Trading rules in The Funded Trader are in place to ensure that traders meet specific performance and risk standards as they navigate the simulated challenges. The Trading Funder team has conducted extensive research to make understanding these rules straightforward, providing clear guidelines and support to help traders meet requirements with ease.
Account types in The Funded Trader include options like the Standard, Rapid, Royal, Knight, and Dragon Challenges. Each type has its own set of rules covering things like profit targets, drawdown limits, and trading permissions.
The Funded Trader has clear trading rules across its account types: there’s a Daily Loss Limit (typically 3%-5%) and a Maximum Drawdown (6%-10%), along with Leverage Limits depending on asset type. Some accounts allow Holding Over Weekends and Major News Events (e.g., Royal Challenge), while others don’t. Hedging is generally allowed, and Scaling Plans offer increases for consistent performance. Expert Advisors (EAs) and Copy Trading are often permitted, though some platform limitations may apply. There’s also a Consistency Rule on some accounts, and Trading Style Restrictions vary, so checking account-specific rules is essential.
The Funded Trader does not offer direct or instant funding without evaluation; all account types require passing a challenge phase. Each account type, including the Knight Pro Challenge, requires completing a single-phase or multi-phase evaluation process before a trader can access funded capital.
The Funded Trader’s payout policy allows withdrawals 7 to 30 days after funding, with splits up to 95% for VIPs (standard is 75%-80%). Withdrawals are managed in the Trade Hub, and accounts are reviewed for rule compliance; any profits from rule-breaking trades may be deducted.
In this article, our Trading Funder team will provide an in-depth review of The Funded Trader‘s rules and guidelines, covering evaluations, funded accounts, payout structures, and withdrawal policies to help you make an informed decision.
What are the rules for The Funded Trader’s Evaluation?
The rules for The Funded Trader’s Evaluation are designed to ensure traders meet certain risk and performance standards during the challenge phases before accessing a funded account. These rules include a Daily Loss Limit of 3%-5% and a Maximum Drawdown of 6%-10%, which vary by account type. Leverage is capped depending on asset types, and Expert Advisors (EAs), hedging, and copy trading are generally allowed, though some platforms have limitations. Rules for holding trades over weekends and during major news events depend on the specific challenge, with the Royal Challenge allowing weekend holds. Some accounts also include a scaling plan for consistent performance, while others may have certain trading style restrictions and a Consistency Rule to encourage steady, responsible trading.
The following table summarizes key rule details across the main account types in The Funded Trader’s Evaluation:
| Rule | Standard Challenge | Rapid Challenge | Royal Challenge | Knight Challenge | Dragon Challenge | Knight Pro Challenge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Loss Limit | 5% | 5% | 5% | 3% (4% with add-on) | 5% | 5% (soft breach) |
| Maximum Drawdown | 10% | 8% | 10% | 6% (7% with add-on) | 10% | 8% (relative drawdown) |
| Leverage | Up to 1:100 on forex | Up to 1:100 on forex | Up to 1:100 on forex | Up to 1:100 on forex | Up to 1:100 on forex | 1:30 (varies by asset) |
| Consistency Rule | No | No | No | No | No | Yes, Steadfast Gains Rule |
| Holding Over Weekends | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Holding Over News Events | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Hedging | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Scaling Plan | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | No |
| Use of EAs | Add-on required | Not permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted |
| Trading Style Restrictions | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, Steadfast Gains applies |
| Copy Trading | Add-on required | Not permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted |
1- The Drawdown
In The Funded Trader’s Evaluation, drawdown rules are designed to limit losses by setting strict limits on both daily losses and maximum drawdown for each account type.
For example, on a 100K Standard Challenge account with a 5% daily drawdown, if the account value rises to 105K by the end of the trading day, the following day’s drawdown limit would reset based on the new balance (e.g., drawdown allowed until 99,750). The daily drawdown resets daily between 4:57 PM and 5:03 PM EST, so it’s important to monitor the balance to avoid a breach.
