At Topstep, Many Traders get confused after winning the Topstep Trading Combine®; they start hearing about many different Topstep funded trading accounts that follow the challenge period; Pro Account®, Funded Account®, and Premium Funded Account®. So what is all This about? And what are the differences between all these accounts?
This is very simple and must not be confusing.
When you win the Trading Combine® Challenge into the Topstep program, you must choose between 2 types of funded accounts: Pro Account® or Funded Account®.
Funded Account® is a live account where you control real money on it.
But Pro Account® is a simulated account that will allow you, when you make a particular profit, to access a Premium Funded Account®.
So a trader may choose two ways:
- Trading Combine® > Funded Account®.
- Trading Combine® > Pro Account® > Premium Funded Account®.
Read more below to understand why some traders may go through the Pro Account® and all the differences between those accounts.
Pro Account® vs. Funded Account®
Unlike many other funded trading programs out there, and as you can already recognize, Topstep offers a different system for financed traders.
When you pass the challenge, you must choose between getting a Pro Account® or going directly to a Funded account. This section will examine what each of the two accounts entails.
Topstep Pro Account®
What is the Pro Account®?
The Pro Account® is a simulated account, meaning the money used for trading is inaccurate. Still, the equivalent profits in this account are transferred as real money once the trader transitions to a Premium Funded Account®.
With the Pro Account®, once a trader makes $5,000 in simulated profits, they get started in a Premium Funded Account® with a starting balance of $5,000, equivalent to the number of gains made in the Pro Account®.
However, if the trader violates any rule in the Pro Account®, they will forfeit the profits earned and have to return to the Trading Combine challenge to become eligible for funding again.
What are the pros of the Pro Account®?
The Pro Account® offers traders a myriad of advantages. Still, majorly, traders operating a Pro Account® have a similar opportunity to trade profitably like in the Funded Account®, while at the same time learning to adapt to actual money trading in an environment that is simulated but familiar.
Pros of operating a Pro Account® include:
- Saving on fees – there are no exchange data fees or additional platform fees in the Pro Account®, allowing traders to save money and earn a larger starting balance. This way, they have a significant buffer in their account when they go live.
- Immediate access – traders start almost immediately in the Pro Account® within 1-2 business days, thus allowing them to maintain the momentum they bring from the Trading Combine®.
- Greater flexibility – Pro Account® provides traders with more flexibility via a more significant drawdown once they are live in a Premium Funded Account®. Instead of starting with $0, they begin with $5,000.
- Rule violation does not lead to starting from scratch, even if you break a rule with a positive or negative balance. Traders can skip Step 1 and begin from Step 2 of the Trading Combine®. Before October 4, 2022, traders needed to have a positive balance to start from step 2, but since then, traders may start from step 2 with a positive or negative balance.
- Get 100% of your first $10000 profits: Contrary to the Funded Account® where you get 100% of your first $5000 profits, the Pro Account® allows you to withdraw 100% of your first $10000, but you need to move first to the Premium Funded Account® to start making withdrawals.
What are the cons of the Pro Account®?
- Traders do not get to trade with live money as it is a simulated account, just like in the Trading Combine.
- Traders will not have the possibility to withdraw from Topstep until they move to the Premium Funded Account®
- Rule violation will lead to the trader forfeiting positive simulated profits and losing the chance to transition into a Premium Funded Account®.
What are the rules in the Pro Account®?
The rules in the Pro Account® are similar to the ones found in Step 2 of the Trading combine, and they are stated below:
- Traders must not reach or exceed the Daily loss limit.
- Abide by the Topstep Scaling plan.
- Only permitted products should be traded at permitted times.
- Traders must not allow their account balance to reach or exceed the Trailing Maximum Drawdown.
- Trading positions must not be held within 2% of the Daily Price Limit of a product.
- Respect the consistency target.
- Reach $5000 in profits.
Aside from the rules, two targets need to be achieved. The targets are:
- The Profit target is the minimum profit a trader needs to earn to proceed to the Premium Funded Account®. And it was $5000.
- and the Consistency target states that the Best Day has to be less than 40% of total profits earned in the trading period.
Topstep Pro Account® Questions and Answers
Why is Topstep offering the Pro Account®?
