TopstepTrader Q & A

[p0box4]

If i start trading a combine, e.g., 150k, and immediately I incur a loss and my account balance drops below 150k, I assume I have to restart again, right? Also, if i pay the fee to participate, e.g., $375 for 150k, and I have to restart, what about the $375 I payed, do I have to pay again?

If you start a 150K combine, you can go down to 145500. Losing a maximum of 3K each day/week until you reach the maximum drawdown. (Weekly only in stage 2)
If you make a small profit of lets say 2K and then start to go down then your trailing drawdown is 2K higher, so at 147500.
If you reach 4,5K profit or more the trailing draw down will stay at 150k
If you do a restart then the combine keeps going, so you have to pay the 375$ again for the next month, the 375$ is a monthly fee until you complete stage 2. So a restart only is interesting if you are more then 5 days away from the payment renewal and you believe you can make the target in the remaining days. If you think you will need lets say 10 days and there are 5 days remaining, it is better to just stop the combine and start a new one.

Remember you now also have to pay for stage 2 since the rules changed some time ago.

 

[Xela]

If i start trading a combine, e.g., 150k, and immediately I incur a loss and my account balance drops below 150k, I assume I have to restart again, right?

No - not right at all. (That wouldn't be much of a deal, would it?! Anyone might start off losing their first trade or two, no matter how good their trading and risk-management skills.)

Also, if i pay the fee to participate, e.g., $375 for 150k, and I have to restart, what about the $375 I payed, do I have to pay again?

You can re-set any Combine on payment of a $100 fee. So, yes: you have to pay again if you fail the Combine, but not necessarily $375 until that's due after a month. (I'd advise you to study the details of all the available Combines in great detail before deciding to pay $375 for the $150k Combine - I find it quite hard to see any really significant advantages from doing that over paying $165 for the $50k Combine, myself: both those Combines, in the event of being successfully completed and earning you a funded account, will start you off at 2-3 contracts anyway.)

I really think it would help you to have a good read through TST's website, where all these basic questions are explained in some detail: https://www.topsteptrader.com/learn-how/

Remember you now also have to pay for stage 2 since the rules changed some time ago.

That really isn't quite right: if you can pass the second step of the Combine within one month of starting the first step, then you'll pay only a single month's fee, and the first step of the Combine has now been reduced from a 10-day to a 5-day minimum, to make that a little easier.

 

[MISSSNP]

something here i don't quite understand... if you qualify to be funded, first 5k belongs to me, thereafter, i keep 80% of profits..ok... but failure rate is high in the real world, odds of continuing on after evaluation in funded account, are very small, so what happens if you blow out with a draw of 4500 on 150k after being funded? who funds tst? that's a 4500 loss for either tst or the funder, my guess is tst. So that's 12.3 monthly fees of 365, gone!! how does tst stay in business??? failure rate is 97%, so go figure, what's going on here?

 

[Pekelo]

how does tst stay in business??? failure rate is 97%, so go figure, what's going on here?

You forgot that most people do multiple combines and still never reach the funded part. That is pure profit for TST. Some funded traders are actually successful, so they make money for TST.

Also there is the chance of the funded traders don't really trading real money, thus there is never really a loss for TST. But that would be silly conspiracy stuff. If more people blow out than a few actually making money, there is no incentive for TST to actually trading real money.

 

[Xela]

odds of continuing on after evaluation in funded account, are very small

All you need to do, to continue to trade a funded account successfully, is to keep on steadily doing what you've already successfully done twice over to qualify for the funded account in the first place.

It's true, though, that there are people who fail to do that.

There are also others who don't.

what happens if you blow out with a draw of 4500 on 150k after being funded?

At any stage of trading a funded account, if you hit the maximum permitted drawdown, you're going to lose the account and have to re-qualify via a Combine to earn another (if you want to.)

who funds tst?

That's a question for TST - and maybe they'll reply to it. My own guess (and be aware that it is only a guess) is that it's self-funding, with all its running expenses being covered by a combination of (a) their 20% profit-shares from the trading done by the successfully funded traders and (b) the fees of the unsuccessful Combine players, some of whom doubtless fail on multiple occasions. Bear in mind that there's really no entry-barrier at all: anyone can pay for and take a Combine, however little experience they have of risk management and trading. It would be amazing if the success-rate were high, wouldn't it, considering that it's "open to all" at such a low cost?

failure rate is 97%

I think you're probably applying your impression of "overall trading statistics" in general to "TST traders" specifically, there? I'd be astonished if that's a valid comparison. Your 97% figure (if accurate - which it might be) doubtless includes a huge number of people with virtually no trading or risk-management skills at all?

In other words, there are probably loads of people taking Combines who shouldn't be: my blood runs cold, sometimes, when I see accounts in forums of the position-sizing some of them are using!

 

[p0box4]

That really isn't quite right: if you can pass the second step of the Combine within one month of starting the first step, then you'll pay only a single month's fee, and the first step of the Combine has now been reduced from a 10-day to a 5-day minimum, to make that a little easier.

Well it is quite right, you now have to pay for stage 1 and stage 2, stage 2 is the old FTP which used to be free. So in the past you had to pay until you reached the target once, now you have to pay until you reach the target twice.

It now indeed is possible to do both stages in 1 month, but i am curious about how many traders that can achieve that without needing a few resets/restarts by taking that much risk.

 

[Xela]

It now indeed is possible to do both stages in 1 month

It always was (and some people did): that hasn't changed.

On the "timing" front, all that's changed is that the first step of the Combine has just been reduced from a 10-day to a 5-day minimum.

i am curious about how many traders that can achieve that without needing a few resets/restarts by taking that much risk.

I don't know, but both the people I do know who started off via TST did it within their first months, without needing re-starts. (They were both people with trading skills but without enough capital to trade futures on their own accounts, i.e. both people falling well within TST's target market.)

 

[MISSSNP]

one more question.. verify..if i am trading a funded account, do i still have to pay the 365 per month? do i pay commissions on my trades?

 

[p0box4]

one more question.. verify..if i am trading a funded account, do i still have to pay the 365 per month? do i pay commissions on my trades?

No monthly fee once funded, except the exchange fees.

https://help.topsteptrader.com/hc/en-us/sections/204672667-Profit-Fees-FAQ

 

[Xela]

if i am trading a funded account, do i still have to pay the 365 per month?

No.

do i pay commissions on my trades?

Not necessarily: that depends on which platform you choose to use (that's for a funded account: for the Combine, notional commission is calculated and taken into account).

I really think it would help you to have a good read through TST's website, where all these basic questions are explained in some detail: https://www.topsteptrader.com/learn-how/