Axia Futures *Update*

Axia Futures
  • Honesty
    (5)
  • Quality
    (5)
  • Cost
    (4.5)
  • Support
    (5)
  • Verified Trades
    (4)
  • Prop Trading Opportunity
    (3.5)
4.5

Summary

In 2017, TradingSchools.Org published a negative and scathing review of Axia Futures. We got it wrong.

This updated review describes in exact detail how badly I misinterpreted Axia Futures.

Axia Futures, a London based Prop Trading organization presents a compelling argument and is offering a high-value opportunity. In particular, the company gives traders the opportunity to interact with 100% verified futures traders that are currently earning a full-time income at trading. You will not find any posers or fakers congregating at Axia Futures.

TradingSchools.Org interviewed several individuals and financial institutions that verify the veracity of their unique proposition as well as their financial and regulatory requirements.

I would like to issue a public apology to Axia Futures for any reputational harm that my original review caused.

Furthermore, I would like to personally thank Demetris Mavrommatis for spending an entire week with TradingSchools.Org that included many hours of live trading, a telling of his compelling personal story, and his patience and gracious attitude towards such a vocal critic.

Thanks for reading today’s updated review of Axia Futures

On August 8, 2017, TradingSchools.Org published a highly negative review of Axia Futures. You can read the original review here.

In particular, I gave Axia Futures a single star rating for Honesty, Support, and Verified Trades. Let me explain why. Axia Futures is offering an 8-week educational program that is quite expensive at $5,000 as well as a live trading room priced at $100 per month.

The trading room was moderated by Brannigan Barret, and while I found the live trading room quite entertaining, my direct questions regarding trader performance were ignored.

In particular, I wanted to know if Brannigan was actually trading or just talking about trading. My experience reviewing live trading rooms has turned me into a grizzled old troll that believes nearly nothing. I need undeniable, verifiable proof. And I hate shiny objects meant to distract my attention away from the ugliness in which I naturally seek.

Inside the ‘shiny’ house of Axia Futures

Axia Futures is quite ‘shiny’. They have a fancy office in Lond0n, with banks of computer monitors all whizzing and blinking with fancy colored lights. There are professional looking people all milling about and clicking their mouses, doing whatever they appeared to be doing. The impression was that the environment is somehow exciting and created from the imagination of a Hollywood film producer–tasked with the job of creating the ‘image’ of a successful Prop Trading Firm.

Axia Futures has all of the sizzle that one can possibly imagine. Everything is top tier and classy. All of the latest technology is on full display. Whiteboard computer boards where supposedly smart looking persons are pointing at price ladders and using exaggerated hand signals while pointing at ‘FED MEETING BEWARE’ on the whiteboard.

It all looked so well scripted. Too good to be true. Like if a beautiful woman were to suddenly walk up to me at the grocery store and quietly declare, ” You are so handsome. I want to sleep with you right now.” You would be suspicious (especially if you look like me) But a part of you would also be incredibly excited at this wonderful potential dalliance.

As with all things in life, nothing good is for free. And the young woman certainly wants your handsome face, but you need to fork over $5k. This was my suspicion with Axia Futures. That all of the glitter and fancy things on display were just a prop. And not an actual prop trading company. That everything was just a beautiful figure that sang a Siren song, meant to lure my credit card from my wallet, ultimately crashing my finances upon the shores of past mistake.

With a jaundiced eye and a great deal of skepticism, I decided to dig a bit deeper. Absolutely sure that a turd would soon magically surface within the proverbial punch bowl. I dug and digged and let my angry imagination lead me to an article about a company named Futex.

Ha! I had found the turd. A company named Futex, that was a so-called prop trading firm located in London had stolen all of the funds of everyone involved. They too offered an education course, and it was priced at $5k–just like Axia Futures.

I dug and next discovered that an evil scoundrel named Demetris Mavrommatis was somehow involved with Futex. And some other names started to be attached that were connected to Futex: like Alex Haywood and Stephanos Mavrommatis. They had weird sounding names that didn’t inspire much trust. Surely, I had these scoundrels trapped at the end of my pen. And so I started to write.

And I weaved a tale that systematically chopped this company down. My bias was dark. I was absolutely sure of the following:

  1. That Axia Futures was just another Futex scam.
  2. That the educational package was just regurgitated Futex training materials.
  3. That there was no prop trading firm.
  4. Since this Demetris character was involved in Futex, he was a scoundrel.
  5. That Axia was just a shiny prop.

I concluded that Axia Futures was not a prop trading firm in any sense. The only ‘Prop’ involved were the shiny objects and fancy accouterments.

