Hedgemere Group
In copy trading, almost everyone claims to have "verified" results. The difference between a screenshot and an independent audit is not a nuance: it is the difference between a claim and a check. This is what an external firm actually reviews.
What an independent audit reviews
A performance audit does not look at the chart the trader publishes. It works from the source: the official broker statements, trade by trade. The audit firm rebuilds the equity curve from the raw data and checks that what is published matches what was executed.
A serious review checks at least four things: that the accounts are live and not demo, that the period is complete with no stretches removed, that the declared capital matches the recorded deposits and withdrawals, and that the derived metrics — return, drawdown, profit factor — are recalculated from scratch instead of being taken at face value.
An audit and live tracking are not the same thing
This is the point that causes the most confusion. They are two different controls answering two different questions, and neither replaces the other.
| Independent audit | Live tracking | |
|---|---|---|
| What it certifies | The closed track record, verified against broker statements | Open trading activity, published in real time |
| Who does it | An external audit firm | A platform connected to the account in read-only mode |
| Frequency | One-off, over a defined period | Continuous, as long as the account stays connected |
| Weak point | It says nothing about what is happening today | It does not rebuild the past before the connection |
That is why it makes sense to demand both. For a false figure to reach you, two independent entities with different methodologies would have to fail at the same time and agree on the same error.
Three signs of real verification
The auditor has a name and can be traced. "Third-party audited" without saying by whom means nothing. The firm should be identifiable and, ideally, the certificate should be available to consult.
The period is clearly bounded. An audit covers specific dates and specific accounts. If they are not specified, there is nothing to check.
The negative figures are there too. A report that only publishes the best year is not an audit, it is marketing material. The maximum drawdown, the losing months and the weak periods have to be in there.
What an audit does not prove
It is worth being clear about this. An audit proves that a track record happened as described. It does not prove that it will happen again. A five-year audited track record greatly reduces the chance that you are looking at luck or at fraud, but it does not remove market risk and does not guarantee future results.
Verification is there to rule out what is not real. What is real still carries risk, and the published drawdown is the best clue as to how much.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Myfxbook screenshot an audit?
No. An account connected to a tracking platform proves that the trading is real and ongoing, which is valuable, but it is not an audit: nobody has reviewed the broker statements or certified the full period.
Can an audited track record be faked?
It is far harder, because the audit firm works from the official broker statements and not from whatever the trader hands over. Adding a second layer of live tracking makes it harder still.
How much track record is enough?
There is no magic number, but a period that covers several different market conditions says far more than a short, favorable one. A track record that spans full cycles is more informative than twelve excellent months.
What should I do if a provider does not publish who audits it?
Treat it as unaudited. The absence of the auditor's name is, in itself, the answer.
Check the figures for yourself
Every QuantBy strategy publishes its independent audit and its live tracking. You do not have to take our word for it: it is there for you to check.