Modern Trader

October 10, 2023

In the original Modern Trader report, we challenged the common assumption that traders live luxurious city lifestyles when we uncovered that the majority of traders earn a modest household income of less than £35k per year. In 2018, the stereotype continues to fall further from reality. In the last 12 months, the average household income of online traders has dropped even lower, and our data suggests that less than 5% of modern traders actually live in a major financial city.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Since 2013, we’ve collected data on over half a million traders to produce one of the most comprehensive studies on traders’ demographics and behavior. You can access the entire report for free.

Highlights from the report:

1 in 7 online traders are female (up from 1 in 10 in 2017)
Less than 5% of traders live in a major financial city
4.3 Million people have started trading in the past year
The UK has the most online traders in Europe (1 in 100 Brits have traded online)
Herefordshire has the highest percentage of female traders (21.82%) in the UK
Millennials represent 58% of all online traders
The average British trader earns £35,742 per year
Less than 1% of online traders in the UK earn more than £75,000
Females deposit $424 less than males on average
The percentage of women traders who preferred trading cryptocurrencies compared to traditional instruments has increased from 41% to 59% in the past year

You can read the full report (and access the appendix data) here.

How does this compare to 2017?

Want to read the original Modern Trader Report? You can access the 2017 report. In 2017, we also produced a visualisation of the 9.6 Million online traders represented as 100 people, which you can see below.

Journalists & bloggers: You are welcome to reference & reuse any of the data, statistics, or images from the report. All we ask is that you credit BrokerNotes as the source with a link.

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Methodology

At BrokerNotes.co, our data-driven online broker reviews are based on our extensive testing of brokers, platforms, products, technologies, and third-party trading tools. Our product testing extends to the quality and availability of educational content, market research resources, and the accessibility and capabilities of mobile platforms and trading apps. We also dive into each broker’s trading costs, such as VIP rebates, inactivity fees, custody fees, bid/ask spreads, and other fee-based data points.

Steven Hatzakis, an industry veteran with decades of experience in the forex market, leads the BrokerNotes research team. All BrokerNotes content is researched, fact-checked, and edited by the research team.

All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser. Our Desktop PCs run Windows 11, and we use MacBook Pro laptops running the latest version of macOS to test trading on the go. We test mobile apps and products using iPhones running iOS 17 and Samsung devices running Android OS 14.

Note: The online brokers on our site provide the ability to trade forex in one or more ways, such as non-deliverable spot forex (i.e., rolling spot contracts), contracts for difference (CFD), or other derivatives such as futures. The availability of specific markets or features will depend on your country of residence and the broker's applicable brand or entity that services your account(s).

Forex Risk Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Learn more about foreign exchange risk.

About the Editorial Team

BrokerNotes.co provides unbiased forex broker reviews and ratings to help traders and investors find the best broker for their needs. All content is researched, fact-checked, and edited by our research team and all ratings and rankings are based on the team’s in-depth product testing.