Research · educational simulation
Were Practice Traders in Profit?: PaperTrade Snapshot, 6 October 2026
166 practice investors in the StockEducation simulator. Together they were up in simulated money, yet most individual accounts were not. Here is the data, the method and the limits.
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Main finding first
What the Study Found, and Its Limits
The headline result and how to read it, before the detail.
Finding
In a snapshot of 166 tracked practice accounts on 6 October 2026, 77 were in profit (46%) and 89 were not.
What Kind of Data
Observed results from virtual portfolios in the $1M simulator. Simulated trades with no real money, from accounts that chose to be tracked.
Limits
One date, self selected accounts and no real costs or emotions. Practice results do not predict real money returns.
Were Most Practice Traders in Profit?
No. In the 6 October 2026 snapshot of the StockEducation simulator, 77 of 166 tracked practice investors were in profit, which is 46.4%. The group as a whole was up $1,820,754.33 in simulated money, but accounts below their starting balance were down a combined $2,719,554.44. The average account return was 1.10% and the best was 20.694%. These are simulated results with virtual money, from a self selected group, so they say nothing about real money returns.
Author: Felix La Spina · Snapshot 6 October 2026 · Method checked 7 October 2026
- In profit77 of 166, or 46.4%.
- Average return1.10%, rounded.
- MoneySimulated only.
A Positive Total Does Not Mean Most People Made Money
Three findings from one dated snapshot.
- 166Tracked practice investors
- 77Accounts in profit (46.4%)
- 1.10%Average current return, rounded
- 20.694%Highest current return
Most Accounts Were Not in Profit
77 of 166 accounts, or 46.4%, were in profit. The other 89 were flat or down; the data does not split those two.
A Few Results Lift the Total
The group was up $1,820,754.33 overall, while accounts below their start were down $2,719,554.44 between them.
Simulated, Not Real
All money and returns here are virtual. Nothing in this snapshot is a return on real invested money.
Read the Results in Context
Three simple views of the same snapshot.
How the Snapshot Was Measured
Exactly what was counted, and how.
| Data source | Settings, Paper Trading Analytics in the StockEducation site, downloaded on 7 October 2026. The native CSV states an as of date of 6 October 2026. |
|---|---|
| Who counts | A practice investor is a unique site user with at least one filled simulated order. The system takes the latest snapshot date and the latest row per user on that date. |
| Net result | Total current portfolio value minus total starting capital, including realized and unrealized simulated gains and losses. |
| Current deficits | The sum of shortfalls in portfolios below their starting balance. Not cumulative realized losses, and not real money losses. |
| Share in profit | 77 divided by 166, times 100, rounded to one decimal place: 46.4%. |
| Average return | The unweighted average of each account’s stored percentage return, not total net result divided by total capital. |
| Where each number comes from | The average and the in profit count come from the analytics screen. The net result, deficits and highest return come from the CSV. |
All Six Measurements, With Their Source
Download the six row aggregate file to check them yourself.
| Measurement | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tracked practice investors | 166 | Native CSV |
| Community net result | +$1,820,754.33 simulated | Native CSV |
| Current deficits | $2,719,554.44 simulated | Native CSV |
| Accounts in profit | 77 of 166 | Analytics screen |
| Average current return | 1.10%, rounded | Analytics screen |
| Highest current return | 20.694% | Native CSV |
Prepared on 13 October 2026 from the aggregate table, not the original backend export. It holds no individual account records. Columns: snapshot_date, metric, value, unit (users, simulated USD or percent), definition and source.
What This Snapshot Cannot Tell You
Read these before using any number above.
What It Does Show
- One dated snapshot of one simulator.
- How many tracked accounts were in profit.
- That a positive total can hide many losing accounts.
- Exact simulated totals, from the system's own export.
What It Does Not Show
- Real money returns, for anyone.
- A representative sample of investors; users chose to join.
- Whether any strategy or skill caused a result.
- Earlier snapshots from August and September, or account level records.
The system can value a position at average cost when no current quote is available, and the export does not flag when that happened. Account resets and the server time zone have not been confirmed. A separate public simulator export of 871 observations from 7 September to 7 October excludes unvalued accounts and cannot be combined with this snapshot as if it were the same group.
Who Wrote This, and How It Was Checked
Stated exactly, including what was not independently reviewed.
| Author | Felix La Spina, publisher of StockEducation. |
|---|---|
| Review | Review date 6 October 2026, confirmed by the site owner. This records the review statement supplied; it is not an independent second review. |
| Method notes | Checked against the installed simulator code on 7 October 2026. |
| Corrections | Author credential attribution corrected on 8 October 2026. Report a problem through the corrections log with this page and the metric to check. |
Citing This Study
Cite this page together with its method and data table.
Felix La Spina. “PaperTrade snapshot: a positive community result alongside simulated losses.” StockEducation. Snapshot dated 6 October 2026. Available at StockEducation.com.
Who stands behind this page
Accountability
Who is responsible, when it was last reviewed, and how to reach a person, so you can judge this page for yourself.
Accountable for this page
The StockEducation team is accountable for the study, its data and its limits.
How pages are checked
Team fact checked and approved
The editorial team fact checks and approves every page together; current AI models help check; the StockEducation team is accountable for each page.
Page last reviewed
19 October 2026
This is the page review date. Changing facts such as rates, limits and counts are rechecked at least every three months, and sooner when a rule changes.
Spotted an error?
A person aims to reply within one business day. Confirmed fixes are logged in the public corrections log with the date.
How this site is funded
No affiliate links, paid placements or broker payments. Education, not advice.
How AI is used
People approve every page
Current AI models help check pages and power the AI tools. People decide what is published.
PaperTrade Snapshot: the 10 Questions People Ask Most
What is the PaperTrade snapshot?
A dated summary of results in the StockEducation practice simulator on 6 October 2026, covering 166 tracked practice investors trading with virtual money.
How many practice traders were in profit?
77 of 166 tracked accounts, or 46.4%. The other 89 were flat or down; the data does not separate those two groups.
Was the group up or down overall?
Up $1,820,754.33 in simulated money overall, while accounts below their starting balance were down a combined $2,719,554.44.
What was the average return?
1.10%, rounded by the system. It is the simple average of each account's return, not the group's total gain divided by total capital. The highest was 20.694%.
Is this real money?
No. Every dollar and every return in this study is simulated. It says nothing about returns on real invested money.
Who counts as a practice investor?
A unique site user with at least one filled simulated order, using the latest snapshot row for that user on 6 October 2026.
Can I download the data?
Yes. A six row aggregate CSV reproduces every measurement in the table. It contains no individual account records.
Does this prove a strategy works?
No. The group chose to join, it is not a representative sample, and no causal claim about skill, strategy or markets is made.
Who wrote the study?
Felix La Spina, publisher of StockEducation. The review was confirmed by the site owner and is not an independent second review.
How do I cite this study?
Felix La Spina, PaperTrade snapshot: a positive community result alongside simulated losses, StockEducation, snapshot dated 6 October 2026, with this page's address.
Practice With Virtual Money First.
Lesson 1 needs no account. The learning path then puts every lesson, quiz and tool in order and saves your place.
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