Best Futures Trading Prop Firms – While futures trading is an excellent way of making money, on the other hand, most of the time, it does require a lot of capital and skill. That’s where futures trading prop firms come in. The companies give access to traders to large sums of money to trade which means that one does not have to risk their savings. On the other end, in return, the firms take cuts of the profits. It is pretty essential to choose the best prop firm, be it a new trader aiming to learn or an experienced trader seeking growth. The best ones out of them offer pretty fair profit splits, strong risk management, and trader support for being truly successful. In this article, we will take a glimpse at some of the leading and top-rated futures trading prop firms that will best fit your goals and trading style.
Advantages Of Futures Prop Firms
- You are trading a “real market” when trading Futures.
- You don’t have to risk your own capital to trade
- You can get funded with big-sized accounts meaning you don’t have to overleveraged and gamble your small account just to make some decent profits.
- You are forced to follow proper risk management rules
Disadvantages Of Futures Prop Firms
- Most of the futures trading platforms are paid, with some futures prop firms able to provide them for free during the challenge phase, too, and on getting a funded account.
- Quite often, the real-time data is paid as an extra, though some prop firms may give it for free.
- There’s a monthly cost associated, too, even after you pass the challenge to get a futures funded account.
- They take for themselves a small share of the profits.
Best Futures Trading Prop Firms
TopStep Trader
Topstep is a highly regarded American prop trading firm, bringing over 12 years of experience to the table. TopStepTrader tends-and manages to give its users a better trading experience, or as Topstep puts it, the “Ultimate Trading Xperience™,” and it does so with an all-encompassing platform and easy access to everything Topstep has to offer. Single-phase evaluation and Topstep account sizes range from $50,000 to $150,000, thus appealing to those traders who are comfortable managing reasonable sums of capital. It increases profit targets and maximum drawdowns along with account size, while the trader will appreciate a wide range of instruments available, including some equity futures and forex options. Topstep offers a comprehensive set of resources, including educational materials and tools, coaching in a range of formats to suit your learning style (such as one-on-one, group and digital), TopstepTV™, and performance analysis and statistics.
Evaluation and Features
Topstep’s evaluation process, known as the Trading Combine, is a simulated 1-step/1-rule assessment designed to gauge your trading abilities. Performance in the Combine determines your eligibility for a funded account, ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. Topstep prioritizes consistency, profitability, and sound risk management throughout the evaluation . The rules are as follows:
- Minimum trading day requirement: Two days
- Maximum daily loss: $2,000 – $4,500 (tiered based on account size)
- Profit Target: $3,000 – $9,000 (again tiered based on account size)
- The initial profit split is that traders can take 80% of their profits, whereas the remaining 20% is TopStep’s.
- Potential Increase: As traders continue being profitable and reach certain milestones, TopStep may increase the profit split in favor of the trader to 90/10, where the trader retains 90% of the net profits.
Apex Trader Funding
ATF offers an enormous array of account sizes, from $25,000 to $300,000, in which you will be able to choose an account funding level that suits your taste. Single-step ATF evaluation reduces a number of barriers to entry and could possibly line up quicker access to qualified traders. Both profit targets and maximum drawdowns are scaled proportionally to account size, which is from $1,500 to $20,000 for profit targets and $625 to $1,500 for maximum total drawdowns. This will let you trade in up to 20 funded accounts simultaneously, and you can even trade through holidays and news events.
Evaluation and Features
Apex Trader Funding is a Futures prop firm, located in Austin, Texas, USA. It was founded in 2021. ATF focuses on flexibility – minimum rules allow you to adopt your chosen trading strategy. They do not have a daily loss limit but instead have a maximum drawdown rule in place for risk management. This methodology will probably appeal to experienced traders who have confidence in their chosen trading strategies as well as their risk management skills. Traders must first pass an evaluation process, which includes the following features and rules :
- Full account sizes range from $25,000 up to $300,000, and also an option for a Static $100,000 full account.
- You keep 100% of the first $25,000 you make per account, and then you go to a 90/10 split.
- Profit targets are tiered by the size of your account, ranging from 1,500 to $20,000.
- ATF has an overall community of 30,000 members in over 150 countries.
- You can trade 23 hours a day, Monday to Friday.
- Seven days minimum of trading is required.
