# Research Notes: Pro Trading School > 40+ hours of market intelligence compiled for Chris Leet > By Lorenzo Sanchez, Alexo Digital | March 2026 --- ## Market Overview The forex education market is mature and trust-deficient. 70-90% of retail traders lose money (FINRA data), which creates a permanent demand engine: frustrated learners constantly seeking better education. The prop firm market has changed the landscape. Valued at $7.14 billion in 2026 and growing at 10.9% CAGR, prop trading has created a new buyer segment that did not exist 5 years ago. Search interest for "funded trader program" doubled since 2021. FTMO acquired OANDA for $250 million. Every serious forex trader under 35 is either trading a prop firm account or preparing to. Zero S&D educators offer prop firm challenge preparation. Not Set and Forget. Not Pure Financial Academy. Not Rayner Teo. Not ICT. Nobody in this niche has positioned their methodology for prop firm success. --- ## Competitive Landscape | Factor | Pro Trading School | Set and Forget | PFA | Rayner Teo | ICT | |--------|-------------------|----------------|-----|-----------|-----| | Core offer | S&D course (62 lessons) | S&D coaching + community | S&D course + 6 software tools | Free Academy + paid programs | Free YouTube mentorship | | Price point | $59-$197 | $320-$540 | $49-$4,999 | Free-$3,999 | Free | | Community | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Active Meta ads | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Key weakness | No upsell, no community, no recurring | Single instructor | High ceiling deters beginners | Opaque pricing | Failed public challenge | PTS sits in the "accessible pricing + medium complexity" quadrant. Competitors with smaller audiences earn 5-10x more per student. The gap is not in traffic or authority. It is in revenue infrastructure. The biggest positioning gap sits in the $1,000-$5,000 range: structured S&D education combined with live coaching, community support, and prop firm preparation. No competitor currently owns this space. --- ## Audience Deep Dive ### Avatar 1: "The Frustrated Indicator Trader" (Primary) - 32-year-old professional trading part-time for 2-3 years - Has tried 4+ indicator-based strategies from YouTube - Spent roughly $400 on courses with nothing to show - Knows about S&D but has never committed to learning it properly - Recently heard about prop firms but does not feel ready **Their words:** "I've been trading for approx 5 years. I've either been losing or breaking even over the long term." (ForexFactory) ### Avatar 2: "The Prop Firm Aspirant" (Growing Segment) - 28-year-old who discovered prop firms through social media - Wants to trade institutional capital without risking personal savings - Has failed 1-2 prop firm evaluations ($300-$600 wasted per attempt) - Needs structured preparation, not general forex knowledge **Their words:** "From passing multiple funded accounts to trading on live capital and achieving a 320% gain." (Trustpilot) ### Avatar 3: "The Career Pivoter" - 38-year-old professional seeking trading as a second income - Willing to invest $500-$3,000+ in quality education - Wants a clear, structured path from beginner to funded trader - Values accountability and mentorship over self-paced courses --- ## Voice of Customer Highlights (155+ Quotes Collected) ### Top Pain Points (with verbatim quotes) **1. Indicator overload (20+ quotes)** "I finally understand how to read price action without relying on too many indicators." (PTS testimonial) **2. Inconsistent results (15+ quotes)** "I seem to do everything as plan and fail." (Quora) **3. Random S&R drawing (12+ quotes)** "This blog helped me stop drawing random support and resistance lines." (PTS testimonial) **4. Fear at entries (10+ quotes)** "Did you get pissed off when a stock did exactly what you thought it would but you just couldn't pull the trigger?" (Goodreads) **5. Money wasted on courses (10+ quotes)** "That whole experience definitely felt like money wasted." (DanielInskeep.com) ### Top Desires 1. **Consistent profitability** (20+ quotes): repeatable results, not lottery-ticket trading 2. **One structured method** (15+ quotes): simplicity over complexity 3. **Entry confidence** (12+ quotes): knowing exactly why you are entering a trade 4. **Institutional knowledge** (10+ quotes): "trade where banks trade" 5. **Prop firm readiness** (growing): funded account access through structured preparation ### Market Sophistication: Stage 4 (Proof-Driven) 12+ S&D educators exist. Bigger promises do not work. This audience is deeply skeptical. The winning angle: verified results plus volume metrics. --- ## Strategic Gaps Identified 1. **No high-ticket coaching/mentorship tier**: PTS maxes out at $197. Competitors with smaller audiences charge $1,099-$4,999. The audience is willing to pay more for live coaching, accountability, and community. 2. **No prop firm preparation program**: The $7.14B prop firm market is growing at 10.9% annually. PTS's S&D methodology maps directly to evaluation rules (defined risk, drawdown management). Nobody owns this position. 3. **Zero paid acquisition**: Meta Ads Library shows zero active ads from any S&D educator. Meta's compliance barriers (October 2024) have created a blue ocean for compliant education-focused advertisers. 4. **No community product**: 786K+ followers with zero community monetization. ICT (2M+ subs) has no community. Set and Forget's is limited. The retention opportunity is massive. 5. **No verified results**: Not a single S&D educator provides third-party audited trading results. First to do it wins enormous trust advantage. --- ## Key Data Points | Metric | Value | Source | |--------|-------|--------| | PTS YouTube subscribers | 222,000 | YouTube | | PTS Instagram (combined) | 564,000 | Instagram | | Ebook downloads | 1,000,000+ | PTS website | | Existing students | 25,000+ | PTS website | | Prop firm market size | $7.14 billion | Business Research Insights | | Prop firm CAGR | 10.9% | Business Research Insights | | Competitors running Meta ads | 0 | Meta Ad Library | | Current max revenue/customer | $197 | Podia pricing | | Competitor price ceilings | $540-$4,999 | Direct research | --- ## Sources - Mordor Intelligence (forex market sizing) - Business Research Insights (prop firm market data) - Trustpilot, Goodreads, ForexFactory, Quora, BabyPips (VOC quotes) - Meta Ad Library (competitor ad intelligence) - CFTC, FTC, NFA (regulatory compliance research) - Direct website analysis (PTS, Set and Forget, PFA, TradingwithRayner, ICT, SMB Capital) --- > Research compiled by Alexo Digital. 40+ hours of primary and secondary research across 15+ data sources.