TopstepTrader Q & A
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All very true SelfMadeDude --- however it is very clear that there are major differences in how some "funding companies" operate and the real funding and opportunity over the long term that they offer a trader who gets funded. If someone is going to spend money and time trying to pass a challenge they need to understand the real differences between each of these companies programs so they can make an informed decision about which best fits their trading style, funding objective and long term growth opportunities using their funding.
Also they need to get a clear picture of what the math looks like if they are funded and the pros and cons (and legal fine print) of each companies funded accounts when compared against each other
Also they need to get a clear picture of what the math looks like if they are funded and the pros and cons (and legal fine print) of each companies funded accounts when compared against each other
I disagree. When you really analyze them - they are all basically the same with some minor differences.
The only types of traders that will both a) get funded and b) be able to make a decent profit withdrawal are the types of traders who are good enough to survive as a trader with any of the major 3 pay2play firms -- why? Because they are the top 5% of retail independent traders.
Becoming a trader...a successful trader....a consistent trader --- that is accomplished by oneself and the fact that the evaluation parameters are so difficult is actually a blessing in disguise for those who are passionate and dedicated enough to learn and grow.
I learned so so much from each of my previous evaluation failures and successes ---- and before that I spent 15 years self-training and putting in my tuition of more serious 6-digit figure losses.
At the end of the day, the tough evaluation rules made me become a better trader.
This life is not for everyone.
I diasgree most of them are the same but some are very different than the majority of others
Earn2Trade and Topstep are very similar and most funding companies basically have a slight variation of their programs but one thing they all have in common is the "trailing max drawdown". There are a handful of companies that offer a "fixed" max drawdown which is very different from trailing drawdown. Earn2Trade's regular gauntlet offers a fixed drawdown as compared to their mini gauntlets that are all trailing max drawdown but E2T reg gauntlet only offers a $2500 max fixed drawdown--thats not really that much compared to other companies that offer $10,000 fixed drawdown.
Also most companies offer no clearly defined path upfront in writing for increasing your account size, max daily loss and max drawdown over time if you are consistently profitable. Most of them only talk about it as a possibility but no examples and certainly no defined path of --your results are consistently "x" over this ___ amount of time and then you will receive ___ in increased funding.
There are only 2 companies that do that - neither E2t nor Topstep offer that and most of the other ones dont either
Earn2Trade and Topstep are very similar and most funding companies basically have a slight variation of their programs but one thing they all have in common is the "trailing max drawdown". There are a handful of companies that offer a "fixed" max drawdown which is very different from trailing drawdown. Earn2Trade's regular gauntlet offers a fixed drawdown as compared to their mini gauntlets that are all trailing max drawdown but E2T reg gauntlet only offers a $2500 max fixed drawdown--thats not really that much compared to other companies that offer $10,000 fixed drawdown.
Also most companies offer no clearly defined path upfront in writing for increasing your account size, max daily loss and max drawdown over time if you are consistently profitable. Most of them only talk about it as a possibility but no examples and certainly no defined path of --your results are consistently "x" over this ___ amount of time and then you will receive ___ in increased funding.
There are only 2 companies that do that - neither E2t nor Topstep offer that and most of the other ones dont either
When a trader proves that they are consistent with great risk management skills then everything is negotiable.
Earning and keeping a funded account with these companies is tough - very tough - which is why only the "best of the best" independent retail traders have the privilege of withdrawing profits.
Nothing in this world is free. Quite frankly, I hope that they make the evaluations even harder...I do not want little whining wannabe traders making money in their first year --- shit, it took me more than 15 years and a shit-load of life savings "tuition" -- not to mention all the shit I missed out in life due to my obsession with becoming a great trader.
Anyone who complains that these evaluations are too tough "SHOULD" lose all their money IMHO. Making a living as a trader is an earned privilege just like any tough endeavor in life.
Shit....should medical schools make it easier for students to pass? should residencies be easy for them when they graduate? should law schools make law journal editorships easy? should state bar exams be easy to pass? should the NBA make it easy for high school kids to get drafted and make tens of millions per year?
Trading is not a team sport. It is up to you to beat those insurmountable odds of success. And if you fail, then you are obeying the law of the market (99% of traders will fail) -- but if you persist and stop making excuses then I would love to have a beer and a shot of vodka with you.
Earning and keeping a funded account with these companies is tough - very tough - which is why only the "best of the best" independent retail traders have the privilege of withdrawing profits.
Nothing in this world is free. Quite frankly, I hope that they make the evaluations even harder...I do not want little whining wannabe traders making money in their first year --- shit, it took me more than 15 years and a shit-load of life savings "tuition" -- not to mention all the shit I missed out in life due to my obsession with becoming a great trader.
Anyone who complains that these evaluations are too tough "SHOULD" lose all their money IMHO. Making a living as a trader is an earned privilege just like any tough endeavor in life.
Shit....should medical schools make it easier for students to pass? should residencies be easy for them when they graduate? should law schools make law journal editorships easy? should state bar exams be easy to pass? should the NBA make it easy for high school kids to get drafted and make tens of millions per year?
