I made millions trading forex from 2001 - 2008 and then retired (discussion thread)

I have never spoken about this. First let me just say,

  1. I’m 100% for real. Just ignore this thread if you’re going to call me a liar or ask for bank statements. I’m not soliciting anything from anyone. If I was, then due diligence to the max should be done!

  2. I’m not looking for anything from anyone. In fact I’ve long retired from forex and have no plans to ever get back in.

  3. This is not to brag, rather it’s a brain dump of sorts and to get some questions that I’ve had over the years answered.

  4. I am trying to maintain some anonymity since I’m not even sure if everything I did was “legal”, since it was so easy, although I’m 99% sure it was. That’s 1 reason for this post - to get some questions answered.

Ok, so simply put, what I did was arbitrage the market by going long on high interest trades (carry trades) via US-based brokers and shorting the same trades at places that didn’t charge rollover (aka Shariah trading via Muslim banks). Living in Southeast Asia I have had access to several of those banks. So essentially it was free money, although I had to balance things out making constant deposits and withdrawals.

I uploaded 1 of my statements from 1 of my accounts - postimg.org/image/5c0q5d6nb/ - that was $250,000 in profit in 2006 from 1 of the brokerages - I blacked out personal identifying information.

I will post a ton more proof if requested, but only if I can know factually that I did nothing wrong whatsoever. Who needs problems. In any event, my last trade was 5 years ago and a few of these brokerages have been sold/ merged. In 2008 when the markets crashed, things became way too volatile, I was stopped out a few times for the first time in 8 years, lost some money in the process (first month in 8 years where I actually lost money) and decided to call it quits.

Since then, interest differences have diminished and it no longer makes sense to get back in even if I wanted to, which I don’t. Ok, so a few questions…

  1. Did I do anything wrong/ illegal here? I really don’t think so. The reason I ask is because it was so easy to make all this money I felt something was off - people work 50 hour weeks while I was doing nothing, just playing on the computer and accummulating a ton of cash.

  2. I’ve lost/ thrown away a lot of my statements since I felt I may have been doing something wrong and the money could be taken away by the brokers/banks if they figured out I was making riskless profits. Consequently, I now have a bunch of money that I can’t really explain how I got.

I have it divided in several banks, bought a few properties, gold, silver etc but just in case the authorities figure out all my bank accounts, properties and safe deposit boxes, they will know some 28 year old has several million dollars, and this is a country where salaries are 10% of the US so the money is worth far more. How would I explain it?

I highly doubt anyone could put it all together, cuz I have accounts in a few different countries and properties in a few countries, I have diversified as much as as I can, but I always wondered if I would ever get a knock on the door, since I’ve never worked a job a day in my life and don’t have to. I just play games on the computer, watch torrents, youtube, gym, a whole lot of nothing basically, while everyone else works 50 hours a week for very little money. It seems like I’m “cheating” or something. So, opinions please?

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484084”]I have never spoken about this. First let me just say,

  1. I’m 100% for real. Just ignore this thread if you’re going to call me a liar or ask for bank statements. I’m not soliciting anything from anyone. If I was, then due diligence to the max should be done!

  2. I’m not looking for anything from anyone. In fact I’ve long retired from forex and have no plans to ever get back in.

  3. This is not to brag, rather it’s a brain dump of sorts and to get some questions that I’ve had over the years answered.

  4. I am trying to maintain some anonymity since I’m not even sure if everything I did was “legal”, since it was so easy, although I’m 99% sure it was. That’s 1 reason for this post - to get some questions answered.

Ok, so simply put, what I did was arbitrage the market by going long on high interest trades (carry trades) via US-based brokers and shorting the same trades at places that didn’t charge rollover (aka Shariah trading via Muslim banks). Living in Southeast Asia I have had access to several of those banks. So essentially it was free money, although I had to balance things out making constant deposits and withdrawals.

I uploaded 1 of my statements from 1 of my accounts - postimg.org/image/5c0q5d6nb/ - that was $250,000 in profit in 2006 from 1 of the brokerages - I blacked out personal identifying information.

I will post a ton more proof if requested, but only if I can know factually that I did nothing wrong whatsoever. Who needs problems. In any event, my last trade was 5 years ago and a few of these brokerages have been sold/ merged. In 2008 when the markets crashed, things became way too volatile, I was stopped out a few times for the first time in 8 years, lost some money in the process (first month in 8 years where I actually lost money) and decided to call it quits.

