To clarify, a funded trading account is distinct from the account you use during the challenge or evaluation phase. While the challenge account is where you demonstrate your trading abilities, a funded trading account allows you to trade with real capital, enabling you to earn actual profits that can be withdrawn to your bank account. At Trading Funder, we help traders understand these differences to ensure they make informed decisions as they progress from evaluation to trading with real funds.
How to win a Topstep Funded Account?
To win and have access to a funded account from the Topstep prop firm, you need to go through 3 major phases, but surely, the most important and difficult one is winning the Topstep Trading Combine challenge:
- First, choose and Pay for the Trading Combine challenge that you want.
- Next, respect the Trading Combine rules and achieve goals.
- Finally, complete your funded account agreement and submit your payment.
Choose and Pay for the Trading Combine challenge.
To win a Topstep funded account, the trader must pass the Trading Combine challenge, a two-step evaluation process requiring traders to show their capability and skills in managing risks and turning decent profits.
To get started, a trader must register and pay the required fee for registration.
The first step requires traders to generate profits of 6% on a simulated account without breaking any rules. In contrast, the second step has similar requirements but tighter risk parameters and a greater emphasis on consistently trading.
In the trading combine challenge, there are three account sizes that traders can choose from, and the table below shows these account sizes and their respective features.
| Features | $50K | $100K | $150K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit target | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Max contracts | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Daily loss limit | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Trailing Drawdown | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| Monthly price | $165 | $325 | $375 |
Respect the Trading Combine rules and achieve goals
As mentioned earlier, the trading combine has two steps, with each step having rules peculiar to them, and we will be examining those rules now.
Step 1 of the Topstep challenge
For Step 1, the rules and targets are stated below:
Step 1 Targets
- Achieve the profit target.
- Trade for at least five days.
Step 1 Rules
- Only instruments that are permitted should be traded during allowed periods.
- Do not hit or exceed the daily loss limit.
- The trader’s account balance must not hit or exceed the trailing maximum drawdown.
- Traders must adhere to the scaling plan.
Once a trader follows the rules while meeting and maintaining the profit target and reaching the minimum trading days, such a trader will advance to Step 2 of the Trading Combine.
However, violating any rules means the trader will become ineligible for a funded account, although traders can reset their accounts at any time, which comes with a fee.
Step 2 of the Topstep challenge
For Step 2, the targets and rules are stated below:
Step 2 Target
- Achieve the profit target
- Consistency target: The trader’s best good day has to be less than 40% of the total profits for a specific trading period.
Step 2 Rules
- Trading should only be done with instruments that are permitted during permitted periods.
- It is not acceptable to hit or exceed the daily loss limit.
- The trader’s account balance must not hit or exceed the trailing maximum drawdown.
- Traders must adhere to the scaling plan.
Like Step 1, once the trader adheres to the rules and achieves and maintains the profit target while trading for the minimum number of good days, he or she progresses to the next step, the funded Account.
Complete your funded account agreement and submit your payment
After completing Step 2 of the Trading Combine, the monthly subscription cost of the trader is turned off, and the trader will get an email notification regarding his account status.
To complete the setup of the funded Account, the trader needs to do the following:
- Complete your Funded Account Agreement
The trader has to complete all the required fields in the document before submitting it. After submission, a follow-up email will be sent that will be needed for email address verification. The email must be verified so the firm can receive the trader’s document successfully.
- Submit your payment
Payment should be swiftly made as soon as possible to enable the funded Account. Price is for live market data when the payment is received; the funds are then applied to whichever month the trader wants to start trading, irrespective of the payment date.
Establishing a trader’s funded Account will be initiated once the funded account Agreement is received. It could take a minimum of one week to a maximum of two weeks, and once the Account is ready, the trader will be provided with his/her login credentials.
Topstep Standard, Pro, and Premium Funded Accounts
What is the Topstep Funded Account®?
Topstep Funded Account® is the standard funded Account provided by Topstep, and it’s a live trading account that allows traders to trade live markets supported by capital from Topstep. The Funded Account® from Topstep features the same account parameters as Step 2 of the Trading Combine® except that the starting balance is $0. then, every time after making 5 winning trading days, traders can withdraw profits from Topstep.
What is the Topstep Pro Funded Account®?
The Topstep Pro Account® is an alternative to the Funded Account® offered by Topstep to traders after completing the Trading Combine®. The idea behind creating the Pro Account® was to ease the hurdles faced by traders when trading live money so that traders could be well-positioned for success. The profits in the Pro Account® are simulated, and once the trader achieves a specific profit target, he or she gets started on a Premium Funded Account®.
What is the Topstep Premium Funded Account®?
This Account is a live trading account with a starting balance equal to the simulated profits in the trader’s Pro Account®, which could be $2,500 for a Swing Premium Funded Account® or $5,000 for a standard Premium Funded Account®. The Topstep Premium Funded Account® is activated once a trader has achieved the Pro Account® targets without violating rules.
More Details about the Topstep Funded Account
Is there a fee in the funded Account?
Once a trader passes the Trading Combine, the monthly subscription is no more active, and there are no more resets either.
But as a funded trader, you become responsible for the costs associated with running a professional business, as shown below:
- Platform License or Subscription.
- CME Professional Data Subscription.
- Round Turn Commissions and Fees.
The total cost can be from $116 to $132 per month.
Most of those fees only apply to the Funded Account® and the Premium Funded Account®, but not to the Pro Account®.
Can I have more than one Funded Account?
Traders cannot have more than one funded Account, as they are only eligible for a single funded level account at once. This means only one of the listed accounts below can be active at a time:
- Pro Account®.
- Funded Account®.
- Premium Funded Account®.
- Express Funded Account®, which is still in the pilot stage and may not be available to all traders.
Even if Topstep is one of the top funded trading programs in the market, the number of funded accounts that traders can use is limited, contrary to Apex paid funded accounts, for example.
Conclusion
To secure a Topstep Funded Account, you must first pass the Trading Combine challenge, which consists of two evaluation steps. At Trading Funder, we emphasize that it is critical to follow Topstep’s rules, including profit targets, daily loss limits, and scaling plans. After completing the Trading Combine, traders are eligible for three types of funded accounts: the Standard Funded Account, Pro Funded Account, or Premium Funded Account. Each account provides access to live capital, enabling traders to earn real profits. Fees for platform licenses and data subscriptions apply once you start trading with real funds.
