Professional Trader-Focused UK Prop Firm YCM-Invest Struggles with 2023 Revenue

YCM-Invest, a UK-regulated prop firm catering exclusively to professional clients, reported a sharp decline in its 2023 revenue, which dropped to £327,924 from the previous year’s £767,220. As revealed in the latest Companies House filing, this represents a revenue decline of 57.3 per cent.

Focused on Professional Traders Only

The company emphasised that it does not accept retail clients and exclusively provides prop trading services to professional traders who must meet at least two of the following three criteria:

• Trading statements showing more than 40 significant trades in the last quarter.
• A CV or LinkedIn profile demonstrating at least a year of professional experience in the relevant market.
• Evidence of financial instruments exceeding EUR 500,000.

“YCM-Invest is now offering a new type of managed account for investors, where investor funds are allocated to the Portfolio Managers’ accounts of high-performing traders who use YCM-Invest’s brokerage services,” the filing stated.

“Traders who generate profit for our investors using their trading strategies receive up to 15 per cent of that profit. This arrangement makes our brokerage platform an even more attractive option for successful traders, as it allows them to benefit further from the trading strategies they employ in correlation with the success of their trades.”

The platform also generates revenue through spreads and commissions for trading services.

Despite the revenue decline, the company’s cost of sales also increased, resulting in a gross loss of £86,421 compared to a profit of £314,310 in the previous year. Additionally, administrative expenses amounted to £456,060, which pushed the net loss for the year to £542,481. This was a significant increase from the net loss of £95,384 recorded in 2022.

Leading Retail Prop Firms Are Thriving

Unlike other well-known prop firms, YCM-Invest is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Its business model also differs from retail-focused prop trading firms, which mainly provide demo account trading services.

While YCM-Invest is grappling with revenue and profit challenges, Czech Republic-based FTMO, one of the oldest prop firms in the retail space, generated $213 million in revenue in 2023.