After a long period of trading the futures market and funding traders, the firm has become one the most professional funded trading program in the market, and they understand the challenges that traders face in their quest to navigate the futures market and earn profits, especially with the upfront costs and the extra pressure of managing live capital.
Furthermore, it has been observed that there seems to be a psychological barrier as traders transition from trading in the Trading Combine to a live funded account, which tends to impact funded traders unfavorably. This was why the Pro Account® was created to reduce the hindrance traders face when trading live money, thus giving them the best chance of success.
Is there a time limit on the Pro Account®?
There is a time limit in the Pro Account®, as traders have a maximum of 90 days to achieve the target from when the account is set up. However, most traders tend to accomplish the Pro Account® target within the specified timeframe, even without getting close to the 90-day mark.
What happens once traders transition to a Premium Funded Account®?
The firm establishes the trader’s account once the Agreement for the Premium Funded Account® has been received. The firm usually takes 7-10 business days to complete the process. Login details are then made available to the trader immediately after the account is ready, and the Premium Funded Account® has a starting balance of $5,000.
How can I withdraw the $5000 earned in the Pro Account®?
Once you move to the Premium Funded Account®, and after making 5 winning trading days in that account, you can withdraw 50% of your account profits. Then, after making another five winning trading days, you can remove 50% of your account profits again.
Example:
You made $5000 in profits in the Pro Account®, so you moved to the Premium Funded Account®. Then after five winning days in this account, you made an additional $1000 profits, so now you have $6000.
You can ask Topstep to withdraw 50% of that profit, which means you can withdraw $3000. The other $3000 in profits remain in your Trading Account.
After another five winning trading days, you made another $1000, so now you have in your account $4000 profits. You can now request another withdrawal of 50% of your earnings, this time $2000.
You will always be able to withdraw 50% of your profits after five winning trading days.
Topstep Funded Account®
There are two types of live funded accounts in Topstep, the standard Funded Account® or the Premium Funded Account®. But this section will refer to the standard Funded Account®, referred to at Topstep as “Funded Account®.”
What is a Topstep Funded Account®?
The Funded Account® is a live trading account that enables traders to trade live markets using the capital provided by Topstep.
The account parameters found in the Funded Account® are similar to the ones in Step 2 of the Trading Combine®, and the starting balance in this account is $0.
The firm sets up the Funded Account® on the same platform that the trader used in the Trading Combine, and this is done in conjunction with its brokerage partners.
What are the pros of a Funded Account®?
- Once traders start making profits, withdrawals can be initiated after 5 winning trading days.
- If a rule gets broken, the trader only loses the account but receives their share of the profits.
- There is no Consistency rule that a trader has to follow.
- You can get 100% of your first $5000 profits.
What are the cons of the Funded Account®?
- It takes 7-10 days before a trader can have access, which might cause the trader’s momentum from the Trading Combine to dissipate, thus affecting their ability to make profits.
- It includes exchange data fees of $105 per month and additional platform fees for access to the live trading environment.
- Breaking a rule on this account will lead to the trader forfeiting the account and signing up again to begin from Step 1 of the Trading Combine. However, since October 4, 2022, traders don’t have to start over from step 1; they are allowed to start directly from step 2.
What are the rules in the Funded Account®?
Here are all the rules in the Topstep Funded Account:
- Traders must not reach or exceed the Daily loss limit.
- Abide by the scaling plan.
- Trade only permitted products.
- Trade only during permitted times.
- Traders must not allow their account balance to reach or exceed the Trailing Maximum Drawdown.
- Trading positions must not be held within 2% of the Daily Price Limit of a product.
Topstep Funded Account Questions and Answers
What are the costs in the Funded Account®?
Once the trader completes the Trading Combine, their monthly subscription ends, with the option of resetting. As a result, Topstep-funded traders are responsible for the costs associated with operating a professional trading business. There are three high costs that the trader needs to be aware of, as listed below:
- Round Turn fees and commissions.
- CME Professional data subscription.
- Platform License or Subscription.
How to reduce the cost of platform fees in a Funded account?
There are two significant ways of reducing the cost of platform fees:
- First, select one free platform, which includes the following T4, TSTrader, TradingView (Basic version), and Rtrader.
