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What is Elite Trader Funding?
Elite Trader Funding, a prop firm, grants traders access to live trading accounts based on their performance in simulated accounts. These accounts enable traders to trade financial instruments in the futures market, as outlined by the company.
Traders can manage multiple accounts, up to 20, under one login and choose from various evaluation options. The firm’s unique funding program structure allows traders to select the most suitable evaluation option while operating multiple accounts within their capability.
For profit splitting, the first $12,500 earned by a trader belongs solely to them. Subsequent profits follow an 80:20 ratio, with 80% going to the trader and 20% to the company. This arrangement benefits both parties. An optional $75 evaluation reset fee is available for traders who fail the evaluation process, enabling them to try again with a new account.
Elite Trader Funding works with multiple trading platforms, such as Tradovate, TradingView, NinjaTrader, and Rithmic. Markets available include CBOT, NYMEX, Comex, and CME Group, which determine accessible financial instruments. Traders can only trade instruments approved by the company. The firm’s focus is on clients’ essential trading skills, keeping rules to a minimum.
Who are the founders of Elite Trader Funding?
Elite Trader Funding‘s three co-founders have diverse backgrounds and experiences, ensuring the firm’s dedication and ability to deliver on its features.
Eric, a co-founder, currently works in the oil and gas industry in credit risk management. His previous experience includes a few years in a commodities trade shop and five years in banking. As a CFA charter holder with an MBA and a BA in Economics, Eric’s extensive knowledge of finance led him to realize the benefits of a well-structured prop firm. He then teamed up with his co-founders to create Elite Trader Funding.
Clint, another co-founder, is a web development expert with 20 years of experience. He started trading futures about four years ago after selling option premiums. Although his initial attempts at futures trading were unsuccessful, he joined forces with Eric, and they formed Elite Trader Funding.
Kanwal, the third co-founder, has a background in network and security infrastructure. His interest in trading stems from his ability to recognize repetitive patterns on charts. After receiving a margin call for his Tesla call option, he took trading more seriously. Eric advised him to adopt a slow and steady approach to futures trading before joining Clint to establish Elite Trader Funding.
Is Elite Trader Funding a scam?
Skepticism often surrounds prop trading firms due to the industry’s uncertain nature. Traders question a firm’s ability to deliver on its promises as some prop firms make empty claims, leaving traders empty-handed after evaluation. Trustpilot offers insight into Elite Trader Funding’s credibility, with traders sharing their experiences.
Reviews on Trustpilot indicate that Elite Trader Funding is not a scam, as 80% of its 79 reviews give the company a five-star rating. Positive feedback highlights the firm’s ability to deliver on promises, fantastic community, and exceptional customer support. The evaluation process is seen as firm and professional, rewarding traders who persevere.
One review praised the funding program for providing a platform to hone trading skills and offering funds to trade financial instruments. Other positives include multiple accounts and no hidden fees. A negative review cited the loss of over $7K in affiliate commission due to a promotion method violation.
In conclusion, as long as traders adhere to the program’s rules and structure, they can successfully earn funded accounts and make withdrawals from them.
Elite Trader Offers and Prices for Futures Traders
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Elite Trader Funding offers two main evaluation types for traders interested in the futures market: 1-Step evaluation and End-of-day drawdown evaluation. Each evaluation has specific account categories with unique features.
