Trade alerts vs Pro desk: which is right for you?

Most copy-trading platforms offer two ways to follow a creator: notifications you act on yourself, and a desk that prepares the order for you. Artha calls these Signals and Pro desk. People obsess over which is "better." The honest answer is that they are different products for different situations. Here's how to pick.

The four questions that decide it

1. How fast can you actually react?

If you sit in front of a screen during market hours and can place an order within a minute of getting a push, Signals work. If you have a day job, kids, meetings, or you trade across time zones, alerts that fire while you're in a meeting are useless. The Pro desk pre-sizes the order for you so the only thing left is one tap to send it.

2. How much do you trust this specific trader?

Trust is built over time, not on a sales page. New subscribers should start with Signals. You'll learn quickly whether the trader's entries feel right to you, whether their position sizing makes sense, and whether you're actually willing to take their trades. Once you've taken 20–30 trades by hand and you're comfortable, the Pro desk starts to make sense.

3. How big is your account compared with theirs?

If your account is roughly the same order of magnitude as the trader's, proportional sizing works well. If your account is 10x smaller, the position sizes can come out awkwardly — single shares, rounded-down option contracts, or trades the trader takes that simply don't fit your account at all. Signals let you skip those cleanly. The Pro desk will surface the same trades, but the approval prompt makes it harder to skim past — which is the point.

4. How much do you want to think about each trade?

Some subscribers want the educational experience — seeing the setup, understanding why, deciding whether to take it. Signals force that engagement. The Pro desk reduces friction (sizing, broker routing, fill bookkeeping all happen for you) but the approval tap keeps you in the loop. Either is fine. Just be honest with yourself about what you actually want.

How Artha handles each tier

Signals tier

When the creator places a trade, you get a push notification on mobile and (optionally) an email. The notification tells you the ticker, action (buy/sell), and the rough size. You go to your brokerage and place the trade yourself. The platform never touches your account.

Pro desk tier

When the creator places a trade, Artha sizes a proposed order for your linked brokerage using your safety limits, then sends you a push to approve. You see the proposed order, your remaining buying power, and an Approve button. Approve and the order routes to your brokerage; ignore it and the order expires after 15 minutes — no unattended fills, ever. Every Pro desk order requires your tap; there is no hands-off auto-execute mode, by design.

The mistake new subscribers make

Jumping straight to the Pro desk without ever taking a single trade by hand. You don't know the trader's rhythm, you don't know how their trades feel, and the first losing week feels much worse when you have been mostly clicking Approve on autopilot. Spend a month on Signals. Then upgrade if it makes sense.

Quick rule of thumb

• New to this creator? Start on Signals.
• Comfortable with the creator + small account? Stay on Signals.
• Comfortable + can't watch markets? Move to the Pro desk.
• Want hands-off completely? Not available on Artha — every order needs your tap, by design.