| Account Type | Daily Loss Limit | Maximum Drawdown |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Challenge | 5% | 10% |
| Rapid Challenge | 5% | 8% |
| Royal Challenge | 5% | 10% |
| Knight Challenge | 3% (4% with add-on) | 6% (7% with add-on) |
| Dragon Challenge | 5% | 10% |
| Knight Pro Challenge | 5% | 8% |
2- Leverage Limit
In The Funded Trader’s Evaluation, leverage limits control the amount of exposure traders can take on with each account type. Leverage varies by asset class and account type; for example, a Standard Challenge account allows forex trading at up to 1:200 leverage, meaning that with a $1,000 balance, a trader can control up to $200,000 in forex trades. Higher leverage means increased potential returns but also increased risk, so each account type has leverage limits to manage exposure.
| Account Type | Forex Leverage | Gold & Commodities | Indices | Crypto |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Challenge | 1:200 | 1:30 | 1:20 | 1:2 |
| Rapid Challenge | 1:100 | 1:30 | 1:20 | 1:2 |
| Royal Challenge | 1:50 | 1:15 | 1:10 | 1:1 |
| Knight Challenge | 1:30 | 1:10 | 1:5 | 1:1 |
| Dragon Challenge | 1:100 | 1:30 | 1:20 | 1:2 |
| Knight Pro Challenge | 1:30 | 1:10 | 1:5 | 1:1 |
3- Consistency Rule
The Funded Trader’s Consistency Rule, also known as the Steadfast Gains Rule in some challenges, is designed to promote stable trading patterns by ensuring that no single trading day accounts for an outsized portion of a trader’s total profits.
For example, in the Knight Pro Challenge, a trader’s highest-profit day cannot exceed 50% of their total net profits. If this happens, the trader must continue trading until profits are more balanced before any withdrawals are allowed.
4- Trading Hours
The Funded Trader’s trading hours follow typical market hours but have specific guidelines for weekends and crypto trading. For most account types, trades cannot be held over the weekend, so all open trades are closed automatically at 4 PM EST each Friday and re-enabled around 5 PM EST on Sunday. However, certain crypto pairs like BTC/USD, ETH/USD, and others can be traded continuously over the weekend. Additionally, there are regular maintenance windows twice monthly, typically for an hour, where trading may be paused to ensure system stability.
5- Allowed Instruments
The Funded Trader’s allowed instruments include:
- Forex Pairs: Major, minor, and some exotic currency pairs
- Commodities: Precious metals like gold and silver
- Indices: Global indices including US30, NASDAQ, UK100, and others
- Cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, and SOL
Instrument availability may vary by platform (cTrader, Match-Trader, DXtrade, and Platform 5) but generally covers these asset classes across most account types.
What are the objectives of The Funded Trader’s evaluation?
The objectives of The Funded Trader’s evaluation focus on testing traders’ skills across set Profit Targets, Consistency, and Discipline without a strict Time Limit. For example, in the Standard Challenge, traders need to meet a 10% profit target in Phase 1 and 5% in Phase 2 without any set timeline, allowing flexibility in how goals are reached.
1- profit target
The Funded Trader’s profit targets vary by account type and are required in each evaluation phase to demonstrate profitability. For most challenges, Phase 1 has a higher target to assess initial trading skill, while Phase 2 has a slightly lower target to confirm consistency. For instance, the Standard and Knight Challenges set a 10% target in Phase 1, whereas Rapid and Royal Challenges set 8%.
| Account Type | Phase 1 Profit Target | Phase 2 Profit Target | Phase 3 Profit Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Challenge | 10% | 5% | N/A |
| Rapid Challenge | 8% | 5% | N/A |
| Royal Challenge | 8% | 5% | N/A |
| Knight Challenge | 10% | N/A | N/A |
| Dragon Challenge | 8% | 5% | 5% |
| Knight Pro Challenge | 10% | N/A | N/A |
2- Consistency and Discipline
The Funded Trader’s Consistency and Discipline objective focuses on ensuring traders use steady, controlled strategies rather than relying on large, high-risk trades. In the Knight Pro Challenge, for instance, the Steadfast Gains Rule requires that no single day’s profit exceeds 50% of the total net profits to qualify for withdrawal. If a trader hits 50% or more in one day, they must continue trading until daily profits balance out below this threshold before any payouts are possible.
what are The Funded Trader’s Funded Accounts rules?
The Funded Trader’s Funded Account rules set specific guidelines to help traders maintain disciplined trading and protect capital after completing the evaluation phase. These rules vary slightly across account types and address risk management, trading styles, and certain permissions.