1-Step evaluation
1-Step evaluation is popular for its simplicity and appeals to traders who engage in quick, frequent trades. Features include:
- Intraday unrealized profit trailing drawdown
- Minimum 5 trading days requirement
- No scaling rule
- Resets available for $75
Account sizes, prices, max positions, max drawdowns, and profit targets for 1-Step evaluation:
| Account Size | Price | Max Positions | Max Drawdown | Profit Target |
| 10K Eval | $80 | 1:1 | $1,000 | $1,250 |
| 25K Eval | $145 | 3:3 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| 50K Eval | $165 | 8:8 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| 75K Eval | $185 | 10:10 | $2,500 | $4,500 |
| 100K Eval | $205 | 14:14 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| 150K Eval | $295 | 18:18 | $5,000 | $9,000 |
| 250K Eval | $515 | 24:24 | $6,500 | $15,000 |
| 300K Eval | $655 | 30:30 | $7,500 | $20,000 |
End-of-day drawdown evaluation
End-of-day drawdown evaluation features:
- End-of-day trailing drawdown
- Daily loss limit
- Funded accounts (Elite accounts) with end-of-day drawdown
- No scaling rule
- Minimum 5 trading days requirement
- Resets available for $75
Account sizes, prices, max positions, max drawdowns, daily loss limits, and profit targets for End-of-day drawdown evaluation:
| Account Size | Price | Max Positions | Max Drawdown | Daily Loss Limit | Profit Target |
| 25K Eval | $150 | 3:3 | $1,500 | $550 | $1,750 |
| 50K Eval | $170 | 8:8 | $2,000 | $1,100 | $3,000 |
| 75K Eval | $240 | 10:10 | $2,750 | $1,750 | $4,300 |
| 100K Eval | $305 | 14:14 | $3,500 | $2,200 | $6,000 |
| 150K Eval | $450 | 18:18 | $4,500 | $3,300 | $9,000 |
| 250K Eval | $590 | 24:24 | $7,000 | $4,300 | $15,000 |
Fast track evaluation
The Mini Track evaluation is designed for traders confident in their skills and looking to quickly reach profit targets. This option allows them to pay less and expedite earning a funded account, known as the Elite account. Key features include:
- No reset option
- Intraday unrealized profit trailing drawdown
- Minimum 5 trading days requirement
- Maximum 14 calendar days to achieve the profit target
- No scaling rule
Account sizes, prices, max positions, max drawdowns, and profit targets for Mini Track evaluation:
| Account Size | Price | Max Positions | Max Drawdown | Profit Target |
| 25K Mini Track | $45 | 2: 2 | $750 | $2,000 |
| 100K Eval | $75 | 14: 14 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| 250K Eval | $150 | 24: 24 | $6,500 | $15,000 |
Static drawdown evaluation
The Static Evaluation type has a max loss but no trailing drawdown, as the minimum allowed balance remains fixed at its starting point. Other features include:
- Reset option for $75
- No scaling rule
- Minimum 5 trading days requirement
Account sizes, prices, max positions, max drawdowns, and profit targets for Static Evaluation:
| Account Size | Price | Max Positions | Max Drawdown | Profit Target |
| 100K Static Eval | $135 | 2: 2 | $625 | $2,000 |
| 150K Static Eval | $300 | 4: 4 | $1,250 | $4,000 |
Diamond hands evaluation
The features of this evaluation type include:
- End-of-day trailing drawdown, carried over to Elite accounts
- Daily loss limit
- No scaling rule
- Reset option for $75
Account sizes, prices, max positions, max drawdowns, daily loss limits, and profit targets for this evaluation type:
| Account Size | Price | Max Positions | Max Drawdown | Daily Loss Limit | Profit Target |
| 100K Eval | $365 | 2: 2 | $3,500 | $1,500 | $5,000 |
Elite Trader Funding offers various evaluations, each with unique features. However, certain features are common across all evaluation types. For instance, traders receive a free NinjaTrader license key and real-time data for both eval and elite accounts. An $80 monthly fee applies for elite accounts, but fast-track evaluation offers discounts on the first month for the 100K account and the first two months for the 250K account.
Automatic renewal of account fees occurs every 30 days for all evaluation types, except fast-track evaluation, which has a 14-day evaluation period. Among the evaluations, 1-step evaluation has the highest number of account types (8), while diamond hands evaluation has the lowest (1). Fast-track evaluation offers some of the lowest prices, while end-of-day drawdown evaluation has higher prices relative to available account categories.
What are Elite Trader Funding Rules and Objectives
What are the rules in every evaluation category?
Elite Trader Funding has specific rules and objectives for each evaluation type to ensure traders meet the required standards. Here are the rules for each evaluation category:
1-Step Evaluation:
- Trade a minimum of 5 days.
- Do not hit the trailing drawdown.
- Achieve the profit target.
- Do not trade beyond the allowed contracts.
- Close all trades 1 minute before market closure.
End-of-Day Drawdown Evaluation:
- Avoid hitting the end-of-day trailing drawdown and daily loss limit.
- Do not trade beyond the permitted contracts.
Fast Track Evaluation:
- A maximum of 14 calendar days to achieve the profit target.
Static Drawdown Evaluation:
- Avoid hitting the minimum account balance.
Diamond Hands Evaluation:
- Avoid hitting your daily loss limit and end-of-day trailing drawdown.
- Achieve the profit target.
