Results of traders on the Forex market for 2022 [KNF Report]

Polish Financial Supervision Authority published a report that compiles statistics on clients of Polish brokers on the Forex market for 2022. This data is made public every year, and its history dates back to 2018. What are the conclusions of the report and what can we find in it? More on that below.

Record profit and record loss for traders

At the beginning it should be noted that they are included in the statistics only traders trading with Polish brokers, although this applies to both Polish and foreign residents (e.g. Ukrainian citizens trading with a Polish broker, as well as foreign clients XTB, which operates in many countries). Report do not contain any data regarding the results on the accounts of Polish traders conducting transactions with foreign brokers.

The table below immediately catches your eye huge realized profit, which amounted to over PLN 519 million – this is almost 5 times more than in 2019 (!). The average profit per customer also jumped significantly to a record PLN 17. But just look below and the enthusiasm will fade away. The same statistical group lost nearly PLN 2 billion during the same period. The average loss also increased and amounted to PLN -17 per customer.

Forex trader results for 2022

Source: KNF report

What is very impressive is the increase in the number of active customers. Statistics include total over 142 thousand traders. This is over 30 more compared to 2021. And now the most interesting information from the table. The percentage of customers who suffered a loss was 79,1% – with a huge statistical sample. This is the worst result since the beginning of data collection, i.e. since 2018. This result is as much as 7,2 percentage points worse than in 2021 and practically the same (difference -0,2%) as in 2018.

At the same time, it must be remembered that 2022 was quite dynamic. Popular instruments among Polish traders such as EURUSD or DAX, were characterized by relatively high variability and a significant change in the trend around the third quarter. Compared to 2021, it was pure madness. That is why the percentage of those earning money in the previous year could have been so high (28,1%).

EURUSD and DAX charts with the period 2022 marked, W1 interval. Source: xNUMX XTB.

Why aren't results improving?

The KNF report also contains a second table presenting the results of traders on the Forex market for 2022, but covering only Polish residents, where the data is compared to the years 2020 and 2021. What will we find in it? Practically the same as in the previous table, only on a smaller scale. The realized profit and the average profit per customer increased (in both cases by almost +50%). The realized loss was a record and increased by over +70%, and the percentage of people who suffered a loss exceeded 78% - and was also a record.

Source: KNF report

It's worth asking yourself: why results are not improving since from ESMA product intervention, which limited leverage, brokers' marketing activities and unified risk warning regulations. The answer suggests itself - that wasn't the problem.

On the other hand, the belief that less than 5% make money on Forex. In the KNF report, we see that this percentage is over 4 times higher. And that should be good news. What it comes from? First of all, remember that +1 PLN is also a profit that is included in the statistics. But in practice it would be more honest to say that such a person "doesn't make money". Another element is the fact that a year in the world of investments is not that long at all. For a trader, what matters is long-term profit, not one-time, often accidental success.

On the other hand, we see a huge increase in interest in investing in... Forex market. The number of traders has increased 4 times in 4-5 years. As a rule, beginners experience losses because acquiring specific knowledge and skills, developing a strategy and, above all, gaining experience requires time and energy. But there is never a guarantee that it will go in the right direction and that they will not stay in the group for good "losing".

The full text of the KNF report can be found here here.