And so I published, and I waited. Soon enough Google would index the review and the entire world would soon discover that I, the supreme God of trading reviews had squished another scoundrel under my boot.

Ready to bask in my glory, I waited for the comments to start hitting the comments section. I was so sure that the Futex victims would emerge and their truth would soon be heard. Justice would soon be dealt.

The Reaction

Not a peep. Not a god damned peep. Something was wrong. Page one rankings on Google and I have no complaints? No shitstorm whatsoever? Uh oh.

Comments eventually started to trickle in. All gave me poor marks on my “so-called review.” In fact, if there were a rating system on my review, I am sure that I would have gotten single stars down the entire line. The victims never emerged. The complaints never arrived. Had I gotten this wrong?

Next, using an alias email, I began sending messages to the inbox of Axia Futures. I wanted a god damned reaction! Someone over there was surely angry that I had written such a scathing article! Like a petulant child that was ignored by Santa Claus, I began to whimper and sulk at my lack of attention.

Controversy and intrigue is the life force that drives a review blog. Why weren’t they giving this whiny blogger baby any attention?

Finally A Reaction

On February 14, 2018, (Valentines Day) I finally received a written response from Alex Haywood of Axia Futures. It is a day I remember with much chagrin, I had just spent $89 for a dozen roses that cost only $19 on February 13. I was in no mood for being friendly.

The response from Alex Haywood was not what I expected. He delivered a nearly 1000 word statement in the comments section that detailed exactly what I got wrong. The wording was incredibly gracious and devoid of any anger or hostility. I know when someone has taken a great deal of time and effort to write something–Alex Haywood very carefully chose his words and delivered a masterful response.

Immediately after Alex published his response, the ‘UP Votes’ on the comment began to pop like corn at a movie theater. My humiliation was now complete.

Conversations with Alex Haywood of Axia Futures

Over the next several weeks, Alex Haywood and I began a dialogue via Skype. Things started off a little rough as Alex had to weed through my persistently negative attitude and suspicious nature.

The very first thing we talked about was Futex. He presented me with court documents that showed that nearly everyone at Axia Futures was actually the victim of the crime that was committed at Futex Prop Trading. The owner of Futex had simply absconded with the life savings of everyone that had been working as a trader at Futex.

He detailed the persons that were affected by the theft, and how this crashed the dreams of many of the traders within the company. Nearly all of the traders were now at Axia Futures. Their life savings had been stolen. One person, in particular, was reduced to temporary homelessness. The stories were painful to hear.

At that moment, never before in my writing of hundreds of reviews, had I ever felt so remorseful about something I had written. My negative review had only exacerbated the pain and losses of the victims of Futex.

Alex Haywood explained to me that from the pain and ashes of Futex, the dream of Axia Futures was born.

Axia Futures: real prop trading and high-quality education

Alex Haywood next explained that Axia Futures is a prop trading firm in its truest definition. All of the traders on the trading floor are seasoned veterans with verifiable track records and varying degrees of success.

One by one, he told the different narratives of each person. How each was uniquely different. How each traded differently. How each brought their own style and perspective to the daily struggle of earning a living by actually trading. And not just talking about trading.

He recommended that I profile each trader. Write their story. Give their background and perspective. Talk about the money they typically make. Their greatest victories and most painful defeats. He completely opened the book to me. I was free to ask and everything would be answered. And everything would be verified.

Most importantly, Alex explained to me that the 8-week training course was actually a group effort, where the best and most proven traders at Axia Futures were tasked with the deed of creating a curriculum that matched their successful trading experience.

In short, the 8-week course is like a nourishing bowl of soup. The ingredients contain only the best aspects of the most successful traders at Axia Futures.

Demetris Mavrommatis: Head Trader of Axia Futures

Demetris is the head trader at Axia Futures. That does not mean he is the best trader at Axia Futures. But he is the co-founder of Axia Futures and his track record of successful trading is very impressive.

How much money does Demetris typically earn trading futures contracts? I can verify through shared account statements dating back to 2010, that Demetris Mavrommatis regularly earns over $1,000,000 per year. Why include performance metrics dating back to 2010? Because they tell the complete story. A story that begins with nothing, and grows into something wonderful.

In 2010, Demetris had recently graduated from University. He arrived in London with starry-eyed dreams of becoming a prop trader. In fact, just like everyone else, he walked into the Futex office with little knowledge of trading. At that time, Futex was offering a several thousand dollar ‘educational’ experience for people ‘fresh off the street.’ Futex was a trading arcade. Individuals arrive knowing little and usually pay something to learn the basics.