Explaining the rules at Elite trader funding
Elite Trader Funding has specific rules to ensure traders are meeting required standards. Here’s an explanation of the rules:
Max Trailing Drawdown:
- The drawdown always trails the highest unrealized profit in the evaluation account.
- If the trader hits the drawdown of the selected account, the evaluation is considered a failure.
- In the privileged account, the drawdown continues to trail the trader’s unrealized profit until it reaches the starting balance of +$100, at which point it stops trailing.
- The account balance must not drop below the starting balance of +$100, or the trader will be deemed to have blown up the account.
End-of-Day Drawdown:
- For evaluation account types featuring end-of-day drawdown, the drawdown trails the highest end-of-day profit.
- There is also an intraday daily loss limit calculated from the previous day’s ending balance.
- If an open position causes the trader’s account balance to fall below the daily loss limit intraday, the trader will be deemed to have failed the evaluation.
- In the Elite account, the drawdown trails the end-of-day profit until it reaches the starting balance of +$100.
- Once the trader gains realized profits equal to the drawdown +$100, the account will no longer have a daily loss limit, and the drawdown will never move again.
- The minimum permitted balance of the trader’s Elite account will now be the starting balance of +$100. If the account balance falls below this new threshold, the trader will have to forfeit the account.
The table below demonstrates a working example of the EOD drawdown in an Elite account. The daily loss limit resets each trading day and is determined by the previous day’s EOD balance. The daily loss limit only trails the last day’s balance and does not change within a trading day. If the trader becomes profitable intraday, the trigger for the daily loss limit remains unchanged. The account will be forfeited if the EOD balance drops below the trailing EOD drawdown or if the daily loss limit is hit at any point.
| Day | Starting Balance ($) | Trailing EOD Drawdown ($) | Remaining EOD Drawdown ($) | Day PnL ($) | EOD Balance ($) | Daily Loss Limit Trigger ($) |
| 1 | 50,000 | 48,000 | 2,000 | 550 | 50,550 | 48,900 |
| 2 | 50,550 | 48,550 | 2,000 | 250 | 50,300 | 49,450 |
| 3 | 50,300 | 48,550 | 1,750 | 500 | 49,800 | 49,200 |
| 4 | 49,800 | 48,550 | 1,250 | 800 | 49,000 | 48,700 |
| 5 | 49,000 | 48,550 | 450 | 1,800 | 50,800 | 47,900 |
| 6 | 50,800 | 48,800 | 2,000 | 900 | 49,900 | 49,700 |
| 7 | 49,900 | 48,800 | 1,100 | 800 | 49,100 | 48,800 |
| 8 | 49,100 | 48,800 | 300 | 400 | 48,700 | 48,000 |
For instance, on Day 2, the starting balance is $50,550, and the trigger for the daily loss limit is set at $49,450 ($50,550 – $1,100). If the trader makes a profit of $1,000 that day, the balance increases to $51,550, but the trigger for the daily loss limit remains unchanged at $49,450. For the daily loss limit to be triggered, the trader must incur losses amounting to $2,100. On Day 8, the EOD balance falls below the trailing EOD drawdown, which means the account will be forfeited. The account would also be forfeited if the PnL (both realized and unrealized profits) hits the daily loss limit of $1,100 at any point during any of the days shown.
Holding trades overnight
Holding trades overnight is not permitted at Elite Trader Funding. All trades must be closed one minute before the market closes. Different instruments have varying market closing times, and traders are responsible for knowing these specific times and closing their positions accordingly. Holding a position beyond the market closing time will be considered a rule violation, leading to the failure of the evaluation account and the loss of the Elite account. In an Elite account, the trader will lose the account and forfeit all the profits currently available.
Minimum requirement of 5 trading days
Traders must engage in trading for at least 5 trading days while achieving their profit target to be eligible for an Elite account. A trading day is defined as the day a trader executes a trade. Sunday does not count as a trading day, as Sunday evening and Monday are calculated as the same trading day.
Maximum of 14 calendar days
For most evaluation account types, there is a maximum number of days to achieve the profit target. However, for the fast-track evaluation, traders have only 14 calendar days or 10 trading sessions to achieve the profit target and qualify for an Elite account. If they do not meet the profit target within this time frame, they will be deemed to have failed the fast-track evaluation.
Maximum account positions
Traders are allowed to open up to the maximum permitted positions at any time. Exceeding this limit will lead to the failure of the evaluation account or the loss of the Elite account along with any profits. Typically, 10 micros equal 1 small or 1 mini in trading positions, representing “1 position.”
