that update quarterly over a trailing 12 months; the values shown reflect disclosures published as of 2026 and change each quarter.

Why the EU number is a range, not one figure

The 74%-89% band comes from ESMA and national competent authority analyses of retail CFD accounts across EU jurisdictions. It is a range because the loss rate genuinely differs by country, by product mix, and by period — no single percentage captures every market. What every study inside that band agrees on is the direction: the clear majority of retail CFD and forex accounts lose money over the window measured, and the average loss per client is counted in the thousands of euros, from about EUR 1,600 to EUR 29,000 depending on the sample (ESMA and national competent authority analyses).

The rule that makes brokers publish their own loss rate

Here is the part most traders never hear. Under ESMA's product-intervention framework, every CFD broker serving retail clients must publish its own percentage of losing retail accounts, recalculated quarterly over a trailing 12-month window and displayed prominently on its marketing. That is why you see lines like "a majority of retail investor accounts lose money" on brokerage sites — it is not voluntary candor, it is a mandated, standardized disclosure (ESMA).

We think that rule is quietly one of the better consumer-protection ideas in modern finance, because it forces the uncomfortable number to sit right next to the advertisement. It is also the exact principle this site is built on: publish the losing number, keep it current, and let people judge for themselves.

What individual brokers report

Because the disclosure is standardized, you can read it broker by broker. As reported and updated quarterly, roughly 68% of CMC Markets UK retail accounts and roughly 68% of IG UK retail accounts lose money, while about 71% of IG International retail accounts do (broker disclosures; figures update quarterly, as of 2026). These are the firms' own published figures, not our estimates — and even at the lower end of that reported range, more than two in three retail accounts are underwater.

The UK protection picture

Regulators have responded to these numbers with structural guardrails rather than advice. In late 2025 the UK Financial Conduct Authority reported that its retail CFD protections — chiefly negative-balance protection and leverage caps — prevent about 400,000 people per year from risking more than their initial stake (FCA, late 2025). That figure is not a claim that those traders profit; it is a floor under how much they can lose, and it signals how large and how loss-prone the retail CFD population is.

How to read these numbers

A few caveats keep this honest:

• "Lose money" is measured over a window, typically a trailing 12 months. It counts accounts in the red at measurement, not every individual trade.
• Ranges reflect real differences, not vagueness — jurisdiction, leverage rules, and product mix all move the rate.
• Broker figures are self-reported under a standard method and refresh quarterly, so the exact percentage a firm shows may differ slightly from the ~68%-71% reported here.
• None of this predicts your result. A population statistic is not a forecast for one trader, in either direction. Trading is high-risk and most retail accounts lose.

Sources & method

The EU loss range and average-loss figures come from ESMA and national competent authority analyses of retail CFD accounts. The per-broker percentages are the firms' own ESMA-mandated disclosures (CMC Markets, IG), which update quarterly over a trailing 12 months; those are reported values as of 2026. The 400,000 figure is from the UK FCA (late 2025). We have used only the published figures above and have not adjusted or "improved" them. This page is education and research only, not financial advice, and nothing here is a promise about any individual outcome.

Common questions

Last updated 2026-07-15 · ClaudeQuantAlgo Research Desk · research and education only.

Disclosures. ClaudeQuantAlgo is a research and education community. Nothing on this page constitutes financial, investment, legal, or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or derivative. No profit promises are made, ever — trading stocks, options, and forex involves substantial risk of loss; options positions can lose 100% of their value. The public scoreboard reflects a model ("paper") desk — no real money. Past performance — real, paper, or simulated — never guarantees future results. Hypothetical and simulated results have inherent limitations and no representation is made that any account will or is likely to achieve similar profits or losses. ClaudeQuantAlgo is not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions. Never risk money you cannot afford to lose.