Since then, interest differences have diminished and it no longer makes sense to get back in even if I wanted to, which I don’t. Ok, so a few questions…

  1. Did I do anything wrong/ illegal here? I really don’t think so. The reason I ask is because it was so easy to make all this money I felt something was off - people work 50 hour weeks while I was doing nothing, just playing on the computer and accummulating a ton of cash.

  2. I’ve lost/ thrown away a lot of my statements since I felt I may have been doing something wrong and the money could be taken away by the brokers/banks if they figured out I was making riskless profits. Consequently, I now have a bunch of money that I can’t really explain how I got.

I have it divided in several banks, bought a few properties, gold, silver etc but just in case the authorities figure out all my bank accounts, properties and safe deposit boxes, they will know some 28 year old has several million dollars, and this is a country where salaries are 10% of the US so the money is worth far more. How would I explain it?

I highly doubt anyone could put it all together, cuz I have accounts in a few different countries and properties in a few countries, I have diversified as much as as I can, but I always wondered if I would ever get a knock on the door, since I’ve never worked a job a day in my life and don’t have to. I just play games on the computer, watch torrents, youtube, gym, a whole lot of nothing basically, while everyone else works 50 hours a week for very little money. It seems like I’m “cheating” or something. So, opinions please?[/QUOTE]

Yeh… I’ve seen this done. I don’t think you can do it anymore on a large scale though. I’ve done some pretty extensive research recently regarding doing exactly what you mention, the brokers that I’ve seen that don’t charge swap have clauses in their agreements that clearly state they will close your account if they suspect you are doing this.

Lol so you were the guy who ruined it for the rest of us huh?

And no… This isn’t illegal.

Which pair were you trading, and what leverage were you using?

I wonder if they have the right to seize the money after closing the account or if you get everything back.

I did mainly GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY

GBP/JPY was higher profits - as you can see - postimg.org/image/5c0q5d6nb/

400:1 leverage which was the max just so very little “used margin” but obviously I didn’t overload on trades. Back then the interest difference was 6% or 7%, now it’s less than 1% I think. Not worth the risk anymore.

Life’s quite boring… I don’t know what to do with my time… any advice?

Hey ex trader, you didnt do anything illegal, you just took advantage of the moment when interest rates were favourable… Dont worry about it, nothing illegal, enjoy your money - you earned it lawfully after all!

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484092”]

I wonder if they have the right to seize the money after closing the account or if you get everything back.

I did mainly GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY

GBP/JPY was higher profits - as you can see - postimg.org/image/5c0q5d6nb/

400:1 leverage which was the max just so very little “used margin” but obviously I didn’t overload on trades. Back then the interest difference was 6% or 7%, now it’s less than 1% I think. Not worth the risk anymore.

Life’s quite boring… I don’t know what to do with my time… any advice?[/QUOTE]

Yeh you need a challenge… If I made my money already and wasn’t interested in trading anymore I would be training for the Olympics… Or some other very physically demanding activity.

They couldn’t seize the money legally in the US… But working with non-US brokers that are unregulated and in another country, it could get dicey.

I just play games on the computer, watch torrents, youtube, gym, a whole lot of nothing basically, while everyone else works 50 hours a week for very little money. It seems like I’m “cheating” or something. So, opinions please?

Life’s quite boring… I don’t know what to do with my time… any advice?

Living in Southeast Asia

It almost sounds like you feel guilty for being so successful. If you feel like it would ease your conscience, have you ever considered using your time and wealth to help others? Maybe start a charity or something like that. Having spent a fair amount of time South East Asia myself (wife’s Thai), I know there’s certainly enough people looking for help???

First off congrats. But in the beginning of your post you said we would have to take your word then you say you will post proof. Wander what that is if you tossed your account statements. Also if you used different brokers they have different price feeds and spreads (but if you were doing it long term I guess it could work). Also how much did you start out with? Roll over will not make you millions on a small account. Also you say interest rates are not what they used to be well I will call BS there. Take a look at AUD/USD since 2008 USA dropped interest rates to practically nonexistent while AUD has stayed pretty much the same. Not sure what you are talking about there but I will leave it alone I was not trading in 2008.