- Capitalize on the firm’s license discount with NinjaTrader – this is for traders yet to have a NinjaTrader license; they can take advantage of the firm’s partnership to enjoy discounts.
Can traders operate more than one Funded level account?
Traders are only allowed to have one funded level account at a time, which means if a trader should become eligible for funding in more than one Trading Combine account, and the accounts get funded, the newer account is suspended until it can be activated at a later date.
Main differences between Pro Account® and Funded Account
| Features | Pro Account® | Funded Account® |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal | No | Yes |
| Exchange data fees | None | Yes |
| Access to account | 1-2 business days | 7-10 business days |
| Result of rule violation | Start from Step 2 of the Trading Combine | Start from Step 1 of the Trading Combine |
| Time limit | Yes (90 days) | No |
| Existence of Consistency Target | Yes | No |
Topstep Premium Funded Account®
The Premium Funded Account® can’t be accessed directly after winning the Trading Combine Challenge; you must go through the Pro Account first®.
After making $5,000 profits on the Pro Account®, the trader is given access to the Premium Funded Account®, which will be examined in detail below.
What is a Premium Funded Account®?
The Premium Funded Account® is a live trading account in which the starting balance equals the simulated profits in the trader’s Pro Account® equivalent to $5,000. The transition to the Premium Funded Account® starts once the trader achieves the targets of the Pro Account® without violating any rules. The Premium Funded Account® is set up on the same trading platform the trader used in the Pro Account®.
What are the pros of a Premium Funded Account®?
- There is no weekly loss limit, as only the Daily loss limit is present.
- The Premium Funded Account® has a max drawdown fixed at $0 of the account balance. And since you start with $5000 in your credit, you can lose up to $4999 without losing your account.
- You will get 100% of your first $10000 in profits.
What are the cons of the Premium Funded Account®?
- Breaking a rule will lead to the trader forfeiting the available funds and having to start only from step 2 to win another funded account.
- You must go through a Pro Account® before accessing the Premium Funded Account®.
What are the rules in the Premium Funded Account®?
- Traders must not reach or exceed the Daily loss limit.
- Adhere to the scaling plan.
- Trade only permitted products.
- Trade only during permitted times.
- The account balance must not reach or exceed the Max Drawdown.
- Trading positions must not be held within 2% of the Daily Price Limit of a product.
Topstep Premium Funded Account® Questions and Answers
Why is the Max Drawdown in the Premium Funded Account® fixed at $0?
The Max Drawdown is $0 because once a trader has completed the Pro Account®, the Trailing Max Drawdown has trailed up to $0. Once this happens, the Trailing Max Drawdown stops trailing, and since the Pro Account® precedes the Premium Funded Account®, the trader does not have to worry about Max Drawdown anymore once the transition is complete.
Is there a weekly loss limit in the Premium Funded Account®?
Since September 4, 2022, Topstep removed the weekly loss limit rule o give traders more freedom.
What holidays affect the trading schedule for live accounts?
For live accounts, holidays impact the trading schedule, and below are the holidays in 2022 that will affect how trading positions are opened and closed.
- President’s day (Monday, February 21) – No trading positions must be open between 12:00 PM CT and 5:00 PM CT.
- Good Friday (Friday, April 15) – No trading allowed
- Memorial Day (Monday, May 30) – No trading allowed
- Juneteenth (Monday, June 20) – No trading positions must be open between 12:00 PM CT and 5:00 PM CT.
- Independence Day (Monday, July 4) – No trading allowed
- Labor Day (Monday, September 5) – No trading allowed
- Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 24 & Friday, November 25) – No trading allowed
- Christmas & Boxing Day (Sunday, December 25 & Monday, December 26) – Markets closed
Differences between Premium Funded and Funded Account®
| Features | Premium Funded Account® | Funded Account® |
|---|---|---|
| Access after winning Trading Combine | You have to make $5000 in profits in the Pro Account® | Direct Access |
| Starting balance | $5,000 | $0 |
| Get 100% of your first profit | Up to $10000 | Up to $5000 |
| No | No | |
| Max Drawdown | Not Trailing(fixed at $0) | Trailing |
| Preceding account | Pro Account® | Trading combine account |
