In the school of pipsology i read a lot about not being greedy and so on.
Yet forex gives a lot of opportunities for big profits if done right.
What profit ratio are you guys looking for /year?
For example on stocks 15% on year basis is a decent return are you guys looking for more or is this also about the number to look for?
There is no exact percentage return to suggest as is varies depending on the risk appetite of the trader using the system in question.
I know of a few successful FX accounts (retail accounts, not to be confused with commercial accounts where the return is less for various reason) where by average monthly returns vary from 5% to 15%. Looking at these accounts, and the draw-down to date, the returns could have been increased to 25%+ per month with out ever loosing more than 50% of the account at any given time. However you have to be very efficient and experienced to constantly achieve these returns.
Okay thank you for the estimates, but you are talking 5% on a monthly basis i was talking 15 percent on a yearly basis, so you’re still going for about 60% , well it is a LOT more time intensive than normal stocks without leverage 
Sure, 5% a month is more in line with institutional funds. Retail FX trading is different.
5% to10% return expectation is not a unrealistic , So much profits are not possible in forex until we are not experienced and skilled trader. I am making 7% profit on monthly basis. Most of the traders want to double their account in one day. Slow and regular profits are much better than high profits one time.
In the first years I believe it’s a great performance if we don’t lose money or have heart-attack-inducing equity swings. :51:
It really depends on your trading strategy and the market environment. I guess you could set a goal for yourself (say, 1-2% per week) and focus on following your system, managing risk properly, and aiming for consistency then you should be able to make it to large yearly returns.
All answers above are great! Like what was already said, it depends on how much you are willing to risk per trade. Many traders combine trend trading with a fixed risk of 1-2% per trade or an amount they are comfortable with losing. For example, if you have $1000 in your account, you would risk $10-$20 per trade. Combine this with a good risk:reward and pip positioning creates an advantageous scenario.
For example, if I do 10 trades in which the max amount I would lose is $10 per trade and the max amount I could make is $20 per trade, then if I only win 50% of the time, I would still end up with a profit! 5 losses = (105) = -50 and 5 Wins = (205) = 100. This would equal a profit of (-50 + 100) = $50. That $50 is a (50/1000) = 5% return on investment.
It depends on your strategy, risk, MM, etc. As a trader, my returns varied from 1% to 5% and days when it even went higher…prb around ten to fifteen per month on an average. But as others have pointed out, it all depends on your strategy, so would suggest that you start small and move on from there…good luck
It comes down to the trader’s performance and there is no exact %, it can be from 12%-35% per year.
For a new beginning trader it is most important to focus on reaching consistency and not to pay attention on returns. Once you’ll become consistent than you can focus more on your performance improving and bigger returns.
nevermind.
That’s for a fairly passive “investor”, though, isn’t it, rather than for an active “trader”?
Full-time institutional traders are generally expected to achieve around 5-6% per month, with strict risk management, so I think that’s quite a good overall target for an active trader, even if not always quite achieved.
I look at trading as being primarily about risk-control, though, rather than about profit maximisation, so for me “avoiding losses” is always the primary target.
When I sit down to begin trading each day, my primary responsibility [U]isn’t[/U] actually “to make money”: it’s just to be able to sit down and begin trading again the next day. I make a living, if I concentrate on that.
DO not ask me why, Lexy, but I just saw this in my mind’s eye as I read your sentence 
I agree with him.
NOT sure WHY, you’ve seen that video, lol, JK
Erm… I am old enough,
I suppose
:18:
[B]Hello to the O.P.
Having seen the ‘expected returns’ coming up a lot on Newbie Island, I put the question to
Merlin Rothfeld (and his currencies guest Tim Pessut) yesterday; they answered it live on
air… Watch this from 19’08’’:
[/B]
Power Trading Radio Video Archives | Tuesday, August 11, 2015
It depends on the Market behavior/timing in Stock investments. Some trades can make 50% in few days but some take over a year for 10-20%…
As in most other businesses, expect to lose money in your first year.
If you break even or make a small profit, that’s a bonus
It depends on your account capital. The bigger the capital less return will be fine, on smaller capital you need to generate higher percentages of profit which is likely difficult as you may lose your rhythm of trading while trying to do this.