- Daily Loss Limit: Generally, a 5% daily loss limit is in place for most funded accounts, which resets each day.
- Maximum Drawdown: Capped at around 10% for most accounts, this limit defines the maximum allowable drop from the starting balance.
- Leverage: Varies by asset type, with up to 1:200 leverage allowed on forex pairs for some accounts.
- Consistency Rule: Applicable mainly to specific accounts like the Knight Pro, requiring profit consistency.
- Holding Over Weekends and Major News Events: The Royal Challenge permits weekend holds, while news trading rules vary; only the Knight Pro fully permits unrestricted news trading.
- Hedging and Copy Trading: Generally permitted, but copy trading may require add-ons for some accounts.
- Scaling Plan: Most accounts are eligible for a 25% balance increase every three months based on profitability.
- Use of Expert Advisors (EAs): Allowed, though some platforms have limitations.
Here is a table summarizing key rules for each Funded Account type in The Funded Trader. This table includes details like Daily Loss Limit, Maximum Drawdown, Leverage Limits, and other specific rules that guide trading behavior and risk management for funded accounts.
| Rule | Standard Funded Account | Rapid Funded Account | Royal Funded Account | Knight Funded Account | Dragon Funded Account | Knight Pro Funded Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Loss Limit | 5% | 5% | 5% | 3% (4% with add-on) | 5% | 5% (soft breach) |
| Maximum Drawdown | 10% | 8% | 10% | 6% (7% with add-on, relative) | 10% | 8% (relative) |
| Leverage | Up to 1:200 | Up to 1:100 | Up to 1:100 | Up to 1:100 | Up to 1:100 | 1:30 |
| Consistency Rule | No | No | No | No | No | Yes (Steadfast Gains Rule) |
| Holding Over Weekends | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Holding Over Major News | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Hedging | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Scaling Plan | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | 25% every 3 months | No |
| Use of Expert Advisors (EAs) | Permitted with add-on | Not permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted |
| Trading Style Restrictions | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, no arbitrage | No HFT, Steadfast Gains applies |
| Copy Trading | Permitted with add-on | Not permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted | Permitted |
Additional rules
Additional rules for The Funded Trader’s funded accounts focus on compliance, account maintenance, and prohibited strategies:
- KYC Requirement: Traders must complete Know Your Customer (KYC) verification before activating a funded account. Accounts will not be activated without successful ID verification.
- 30-Day Inactivity Rule: Accounts with no trades for 30 consecutive days are marked inactive, leading to account suspension and forfeiture of simulated profits or pending payouts.
- Violation Warning System: The system tracks rule violations (e.g., news trading, high-frequency trading). After two warnings, further breaches lead to account suspension. Violations like copy trading and arbitrage result in profit deductions and potential account termination on the third offense.
- Withdrawal Warning for Knight Accounts: With relative drawdown limits, the Knight account warns traders not to withdraw profits that leave insufficient balance, which could breach the account.
- Prohibited Strategies: These include grid trading, latency arbitrage, and platform or data freezing for unfair advantage. Violations of these strategies follow the same warning system.
What are The Funded Trader’s Funded Accounts objectives?
The objectives of The Funded Trader’s funded accounts prioritize consistency, discipline, and effective risk management over specific profit targets. These objectives include:
- Consistency and Discipline: Traders are expected to maintain steady trading without significant, inconsistent spikes in profit, aiming to reinforce long-term stability.
- Risk Management: Adherence to daily and maximum drawdown limits is critical to protect capital and demonstrate disciplined trading.
- No Profit Targets or Time Limits: Funded accounts have no fixed profit targets or deadlines, allowing traders to trade at a sustainable pace as long as they follow drawdown and risk rules.
Does The Funded Trader have a consistency rule?
The Funded Trader has a consistency rule called the “Steadfast Gains Rule,” which is applied during the funded stage to promote consistent trading and disciplined risk management. According to this rule, the largest single profitable trading day must not exceed 50% of a trader’s total net profits. If a trading day surpasses this threshold, withdrawals are paused until trading returns to more consistent levels, aligning with the rule’s guidelines.
Does The Funded Trader have a scaling plan rule?