Also if you bought into a rollover trade with 2 different accounts how are you going to show profit on just one account (would the other not be hedgeing those profits?)? There are a lot of other holes in this story but I will leave it at that. Good luck I will not be following you

Also none of your images work (why am i not surprised)

No, I tried helping a few people on a small scale (hundred dollars here hundred dollars there), and my conclusion is the more you help someone the more they try to take advantage. There’s no gratitude, at least with the people I tried to help. Besides I’m 28 and will need my money for the future. It’s a guilt which I know I shouldn’t feel - so I’m trying to shake it off somehow lol.

[QUOTE=“bobmaninc;484104”]First off congrats. But in the beginning of your post you said we would have to take your word then you say you will post proof. Wander what that is if you tossed your account statements. Also if you used different brokers they have different price feeds and spreads (but if you were doing it long term I guess it could work). Also how much did you start out with? Roll over will not make you millions on a small account. Also you say interest rates are not what they used to be well I will call BS there. Take a look at AUD/USD since 2008 USA dropped interest rates to practically nonexistent while AUD has stayed pretty much the same. Not sure what you are talking about there but I will leave it alone I was not trading in 2008.

Also if you bought into a rollover trade with 2 different accounts how are you going to show profit on just one account (would the other not be hedgeing those profits?)? There are a lot of other holes in this story but I will leave it at that. Good luck I will not be following you[/QUOTE]

Interest rate differential was 7% between audjpy pre 2008… Now it’s 3% so yes it’s much less effective now.

Aud interest have dropped from 7 to 3 % so it’s not “pretty much the same”.

With 400:1 leverage one can make a killing (theoretically) doing this arbitrage.

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484107”]

No, I tried helping a few people on a small scale (hundred dollars here hundred dollars there), and my conclusion is the more you help someone the more they try to take advantage. There’s no gratitude, at least with the people I tried to help. Besides I’m 28 and will need my money for the future. It’s a guilt which I know I shouldn’t feel - so I’m trying to shake it off somehow lol.[/QUOTE]

You are 28? So you started doing this when you were 16…?

Is your name Aaron per chance?


I attached the image I posted… it’s 1 of the few I saved. By proof I meant bank statements not trading statements but I’ve decided why bother, either believe me or don’t, no skin off my back. All the best. :slight_smile:

Think I got my questions answered so I’ll probably be gone soon, who needs the negativity.

Yeah, that’s why I’ve never worked at a job. I want to work for just 1 day to see what it’s like… don’t think I’d enjoy it though. Who’s Aaron?

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484114”]

Yeah, that’s why I’ve never worked at a job. I want to work for just 1 day to see what it’s like… don’t think I’d enjoy it though. Who’s Aaron?[/QUOTE]

Lol… Ill take the non-denial as an admission to you being Aaron.

Whatever you say. :33:

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484118”]

Whatever you say. :33:[/QUOTE]

Uh huh… You need to work on your stories a bit more.

Think my work here is done…

  1. Ascertain I did nothing wrong/illegal - check!

  2. Brag a bit since I can’t tell anyone who knows me the truth or I’ll have to deal with a kidnap situation - check!

All the best peeps. :smiley:

EDIT: Wait, my other question - how do I explain in case, in the 1% chance of this happening, to the relevant authorities how I got my money? The idiots in uniform here probably wouldn’t even know what “forex trading” means, plus the non-availability of all my statements… hmm… :19:

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484120”]Think my work here is done…

  1. Ascertain I did nothing wrong/illegal - check!

  2. Brag a bit since I can’t tell anyone who knows me the truth or I’ll have to deal with a kidnap situation - check!

All the best peeps. :D[/QUOTE]

Cya Akeakami, aquapips, johncarpainter, Artvandalay, Etc.

I edited my post. :cool:

[QUOTE=“retiredfxtrader;484122”]

I edited my post. :cool:[/QUOTE]

Your Canadian accent would obviously make them suspicious… Your best bet would be to bribe them with some beaver pelts and say your sorry…

Maybe I could get my statements from the brokers… CMS, IFX, GFT, Oanda, FXCM, FXDD, IB, … took em all to the cleaners for 8 years. :18:

They’re all bucketshops by the way. You should see how they manipulated rates during news announcements. Complete creeps.