Trading is not a team sport. It is up to you to beat those insurmountable odds of success. And if you fail, then you are obeying the law of the market (99% of traders will fail) -- but if you persist and stop making excuses then I would love to have a beer and a shot of vodka with you.
Not complaining - just pointing out that a few offer funding programs that (in my opinion) are substantially better than E2T, Topstep and most of the others in my opinion. Such as fixed drawdown
--why trade with a company that only offers a trailing drawdown when you can get bigger funding and a fixed drawdown. A fixed drawdown allows you to withdraw all profits to zero and still have the full funding you started out with day 1 which means repeatable full funding that is the funding company's money continually at risk whereas with a a trailing drawdown--if you withdraw all your profits then your account is closed because you have no more funding - after you make profits your trailing drawdown decreases and after you have made profits equaling your trailing drawdown then your drawdown is cut off completely and you have no more funding and its just your profits and the $0 line and you must keep your profits in the account to have a drawdown--hence you are trading with your own money from that point on and no longer trading with the funding companies money.
Funded accounts with a trailing drawdown only provide initial funding and do not provide any repeatable revolving funding - only fixed drawdowns offer repreatable full revolving funding where the trader is always using the funding companies money to trade with and hence getting paid over and over for being a consistently profitable trader using their money.
In any event its just best that traders considering using funding companies actually take the time to read the fine print and understand the real funding that they get and the differences between the outcomes of different funding account parameters and terminology.
--why trade with a company that only offers a trailing drawdown when you can get bigger funding and a fixed drawdown. A fixed drawdown allows you to withdraw all profits to zero and still have the full funding you started out with day 1 which means repeatable full funding that is the funding company's money continually at risk whereas with a a trailing drawdown--if you withdraw all your profits then your account is closed because you have no more funding - after you make profits your trailing drawdown decreases and after you have made profits equaling your trailing drawdown then your drawdown is cut off completely and you have no more funding and its just your profits and the $0 line and you must keep your profits in the account to have a drawdown--hence you are trading with your own money from that point on and no longer trading with the funding companies money.
Funded accounts with a trailing drawdown only provide initial funding and do not provide any repeatable revolving funding - only fixed drawdowns offer repreatable full revolving funding where the trader is always using the funding companies money to trade with and hence getting paid over and over for being a consistently profitable trader using their money.
In any event its just best that traders considering using funding companies actually take the time to read the fine print and understand the real funding that they get and the differences between the outcomes of different funding account parameters and terminology.
Dude. I think you come from a good place in your heart. I did not read your entire post becase u keep harking on the trailing DD which I have to 1,000% credit as helping/motivated me to become a better trader focused on figuring out risk management versus the best TA setups (which we all do on the weekends in the early AM while chugging down liters of vodka and Nespresso)
First, the trailing drawdown is not forever. It is ONLY until your balance reaches the starting balance....for example, the trailing drawdown disappears once you make that in profit ( a $4500 trailing DD disappears once you have generated $4500 in profit) --- what is so unfair about that?
Good luck with your trading. I look forward to reading some positive posts versus the typical gripes that 99% of traders have against these pay2play prop firms.
If you can succeed in these evaluations and withdraw profits "consistently" then you are "there" -- until then, you will always find excuses and throw shade. A good confident trader sells when others buying, and buys when others are selling. Think about it.
First, the trailing drawdown is not forever. It is ONLY until your balance reaches the starting balance....for example, the trailing drawdown disappears once you make that in profit ( a $4500 trailing DD disappears once you have generated $4500 in profit) --- what is so unfair about that?
Good luck with your trading. I look forward to reading some positive posts versus the typical gripes that 99% of traders have against these pay2play prop firms.
If you can succeed in these evaluations and withdraw profits "consistently" then you are "there" -- until then, you will always find excuses and throw shade. A good confident trader sells when others buying, and buys when others are selling. Think about it.
I guess I just see the trailing DD different
yes as an example if you have a $4500 trailing DD in a funded account--the typical deal is that it disappears after you have made $4,500 in profits - sounds fair enough on the surface--yes
However - the other side of that coin is now that it has disappeared that means it never comes back.
So as an example
You start funded acct day 1. You have $4500 Trailing DD.
You make $4500 net profit after commissions in your first week of trading and your trailing DD is now eliminated. Then you request on Friday to withdraw your hard earned $4500 in profits for the week and the funding company takes their 20% cut ($900) and they send you the net of $3600. Your account balance is now $0.00 as you withdrew all profits generated. But along with receiving the $3,600 net you also receive an email that says your funded account has been closed. It is closed because the trailing DD is no longer there as they took it away and now since you withdrew all your profits your account balance is zero and since your drawdown has been taken away unfortunately you have no more loss limit to trade with and your acct is closed. Your only choice is to leave some of your profits in the account to have any money to trade with as they are no longer providing any funding. So at that point its all your profits that you are trading with from that point on and you are paying them 20%
Now lets compare that to a $4,500 fixed DD
You start funded acct day 1. You have $4500 Fixed DD.