Once they complete the education. The person is usually required to make a deposit into a grouped investment account in which all of the traders share and enjoy larger amounts of leverage.

Demetris spent roughly 6-years at Futex. At times, he was the best trader in the company. At times he was the worst trader in the company. In particular, there are multiple instances of consecutive $30k daily losses. At that time, his account size was much smaller. Comparatively speaking, these were extremely painful moments. When asked about this experience, Demtretis explained, “the markets changed, and I did not.”

This statement has huge implications. Demetris explained to me that he has seen hundreds of people be great in year A, and then lose it all in year B. All because the trader failed to recognize that the fundamentals of the markets changed. You have to always be changing and quickly adapting. He kept hammering me with the same point…” markets change, you must change.”

During the month of May 2018, Demetris invited me to spend a week with him–live trading. He wanted to give me a ‘tour of the slaughterhouse’. The place where decisions are presented on the cutting edge of profits and losses. Of course, I accepted. No, I did not fly to London and camp out. Instead, Demetris live shared his trading screen with me 24/7.

For an entire week, it was just Demetris and I. Talking and talking and listening to music and sharing stories and telling bad jokes. Truth be told, 99% of the time Demetris is just watching a screen. I would describe the experience as financial sightseeing. But instead of seeing something interesting, like a bridge or a tower or a woman wearing a bikini, we just watched the prices of futures contracts meander around. By day number two, I came to realize that his job is boring as hell. This was factory work.

Everyone once in a while, Demetris would become animated and prepare himself for the release of an economic report, or a geopolitical event. For instance, I got to watch in real time how Demetris reacted to one of Donald Trump’s tweets about tariffs. The market would go bonkers for only a few moments. But Demetris was well prepared. In fact, he pre-prepared with a range of possible scenarios planned for these ‘strange’ events. “If event A happens, then market participants will reposition and I will respond with X, Y, or Z” as Demetris explained.

Demetris is very much a fundamentalist. He contemplates the underlying economics of a situation and prepares for a specific game plan with a range of possible trades. What I find very interesting and very revealing is Demetris intense curiosity regarding economics. As short-term traders, the current view is that economics doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is price and technical analysis relationships.

We spoke great lengths about technical analysis. He does not use it. At all. He firmly believes that it is an industry filled with carnival barkers and charlatans. As he explained, “people like me react to situations, we don’t wait for some sort of indicator to flash buy or sell.” By the time an indicator has flashed buy or sell, I have already entered and exited my trade. For just a moment, think about the implications of this statement. No indicators.

So what does Demetris actually look at? First and foremost, swirling around his head are his fundamental views and opinions regarding underlying economics. His trading scenarios are locked and loaded inside of his mind. The only thing he is ‘staring’ at is a series of price ladders. I have included a screenshot below. This is exactly what I witnessed for the entire week. This is pretty much his entire business…

I know, this screenshot is absolutely devoid of anything helpful. But this is quite literally the only thing that I watched for an entire week.

I asked Demetris how simply staring at this screen could possibly be helpful to my readers. He explained, “what you are looking at encompasses a great deal of the world economy” and “you are watching the reactions of entire nation-states economic policies unfold before your very eyes. To me, this is a beautiful mosaic. The is art in motion.”

To give the audience a deeper revelation of an actual trade that I witnessed, that netted a profit of nearly $70k. There was a specific trade that revolved around the upcoming political election in Italy.

Demetris had waited for a statement to be released by the opposition party. He felt that his statement would affect the price of Italian bonds. Was he looking to trade Italian bonds? Nope. They are highly illiquid. However, he anticipated that the statement would cause the highly illiquid Italian bonds (not tradeable) to quickly shift, then this reaction would be followed by the opposite reaction in the highly liquid German Bund.

So, he walked me through the entire trade scenario before it happened. He had planned for the exact situation and simply waited. When the price of the Italian bond quickly shifted because of the political event, he quickly began taking a position on German Bunds.

Did he fiddle and finesse his entry? Did he attempt to buy on the Bid? Waiting for a better price? Not a chance. He paid the spread ($500) because he was convinced that the move was imminent. And in a flash, the move happened. And it immediately went in his favor.

Did he quickly exit the trade for a profit with the same vigor and enthusiasm as the entry? Not a chance. He explained, “people are trapped” and “I will now slowly finesse myself from the position.” So I watched in real time as he would paint the dom with limit orders to exit. I had never seen anything like this before. He literally covered the entire dom with color.

