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For many new traders, the dream is straightforward: turn a small account into a much larger one by consistently making strong monthly returns. But when one trader recently asked why making 10% per month is often considered almost impossible, the responses revealed a hard truth about trading that many beginners overlook.
Posting in a popular Reddit trading forum, the trader said they had often heard that a good trader should aim for around 1% per month and wondered why 10% monthly returns are viewed as unrealistic, especially on a relatively small account.
“I’ve constantly heard that a good trader should aim for around 1% per month,” they wrote. “If someone has a $10,000 account” and consistently makes 10% per month, “why is that often viewed as almost impossible?”
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The Problem Isn’t Making 10% Once
Many experienced traders explained that the issue isn’t making 10% in a single month. Plenty of traders have months where they make far more than that. The challenge is doing it consistently while keeping risk under control.
“The word ‘consistently’ is the part you need to focus on,” one commenter wrote.
Another trader said there’s no magical rule preventing someone from making 10% in a month. Instead, the problem is that higher returns usually require taking greater risks, which can result in larger losses when trades go wrong.
One commenter explained that traders often focus too much on profits and not enough on protecting their capital.
“In trading, the risk you take is much more important than the return you make,” they wrote. “If you lose your capital, you can’t make anything.”
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Others added that targeting a specific monthly return can encourage traders to overtrade, use excessive leverage, or take positions that are too large. While it might work for a bit, one bad month can erase all the progress you’ve made.
What the Math Says
While many people think of 10% per month as roughly 120% annually, compounding pushes the number much higher. A trader earning 10% every month for a full year would actually generate a return of more than 200%.
That led some traders to argue that if 10% monthly returns were easily repeatable over long periods, many successful traders would become extraordinarily wealthy.
“If it were achievable with skill alone, every profitable trader would be a billionaire on schedule,” one trader noticed.
At the same time, some experienced traders disagreed with comparing this to hedge funds. They said smaller traders actually have an edge because they can get in and out of trades more easily, while big funds often struggle to move quickly without affecting the market.
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Most traders are looking to turn a small account into a meaningful amount of money, which takes time. That’s one reason prop firms have become so popular. At the same time, there are complaints that certain firms make it harder than expected to qualify for payouts.
Apex Trader Funding was launched in 2021 by trader Darrell Martin, who says he wanted to create a simpler model with fewer restrictions and rules designed to reward good risk management and consistent trading. Apex offers relatively few restrictions, low costs, and rules designed to test risk management, profitability and position sizing. Join a thriving community of tens of thousands of members in over 150 countries.
Making 10% in a month isn’t impossible. Doing it month after month, year after year, without taking excessive risk is where the real challenge begins.
Read Next: A 1% fee difference on $200,000 over 30 years quietly costs you $170,000 in lost returns. Empower’s fee analyzer shows you exactly what you’re paying — across every account.
Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.
Arrived
Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.
Realberry
Institutional-quality real estate has traditionally been difficult for individual investors to access. Realberry gives accredited investors direct access to private real estate opportunities backed by a team with 35 years of experience, $3.4 billion in assets under management, and $481 million in cumulative distributions paid to investors as of Q4 2025, according to the company. With a portfolio spanning 13 million square feet across seven U.S. states, Realberry focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing real estate with an emphasis on long-term value creation while its principals often invest alongside clients to help align interests.
FarmTogether
Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors, FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.
Immersed
Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.
Fundrise
Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.
Mode Mobile
Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.
EquityMultiple
For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.
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This article A Trader Asks Why Making 10% a Month Is Considered Almost Impossible. Should a Good Trader Be Aiming for Just 1%? originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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