One Prop Trader a Day – Episode 106
Michael Kariuki
My name is Michael Kariuki. I am from Kenya, and I trade CFDs across forex, crypto, commodities, metals and indices, as well as stocks. I have been funded since 2023, and I run a mechanical trend following system on the 1 hour timeframe and above.
My name is Michael Kariuki and I am from Kenya. I trade CFDs, which for me covers forex, crypto, commodities, metals and indices, and I trade stocks as well.
I became funded in 2023, after several attempts that started back in 2022. What changed at that point was not my account size. It was me. The prop rules forced me to become more disciplined, and the discipline is the part I kept.
There was no celebration purchase. I did not buy anything flashy. I treated it as a new income source, and that is still how I treat it.
Before any of that worked, I failed three challenges and passed on the fourth attempt. The failures were not the market’s doing.
The most expensive version of that self-sabotage was risking KES 600,000, about 4,600 dollars, on full margin, trying to flip it.
Has trading taken a toll on me mentally? Several times. What fixed it was not a new indicator. It was trading less and using a mechanical system, and only taking trades on the 1 hour timeframe and above.
The lowest point was not even a losing streak. A prop firm closed my account because of a technical error on their side, while I was 9 percent in profits. I asked them to reinstate it. They refused, and I moved on.
I have traded with multiple CFD prop firms since then, and the experience gave me a short checklist. Lower fees. Less slippage. Rules that fit my style. The payout cycle.
And credibility, which comes down to one question.
My style today is more swing trading than anything else. I execute on the 1 hour, 4 hour and daily timeframes, I trade forex, crypto, commodities, metals, indices and stocks, and I run a mechanical trend following strategy.
My week starts on Saturday. That is when I do my main analysis and review the previous week.
On a trading day I set my limit orders at 6am Kenyan time. At 10am, the London open, I do further management or place new orders. Then comes the New York open. I check the charts at 9pm before bed and prepare for the next day.
My most recent losing trade was recent, and it was my own fault twice over. I placed the stop loss at the wrong point. Then I went ahead and made a rookie mistake on top of it, widening the stop, which doubled my risk.
I noted it in my journal as unacceptable. The fix is not a strategy change. It is setting the limit orders on time so that I am not rushing into trades.
The better months look different. Last year in October I did a 15 percent payout and a 20 percent payout in two firms.
The people around me still do not understand trading. They want me to do a “safe” job.
When I set a goal, failure is just a data point that I overcome and find a solution for. I do not quit on things that I have passion to do.
So if someone gave me a $1,000,000 funded account today, I would still execute my system normally, with discipline.
And I would not measure my progress in 7 days. I would measure it in a month.
About the writer – Michael Kariuki
Michael Kariuki trades CFDs and stocks from Kenya with a mechanical trend following system, and has been a funded trader since 2023.