After the successful trade, did he scream and holler? Proclaim a celebration of unlimited shrimp cocktail and a new diamond encrusted Rolex? Nope. He replied that he was now done for the day.

Wrapping things up

Demetris is not a flashy goy. In fact, I am concerned he wouldn’t last an hour in a 3rd world country. We talked about his trading success and how he felt that this could possibly make him a target. Especially in other countries without a robust police system. He was concerned my review might bring about unwanted attention.

Demetris is 32 years of age. Very humble. Very quiet. He doesn’t think about his profits and losses how ‘normal’ people do. He sees his trading as a game he enjoys playing. Like online chess or any other online game.

But Demetris is also very curious. Especially regarding economics, politics, art, culture, and how humans interact daily. He is an observer that waits to form his opinion. Is willing to wager upon that opinion. But also malleable and understands that he is just flesh. That the markets are like himself, an organic creature that is always changing. Hence he is always changing and adapting. But he does it with a simple gracefulness that ‘normal’ people, with hardened principles, would have difficulty with.

On the surface, it appears that Demetris is calm and measured with his trading activities. However, in speaking with his co-workers, they describe a completely different animal outside of the trading floor.

He is a guy that knows how to live. And he likes to live large. Yes, he has a huge home in Cyprus and an enviable spread in London. Yes, he likes expensive sports cars and beautiful women (though I am not sure I should be mentioning this) and he likes to travel.

Demetris also loves high stakes poker games, he loves the nightlife, he might even indulge a bit too much. But hey, he is in his early 30’s and drinking as much of life as one can possibly consume. Why not? If you were earning a million dollars a year from trading, and only 33 years old, what would you be doing?

In conclusion, it was a real pleasure spending a week with Demetris. Though it was also very boring. Not very much screen excitement. Perhaps this is something that aspiring traders should consider.

As Demetris explained to me, “the educational course contains a deep part of me, everything I know and use is there for all to see and use for themselves” and “every day I record my entire trading session, and I can review it and contemplate how I performed.” Another important lesson to consider.

Additionally, Demetris also makes his daily recordings available to all members of Axia Futures. He wants everyone to see exactly what he is doing. He explained, “this also keeps me accountable.”

As I thought about this, I couldn’t help but appreciate the benefit of having that sort of resource and refinement available for learning purposes.

Thanks for reading. I am receiving no compensation for the writing of this updated review. Though I would like too! (you reading this Alex?)

57 Comments

  1. Chris Kruger October 13, 2020
    • Emmett Moore October 13, 2020
  2. Daniel January 7, 2020
    • Emmett Moore January 7, 2020
  3. ZTrader888 January 1, 2020
    • Emmett Moore January 1, 2020
      • ZTrader888 January 2, 2020
        • Emmett Moore January 2, 2020
        • Dan January 7, 2020
        • dtchurn January 13, 2020
  4. James Last December 4, 2019
  5. mang November 26, 2019
  6. Budd Fox October 10, 2019
  7. JJ August 5, 2019
  8. Lee March 19, 2019
  9. ROB March 18, 2019
  10. ROB March 16, 2019
  11. Mike March 5, 2019
  12. Mike March 5, 2019
  13. Trader February 28, 2019
    • Mike March 5, 2019
  14. Victoria February 27, 2019
    • Vikram May 2, 2019
  15. Trevor February 8, 2019
  16. D February 1, 2019
    • Emmett Moore February 1, 2019
    • Emmett Moore February 1, 2019
  17. Kevin December 19, 2018
  18. Craig October 4, 2018
  19. adam September 27, 2018
  20. Codey September 27, 2018
  21. Codey September 27, 2018
  22. jerome August 24, 2018
  23. Guest August 15, 2018
  24. Mike1131 August 7, 2018
  25. Daniel August 7, 2018
  26. Philip August 5, 2018
    • Dom August 5, 2018
      • Seb August 7, 2018
  27. Oliver August 4, 2018
    • Emmett Moore August 5, 2018
    • Mike August 6, 2018
  28. Amit August 4, 2018
  29. Amit August 4, 2018
  30. justin August 4, 2018
  31. Mike1131 August 3, 2018
    • Emmett Moore August 3, 2018
      • Seb August 3, 2018
  32. Leonardo August 2, 2018
  33. Philip August 2, 2018
    • Seb August 2, 2018
      • Emmett Moore August 2, 2018
      • Philip August 3, 2018
        • Emmett Moore August 3, 2018
          • Trader August 5, 2018
        • Edu August 4, 2018
      • GemBow August 13, 2018

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.