Consider an account with maximum open positions of 3 minis, 3 small, or 30 micros to understand which positions are permitted and which are not:
Permitted: 1 mini, 10 micros, and 1 small
Permitted: 2 minis, 1 small
Permitted: 2 minis, 10 micros
Permitted: 2 small, 10 micros
Not permitted: 1 small, 1 mini, and 20 micros (20 micros equals 2 positions, putting the total account positions at 4, beyond the 3 positions allowed for this account).
Not permitted: 2 minis, 2 small (total positions = 4)
Not allowed: 3 minis, 3 small, 30 micros (total positions = 9)
Static drawdown: minimum allowed balance
For static drawdown accounts, the drawdown remains at the minimum allowed balance for both evaluation and Elite accounts. For example, a trader starts with an account size of $25,000 with a max loss of $625, meaning the minimum account balance is $24,375. If the trader executes a profitable trade and closes it with a profit of $1,000, the minimum balance remains unchanged at $24,375. The trader would need to incur a loss of $1,625 to fail the evaluation. If this occurs, the trader can use the reset option to get a new account of the same size.
In the static Elite account, traders can withdraw their profits up to the starting balance of +$100. For example, with the $25K Elite account, the trader can withdraw all gains until the balance is $25,100, and the drawdown will remain the same at $24,375.
Elite Trader Funding Pros and Cons
Pros of Elite Trader Funding
- Traders have access to various products and exchanges.
- Multiple evaluation options are available for traders to choose from.
- The evaluation reset fee is only $75.
- A free trial is available.
- Traders can manage up to 20 accounts simultaneously under a single login.
- Funding is quick once traders complete the evaluation.
- Professional platforms such as NinjaTrader, Tradingview, and Tradovate are available.
- Traders retain 80% of profits after the first $12,500.
Cons of Elite Trader Funding
- The company is relatively new in the prop firm industry.
- Overnight or weekend trading is not allowed.
- MetaTrader platforms are not available.
- Individual stock instruments are not provided.
- Copy trading is not permitted.
Questions and Answers about Elite Trader
What counts as a trading day?
A trading day is any day a trader places a trade, while calendar days include the days when a trader does not place any trades. Traders are responsible for being aware of the different market hours for the products they trade. A typical trading day starts at 5 pm (CST) and ends at 4 pm (CST).
What exchanges can I trade?
The exchanges available for trading are CME, CBOT, COMEX, Small Exchange, and NYMEX.
Can I reset my account if I fail?
If traders fail the evaluation account, they can reset it using the reset button available on the trader dashboard. This option is not available for fast-track evaluations and costs $75. If the trader has an active subscription when the evaluation account fails, the company will reset it automatically at no extra cost once the renewal fee is paid. There is no reset option for Elite accounts, meaning that losing the account will require the trader to start again with an evaluation account.
What is the profit split?
The profit split is structured so that the trader receives 100% of the first $12,500 in profits. Subsequent payments will be split in an 80:20 ratio between the trader and the company, with the trader taking the larger share of the profits.
How do payouts work?
To qualify for the first payout, traders must trade for at least 20 separate trading days, and their trailing drawdown must reach their starting balance of +$100. For the second payout, they must trade for at least 15 separate trading days after the first payout. For the third payout and subsequent ones, traders need to trade for at least 10 separate trading days since the last payout. Traders can request one payout per calendar month, and approved payouts are processed on Fridays. If a payout causes the account to fall below the minimum balance, the account will be closed.
Can traders trade during news events?
Yes, traders can trade during news events, but the company advises caution due to the associated risks, such as high volatility and potential issues with order execution, especially in Elite accounts.
What is the maximum number of accounts a trader can have?
A trader can have up to 20 accounts simultaneously, including Evaluations and Elite accounts, as long as they can manage multiple accounts.
How do traders earn rewards on evaluations and resets?
The company offers promotions that give rewards to traders on evaluations and resets. For example, traders can earn 1 point for every dollar spent on eligible products. The company also runs double and triple points promotions. Traders should follow the company’s social media accounts for updates on these promotions. The table below shows the points needed to access rewards for evaluations and resets:
| Product | Required Points |
| Account Reset | 1,250 |
| 100K Fast Track | 4,200 |
| 250K Fast Track | 8,000 |
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