The Funded Trader has a scaling plan for funded accounts, allowing traders to increase their account size by 25% every three months if they show a minimum of 6% profit. This scaling is applied to account types including the Standard, Rapid, Royal, Knight, and Dragon challenges. Most accounts can scale up to a combined total of $1.5 million across multiple accounts. However, the Knight Pro Challenge offers an expanded limit, allowing up to $2.5 million in funded accounts and reaching a possible $5 million across challenge and funded phases.
what are The Funded Trader’s withdrawal/payout rules?
The Funded Trader’s withdrawal and payout rules are structured around several key conditions:
- Profit Split: Standard payout starts at 80% of profits and can reach 95% with VIP status. The Dragon Challenge offers a unique option to purchase a 95% split from the outset.
- Consistency Rule: The “Steadfast Gains Rule” requires that no single trading day’s profit exceeds 50% of total net profits to ensure stability. If a trade day breaches this, withdrawals are paused until profits stabilize below the 50% threshold.
- Minimum Trading Days: Funded accounts have no minimum trading day requirement. Some evaluation phases may specify minimums, such as five days for the Royal Challenge.
- Account Balance and Drawdown Requirements: Funded accounts apply both daily and total drawdown limits. For example, most challenges enforce a 5% daily and a 10% maximum drawdown rule, while specific challenges like the Rapid and Knight set daily drawdowns at 3-5%.
- Payout Schedule: Payouts are typically bi-weekly, every 14 days from the last withdrawal. Some challenges offer a 7-day payout option with an add-on.
- Payout Minimums: Minimum payout requests are set at $100 and can be processed in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT.
- Withdrawal Requirements and Processing: After submitting a withdrawal request, traders confirm the amount and method (crypto), with processing times depending on the challenge type and selected payout frequency. The payout portal requires users to confirm details via email.
- Effect on Scaling: Payouts affect scaling eligibility only if traders meet steady profitability (at least 6% profit over three months). Accounts in good standing are eligible for a 25% balance increase every quarter, up to the challenge’s maximum allocation.
What are the spread and commissions at The Funded Trader?
The Funded Trader charges a commission of $4 per lot on forex trades and $1 per lot on metals, while there are no commission fees for indices, crypto, or oil trades. Spreads are provided by their partnered platforms, including cTrader, DXTrade, Platform 5, and Match-Trader, and are competitive, though exact spread values can vary by platform and market conditions.
Is The Funded Trader a Regulated Company?
The Funded Trader is an unregulated demo trading evaluation firm. Here are the main details:
- Company Name and Founding Year: The Funded Trader LLC, founded in 2021.
- Founder Name: Angelo Ciaramello.
- Company Type and Location: A proprietary trading evaluation company based in Texas, USA.
- How It Operates: Traders are evaluated through simulated accounts; no real money is traded. Traders undergo an assessment, and if they pass, they receive simulated funded accounts.
- Markets or Instruments Traded: Focuses on forex, indices, metals, and cryptocurrencies.
- Regulation Status: Unregulated; not registered as a financial institution or broker.
- Partner Brokers and Data Providers: Partnered with demo trading platforms, but details of specific brokers are not listed.
- Compliance or Regulatory Framework: Operates under standard KYC/AML protocols for fund disbursement, though these are limited to identity verification for account activation
Is The Funded Trader a Legit Company?
The Funded Trader, founded in 2021 by Angelo Ciaramello, operates out of Liberty Hill, Texas. It has a Trustpilot score of 3.6 out of 5 based on over 20,000 reviews, showing mixed feedback. On the positive side, the company offers flexible funding options and profit splits that can go up to 95%, which appeals to many traders. However, a common complaint from users includes occasional slippage and delays in processing payouts, which have raised concerns for some traders about consistency and reliability. read our review of The Funded Trader to learn more.
Conclusion on The Funded Trader’s rules
At Trading Funder, we’ve deeply analyzed The Funded Trader’s structured rules and found that they’re well-designed for promoting disciplined trading, with clear profit targets, drawdown limits, and a compelling payout system that can offer up to a 95% profit split for successful traders. This generous profit-sharing structure is a major advantage, as it motivates traders to adhere to the firm’s guidelines and aim for higher performance. However, based on feedback we’ve reviewed, some users report occasional delays in payouts, which raises concerns about the reliability of withdrawals. While The Funded Trader’s model is appealing for those aiming to grow within a prop firm, our consulting suggests that consistent operational practices are crucial for strengthening trader confidence and ensuring long-term success.
