When it comes to investing, the best strategies aren’t born—they’re tested. Whether you’re a seasoned trader or just starting to explore the markets, experimenting with new trading ideas can be risky if you dive in with real money. That’s where paper trading comes in, offering a safe, risk-free way to test strategies before putting your hard-earned capital on the line.

What Is Paper Trading?

Paper trading is a simulated trading environment where you can test investment strategies using virtual money instead of real funds. Think of it as a financial sandbox: you get access to real market data, can place trades, and track performance—all without the stress of actual financial loss.

Unlike backtesting, which analyzes how a strategy would have performed in the past, paper trading focuses on forward testing, where you see how a strategy behaves in real-time market conditions. This is invaluable for understanding how your ideas respond to changing market dynamics, slippage, and other real-world factors.

Why Test in a Paper Account First?

Imagine developing a trading idea you’re excited about—perhaps a strategy that takes advantage of market momentum or one based on economic indicators. Jumping straight into live trading could expose you to unnecessary risks, especially if the strategy hasn’t been tested in real-world conditions.

Forward testing in a paper account lets you:

• Validate Your Idea: See if your strategy works under current market conditions before committing real money.

• Learn Without Pressure: Trading with virtual funds removes the emotional component, allowing you to focus on the mechanics of your strategy.

• Identify Weaknesses: Paper trading can reveal flaws, such as high transaction costs or poor performance in certain market environments, that backtesting might not show.

For both new and experienced traders, paper trading is an essential step in refining strategies and building confidence.

What Is Surmount?

Surmount is an automated investing platform where you can turn any idea into a data-driven investment strategy. Whether you’re a beginner curious about automation or an advanced quant with complex models, Surmount provides the tools you need to create, test, and deploy strategies effortlessly.

Our mission is to make investing smarter, not harder, by offering a platform that combines intuitive tools with powerful data analysis. And central to that mission is paper trading.

Why Does Surmount Have Paper Trading?

At Surmount, we understand the importance of testing and learning. That’s why we’ve integrated paper trading into our platform, offering two key benefits:

1. Forward Test Your Ideas: Before you commit real money, test how your strategy performs in real-time market conditions. This gives you the chance to refine your approach, adjust for inefficiencies, and ensure you’re making data-driven decisions.

2. Learn Risk-Free: For those new to automated investing, paper trading provides a safe environment to explore how strategies work, learn the platform, and gain confidence—all without risking your capital.

Our paper trading environment is built to mirror live market conditions, so you can trust that your results are meaningful and actionable.

Get Started

Getting started with paper trading on Surmount is easy:

1. Create a Surmount Account: Sign up and explore the platform’s suite of tools.

2. Design Your Strategy: Use Surmount’s intuitive builder to turn your trading idea into a strategy, leveraging real-time data and automation.

3. Enable Paper Trading: Test your strategy in a simulated environment with no financial risk. Track its performance, make adjustments, and refine your approach.

4. Deploy with Confidence: Once you’re satisfied with your results, transition seamlessly to live trading and start putting your strategy to work with real funds.

Turn Ideas into Confidence with Surmount

Paper trading isn’t just a stepping stone—it’s a cornerstone of smart investing. Whether you’re testing a new idea, learning the ropes of automated investing, or refining an advanced strategy, Surmount’s paper trading feature is here to help.

Take the first step toward smarter investing today. With Surmount, your best ideas aren’t just ideas—they’re strategies.

Ready to get started? Visit Surmount and begin your paper trading journey today!