You make $4500 net profit after commissions in your first week of trading and your fixed DD is still there as it is never eliminated no matter how much profit you generate now or in the future. Then you request on Friday to withdraw your hard earned $4500 in profits for the week and the funding company takes their 20% cut ($900) and they send you the net of $3600. Your account balance is now $0.00 as you withdrew all profits generated. Then on Monday morning you start trading again with the same $4,500 fixed drawdown (i.e. their funding) that you started with. You make profits that week and withdraw them at the end of the week down to zero and then you have the full fixed DD the next Monday to still trade from. And if you decide to not withdraw all profits and leave some in the account then your account drawdown is bigger than the $4500 - its $4500 plus whatever you left in your account as well. The main difference is with a fixed DD the funding company always is providing $4500 DD on a repeat basis and not taking it away once you have made $4500 so in that sense you are always funded and always trading on their money whereas with Trailing DD above you only have it initially until you have made profits equal to it and then.....you are on your own.
yes as an example if you have a $4500 trailing DD in a funded account--the typical deal is that it disappears after you have made $4,500 in profits - sounds fair enough on the surface--yes
However - the other side of that coin is now that it has disappeared that means it never comes back.
So as an example
You start funded acct day 1. You have $4500 Trailing DD.
You make $4500 net profit after commissions in your first week of trading and your trailing DD is now eliminated. Then you request on Friday to withdraw your hard earned $4500 in profits for the week and the funding company takes their 20% cut ($900) and they send you the net of $3600. Your account balance is now $0.00 as you withdrew all profits generated. But along with receiving the $3,600 net you also receive an email that says your funded account has been closed. It is closed because the trailing DD is no longer there as they took it away and now since you withdrew all your profits your account balance is zero and since your drawdown has been taken away unfortunately you have no more loss limit to trade with and your acct is closed. Your only choice is to leave some of your profits in the account to have any money to trade with as they are no longer providing any funding. So at that point its all your profits that you are trading with from that point on and you are paying them 20%
Now lets compare that to a $4,500 fixed DD
You start funded acct day 1. You have $4500 Fixed DD.
You make $4500 net profit after commissions in your first week of trading and your fixed DD is still there as it is never eliminated no matter how much profit you generate now or in the future. Then you request on Friday to withdraw your hard earned $4500 in profits for the week and the funding company takes their 20% cut ($900) and they send you the net of $3600. Your account balance is now $0.00 as you withdrew all profits generated. Then on Monday morning you start trading again with the same $4,500 fixed drawdown (i.e. their funding) that you started with. You make profits that week and withdraw them at the end of the week down to zero and then you have the full fixed DD the next Monday to still trade from. And if you decide to not withdraw all profits and leave some in the account then your account drawdown is bigger than the $4500 - its $4500 plus whatever you left in your account as well. The main difference is with a fixed DD the funding company always is providing $4500 DD on a repeat basis and not taking it away once you have made $4500 so in that sense you are always funded and always trading on their money whereas with Trailing DD above you only have it initially until you have made profits equal to it and then.....you are on your own.
It is your responsibility to know how the trailing DD works.
I am at a loss for words and will not engage in this nonsensical argument anymore.
If you know that after withdrawing $4500 in profits, that your balance will get reset to $0 and that an additional $1 loss will result in you losing the account then why would you withdraw the $4500? Makes no sense and IMHO and last comment on this matter, you deserve to lose the funded account.
Plan your trade, and trade your plan - this applies to profit WDs.
If a trader has a major beef with this system then do not fucking do the evaluation and trade your own god damn money -- very simple.
Stop looking for a free ride!!!!!! I'm done with this topic. This is why only 1% of independent retail traders deserve to make money -- the other wannabe crybabies should just stop dreaming of attaining success since they refuse to take responsibility for their actions or fail to do their DD.
I am at a loss for words and will not engage in this nonsensical argument anymore.
If you know that after withdrawing $4500 in profits, that your balance will get reset to $0 and that an additional $1 loss will result in you losing the account then why would you withdraw the $4500? Makes no sense and IMHO and last comment on this matter, you deserve to lose the funded account.
Plan your trade, and trade your plan - this applies to profit WDs.
If a trader has a major beef with this system then do not fucking do the evaluation and trade your own god damn money -- very simple.
Stop looking for a free ride!!!!!! I'm done with this topic. This is why only 1% of independent retail traders deserve to make money -- the other wannabe crybabies should just stop dreaming of attaining success since they refuse to take responsibility for their actions or fail to do their DD.
I know how the GD trailing DD works
I am simply pointing out that funded accounts with fixed max drawdowns are much more profitable and advantageous for the trader than the typical funded accounts with trailing max drawdowns
If you cant see the difference between the 2 and why a fixed drawdown is much more profitable and advantageous for the trader to have VS trailing max drawdown then you are the nonsensical one. This is my last post on subject and will not engage anymore with you
Goodbye
I am simply pointing out that funded accounts with fixed max drawdowns are much more profitable and advantageous for the trader than the typical funded accounts with trailing max drawdowns
If you cant see the difference between the 2 and why a fixed drawdown is much more profitable and advantageous for the trader to have VS trailing max drawdown then you are the nonsensical one. This is my last post on subject and will not engage anymore with you
Goodbye
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