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Thought I was doing well by getting funded after only 1 reset on demo. After I got funded (LeeLoo) I thought it was odd that I could move my orders around on the DOM and the numbers wouldn't change. Hit my limilt (still swear to this day that I didn't raise above original balance - but this was enough to raise my drawdown limit according to them). When I fell below minimum balance on funded account they wanted $900 to reset account. Instead I took $350 and put it into micro futures account with AMP.
combines are the paid evaluation period . they actually are working to build a company of successful traders ( I do not know who they are . However I do know of several experienced real money traders that went through these kind of firms . that was the information that was past on to me . 2 worked in the educational part of the business for a year or so. If you can trade consistently profitable your broker knows it and there will be real prop opportunities sooner or later . many have managed funds , if you are not profitable and want to close your account you will be introduced to them . I am sure these firms represent their working to build a company of successful traders . I am very skeptical that is true , if there selling trading education or recommending a third party . ) I personally never meet a trader making a living working at one of these firms . )
Up 10% first day. Commissions are signigicantly greater with micros (pro rated to profit per tick), so you cannot be successful if you overtrade. Small scalp this morning waiting for setup, then let my bias prevent me from taking setup (bottom of VWAP 1 SD range) so I missed the larger move down before leaving to go to my day job. Working with a programmer to code my strategy and optimize settings (stop, periods of moving averages). Hope to convert this to a bot trader eventually, my own personal ATM!
If you think you are really trading with a funded account, try this: Enter a bid well below market price in overnight while movement is slow (always use a stop just in case). Then move this order up and down the DOM and see if your market depth numbers show the increase/decrease in orders based on your taking order from one price and adding it to another. If the totals don't reflect the change in your order, then you are not really trading a funded account.
In FX this isn't the case. It takes a trained eye to pick up on, but the orders are being routed to the market.
I would highly expect the same in futures.
It would be at a disadvantage for any of these companies to let you pass and using demo there by forfeiting the evaluation fee or whatever they call it.
The difference between demo and live is a whole different topic, but for those of you that aren't professional traders - by that I mean one that can make a meaningful financial impact at the same time doing it for a living alone - there is a profound difference between demo and live...and it isn't the mental aspect which everyone immediately refers to.
Regardless, if you can't trade and grow an account to start with why would you think you'd be any different with one of these "funding" companies.
These companies woo you with bs resources that help you trade...every company has to attract you somehow and make you believe.
You really need to not lose sight of the forest from the trees and not fall into your own delusion and visions of grandeur.
Trading in sim is like shooting on the rifle range . It is a lot different when the target is shooting back and you have been hit bleeding real blood ,with the bombs bursting in air and you running out of ammo . knowing the forces moving in on you do not take prisoners .
The problem is that I'm jealous I didn't think of such a genius business model.
They get monthly cash flow (often more than $100, TST currently lists $165 to $375 per month for example).
They get real time order flow from everyone, and they get paid to see it! They can use this to easily fade those who consistently perform poorly, and for the few who do perform well, they can simply copy their trades, if they want.
When a trader is funded, all they really have to do is put up a few thousand in capital for margin, and their losses are very well capped. Trailing drawdowns guarantee they don't lose any profit that a funded trader earns. A "50K account" is actually achievable (though not advised) with only $2500 of day trade margin with most brokers.
It's genius, low risk, with the edge so highly in their favor that I don't see how they can lose money.
In all seriousness, more power to those who do these. I once passed an eval so I've done these many years ago, so, no hate from me. Do your thing, and much success to you!
Well, two points of view. There's something to both, I think. And I could argue for both.
Most traders who try for these will not succeed, and that is simply because most traders who try trading will not succeed. This is not a pessimistic or negative statement, it's just the statistics. And of course, it is possible to learn and to grow and to eventually succeed. In the meantime, if you are new and you want to try them, you may find out how you might do in real life. (It may surprise you.)
I do not think that the fact that most who try out will not succeed means it is a rip-off. I think it's an indication that most traders don't have a realistic idea of their abilities. I certainly didn't. I don't think anyone does when they start.
For example, I tried passing TST, again and again, years ago now, and it never turned out. It took me a while, but I decided I didn't know how to trade, which I didn't, and I stopped trying to get instantly funded. That was a good idea, for me, at the time. Someone else might have wanted to keep plugging. I personally think it's not always the best idea to do that; you can get true market experience with the micros at a broker that has low micro commissions, and the fact that you are trading for real, with real money that you lose or gain, is a huge difference. But to each his own.
So what should someone do?
I sometimes point out that the lowest monthly cost at TST is $165 a month (you can trade up to 5 contacts for that), and that one point of ES for onecontract in live trading is worth $50; it is not unusual in live trading to see four or five points of ES go against you in a few minutes, and there goes two or three hundred bucks, if you traded only one contract. That's the whole monthly TST cost, and then some. But one point of MES is worth just $5, and that does change things. You could still easily lose the entire $165 pretty quickly even so. But I would rather see someone lose the $165 in MES, even if it happened quickly, because of the value of trading it in real life, with real risk and consequences.
Except for a very few people, who probably should not be thinking about trading at this stage in their lives anyway, the cost is very, very, very low, compared to what you can lose or gain in minutes in real trading. But it's also not quite getting your feet wet. A big part of trading is about facing and managing risk, and the risk of failing one month's evaluation is just not that big a deal financially for most people.
There is a problem that the trader-candidates who have the least financial cushion will be the most attracted to the offer, as will the traders who have the most unrealistic assessments of their abilities, and these are both unfortunate facts but true.
My point is both that it's not horrifically expensive, and that it's also not the same as real live trading and it will not give you the same benefits as live trading. So a wise person will weigh things and decide. You could legitimately decide either way -- you're deciding for yourself, no one else, after all. Your choice will not be the same as anyone else's, and doesn't need to be.
Bob.
When one door closes, another opens.
-- Cervantes, Don Quixote