MyFundedFutures
A US-based futures prop trading firm established less than a year ago, Traders undergo an assessment to qualify for funded accounts. Succeeding in it gives you access to a funded account and a share of the profits you generate. Access is provided to various top-tier platforms: NinjaTrader, Rithmic, and Tradovate. MFFU has a single-phase evaluation process that speeds up access to funding. There are several account sizes to choose from, from $50,000 to $150,000. This would translate, for the profit targets, from a minimum of $3,000 to a maximum of $12,000, while maximum total drawdown limits range from $2,000 to $4,500. MyFundedFutures provides a diverse selection of instruments across various exchanges including CME, CBOT, COMEX, and NYMEX.
Evaluation and Features
- Instruments: Equity Futures, Foreign Exchange Futures, Agricultural Futures, Energy, Interest Rates Futures, Metals Futures.
- Max balance: $150,000
- Profit split: 90%
- Cost: from $80/month
- Platforms: Ninjatrader, Tradovate, TradingView, Quantower, Sierra Chart, ATAS
TradeDay
TradeDay is a futures proprietary trading firm based in the US celebrating its first year of operation, They offer a flexible account structure ranging from $10,000 to $250,000, catering to both newcomers just getting started and experienced traders seeking substantial capital. Their streamlined evaluation process ensures a smooth onboarding experience. Profit targets and maximum drawdowns rise in line with the challenge you choose, with profits ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 and drawdowns capped between $1,000 and $5,000.
Evaluation and Features
- Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView, and Jigsaw, all supported by brokerage services from the CME Group.
- Challenge types: Straightforward, one-step evaluation.
- Minimum trading days: 7 days.
- Maximum drawdown: $1,000 – $5,000.
- Profit target: $1,000 – $5,000.
- Challenge account sizes: $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, $150,000 and $250,000.
- Profit share: 80%
- Opportunity to hone your skills in a risk-free virtual trading room before going live.
- Access to training materials and ongoing assistance for traders of all skill and experience levels.
- Payments are made via international bank transfer, PayPal, and in the US, ACH too. You can withdraw as much as you like, with no restrictions.
BluSky Trading Company
BluSky Trading boasts of one of the quickest qualification processes, where you could get funded after just eight days, much quicker compared to ten days offered by their competitors. There is no minimum requirement as far as trading days are concerned, and daily withdrawals mean quick and timely returns to gain access to profits and more importantly for the firm, retain profitable traders long-term. The higher your profitability, the higher your share of profits generated will go from 80% up to 85% and even 90%. In special cases, outstanding performers may even negotiate special payout arrangements above 90%.
- Account sizes: Advanced $25,000, Premium $50,000, Premium+ $100,000 and Static Growth $150,000.
- Daily loss (evaluation phase only): $600 – $2,000.
- Minimum trading day requirement: Eight days (none for the Static Growth program).
- 30% consistency rule: Daily profits must not exceed 30% of the profit target.
- Trailing drawdown: Applies in real-time during each trade.
- Daily loss limit: the daily loss limit cannot be exceeded.
- No scaling plans.
- Profit sharing: Starts at 80% and increases to 90% for high-achieving traders.
- Withdrawals can be made daily from funded accounts.
- Payments and profit payouts are made through a range of methods such as ACH, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a proprietary trading firm?
A prop firm or a proprietary trading house, provides traders with the capital to trade in any financial market, such as futures, and, in return, takes a share of the profits. It absorbs losses, while the traders retain a percentage of the profit decided by an agreed profit split.
How do proprietary trading firms make money?
Prop firms make their money by taking a certain percentage, usually from 10% to 20%, from the profits made. Some firms may charge an evaluation fee, a monthly subscription, or a platform fee simply to cover the costs and risks.
What are common profit splits at the futures prop firms?
The profit splits are different from firm to firm, but the trend is that traders hold 80% to 90% of their gains, whereas the firm holds 10% to 20%. Some firms even go as far as increasing profit splits with traders showing continued profitability.
Do I have to pass any evaluation in order for me to trade with a prop firm?
Yes, most futures prop firms will require traders to go through an evaluation process or merge it with a trial period. The evaluation will most likely check if you can follow the risk management rules and bring consistent profits.
What if I lose money trading with a prop firm?
Prop firms cover the trading losses since the traders are trading with the firm’s capital. On the other hand, hitting predetermined loss limits, such as daily drawdowns or maximum thresholds of loss, may cost you your funded account and perhaps another trip through the often-dreaded evaluation process.
What platforms do futures prop firms support?
Some common platforms supported for futures trading include NinjaTrader, MetaTrader, TradingView, among others. The quality of the platform is important to ensure good speed, execution, and analysis. Each firm will generally provide access to specific platforms.
Can I scale my account with a futures prop firm?
Yes, many firms have what’s called scaling plans. If you continuously prove that you are profitable, they will give you a bigger capital allocation so that you can trade bigger positions and hopefully make more profits.
