Popular Investors

Written by Mike Druttman

Fact checked by Nick Zelver

Updated Feb, 2025

You’ve spent years perfecting your trading strategy. You’ve managed market swings, spotted undervalued gems, and built a portfolio that consistently delivers. Now, what if you could turn that expertise into something profitable—without managing client accounts, selling courses, or joining a hedge fund?

That's eToro’s Popular Investor Program, a new opportunity for skilled traders to share their strategies with a global audience of 30 million investors—and get paid as others copy their moves.

What Is the Popular Investor Program?

The Popular Investor Program lets experienced traders showcase their investment skills on eToro. Other users can then copy their trades in real time to mirror their portfolio.

This setup is a win-win:

• For Copiers: Investors who lack time or experience can tap into the expertise of seasoned traders, skipping years of trial and error.
• For Popular Investors: Traders get monthly payments based on their assets under copy (AUC) and gain recognition within the trading community.

It’s social trading at its best—where finance meets influence, and smart investors build both their portfolio and reputation.

Why Become a Popular Investor?

Being part of the program comes with serious perks:

• You Earn Monthly Payments: You get 1.5% annually on your AUC, distributed every month. If you're a top-tier trader, this can be a significant revenue stream.
• You Enjoy Global Exposure: eToro’s massive user base means millions of potential copiers (that's over 30 million!) so you increase your reach far beyond traditional investing.
• You Get Better Credibility: eToro’s brand recognition adds instant legitimacy to your trading skills and you can use this to attract followers.
• You're Given Exclusive Benefits: You get access to premium tools, insights, and VIP events. All of these are designed to support high-level trading success.

Program Tiers: How It Works

The Popular Investor Program is structured into four levels, each with its own requirements and rewards:

Who are Top Traders on eToro?

The platform is home to numerous high-performing traders, offering a rich pool of talent for users to explore. If you're specifically looking to follow and emulate the most successful traders, this broker provides easy access to these top-tier investors.

Their profiles, marked by distinctive star colors, guide users in selecting traders who have demonstrated consistent success and expertise in their trading strategies. This feature simplifies the process of finding and learning from the best in this expansive social investment network.

How to Follow and Copy Popular Investors on eToro

Thinking about copying successful investors on eToro? Smart move. This guide walks you through the entire process—step by step.

But first, make sure you have an active, verified eToro account. If you don’t, open an account here and fund it with at least $200—the minimum amount required to copy a trader.

Once you get that sorted then we can get started.

Step 1: Log in to Your eToro Account

You can do this through the web-based platform or the mobile app. Make sure your account is verified, so there are no interruptions when you’re ready to start copying.

Step 2: Explore Popular Investors

Now, head over to the "Discover" or "Copy People" section. This is where you’ll find traders ranked by their performance, risk level, trading style, and other important factors.

Personal Tip: Use the filters. Want a low-risk investor? Prefer a long-term strategy? Set your criteria and narrow down the list.

Step 3: Choose an Investor to Copy

Before you commit, do your homework. Click on an investor’s profile and check out:

• Performance stats: Are they consistently profitable?
• Trading history: How long have they been active?
• Portfolio composition: What assets are they trading?
• Risk score: Are they taking big risks, or do they play it safe?

Once you’ve found an investor that matches with your goals, click on their profile to check further.

Step 4: Initiate the Copy Process

Found your ideal investor? Now it’s time to copy their trades. Click the “Copy” button on their profile and enter the amount you want to allocate (minimum $200). Decide if you want to copy their existing open trades—check or uncheck the “Copy Open Trades” box.

Optional: Set a stop-loss level to manage risk. This feature lets you cap potential losses so you don’t lose more than you’re comfortable with.

Once you’re happy with your settings, click "Copy."

Step 5: Confirm and Start Copying

That’s it—you’re now mirroring the investor’s trades in real time. Your portfolio will automatically adjust as they trade, in proportion to the amount you invested.

Step 6: Monitor and Manage Your Copy Portfolio

Copying an investor doesn’t mean you set it and forget it. You can always track performance, adjust funds, or stop copying altogether if needed.

To manage your copy portfolio, go to the Portfolio section and check how your copied traders are performing. Take note that you can add or withdraw funds as needed, and you can even pause or stop copying an investor anytime.

Here are some of my personal tips so you can get the most out of copying a popular investor

• Diversify: Copy multiple investors with different strategies to reduce risk.
• Keep Updated: Check in regularly to see how your chosen traders are performing. If their strategy no longer matches with your goals, don’t be afraid to make changes.
• Interact in the Community: eToro isn’t just a platform—it’s a social trading network. Ask questions, share your experiences or findings, and learn from other traders to sharpen your own investment knowledge.

Copy trading on eToro is an excellent way to learn from experienced investors and potentially grow your portfolio. Just make sure you pick the right traders, monitor your investments, and stay Interactd.

Now, go ahead—start checking out the "Copy People" section and find your ideal investor!

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.

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

This communication is intended for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or investment recommendation. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice.  The value of your investments may go up or down.  Your capital is at risk.

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which hasbeen prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.