page title icon The Funded Trader Review: Rules, Pros, Cons, and Promos

October 11, 2024

Overview

Screenshot of the Funded Trader's front page. It says "The Funding Kingdom; Trade up to $600,000 on a TFT Account.

At one point, the Funded Trader seemed ready to take over the entire prop trading world. They had an incredibly active trading community, great profit splits, and large, frequent discounts.

Sadly, it all caught up to them — they had numerous platform problems, followed by significant liquidity issues. They’ve shut down, reopened, shut down and reopened again. They’ve shown no consistency in leadership, and the insane discounts they continue to run seem to indicate that they have not learned their lesson.

I strongly suggest you trade with alternative prop firms. If you are an American looking for a FOREX pop firm that takes US traders, I suggest E8 Markets instead. E8 offers a number of options at decent, but sustainable price points.

Pros 

  • Great trading community: The Funded Trader had a Discord channel with more than 85,000+ members— in its heyday, it was great for getting trade ideas, learning new trading techniques, figuring out the rules, and generally supporting one another. 
  • Beyond the trading community, most of TFT’s “pros” were what led to its downfall. They tried to beat the competition on price points with frequent discounts, and were substantially cheaper than FTMO. These price points weren’t sustainable.
  • Lax trading rules: The Funded Trader didn’t outlaw many trading strategies beyond those that take advantage of the demo mode environment, something that was also taken advantage of.
  • TFT was one of the earlier adapters of the prop trend of eliminating minimum trading days. This rewarded gambling rather than consistent trading.

Cons

  • CFTC: A lot of traders are worried that the Funded Trader is the next target of regulators. They are US based and offer a similar business model to My Forex Funds, which the CFTC shut down.
  • Funded accounts stay in demo mode: Your percentage of the profits will be very real, but you’ll never be in the real market. This is, of course, what My Forex Funds was doing.
  • Payout issues: Like lots of prop firms, the Funded Trader was blindsided by Deel’s sudden refusal to work with them as a payout provider. The scramble to provide a new payout processor cost TFT a lot of their credibility.
  • Changing drawdowns: The Funded Trader’s max daily drawdown was lowered to 5% and overall max drawdown to 10% on their standard account. In general, a prop firm that frequently changes rules is admitting that it doesn’t have a sustainable business model.
  • Size: According to CEO Angelo Ciaramello, the Funded Trader has, as of the end of October, more than $700 million in “simulated funding accounts.” That scared me for a number of reasons, and Ciaramello more or less disappeared when the Funded Trader ceased operations for the first or second time.

The Funded Trader Program highlights

  • Note: These may have changed — please double check directly with the Funded Trader if, for some reason, you are still determined to trade with them.
  • 80%–90% profit split
  • No minimum trading days with Rapid account, only three with a Standard account
  • Leverage up to 200:1 
  • 5% max daily drawdown, 10% overall daily drawdown 
  • Scaling up to $1.5 million
  • Unlimited trading days
  • 8% profit targets for phase 1 of Royal and Rapid accounts, 5% for phase 2
  • 10% profit target for phase 1 of Standard Challenge as well as the one-step Knight Challenge
  • Payouts every two weeks for those with Rapid accounts
  • Trade forex (44 pairs), gold, silver, and indices (9)
  • New Knight Challenge: One-step evaluation, 3% max daily drawdown, 6% overall max drawdown, 10% profit target

Who should sign up with the Funded Trader?

I don’t suggest that anyone sign up with the Funded Trader. They’ve had to “pause” or close operations several times, they have yet to catch-up to refunds or payouts from many months ago, and they still run outrageous deals that suggest they are cash poor, and may still be in jeopardy.

Who should NOT sign up with the Funded Trader?

You. You should not sign up with the Funded Trader. They’ve let down too many traders in the past year to deserve another chance. Please find an alternative prop firm.

All things considered . . .

Look elsewhere. The Funded Trader had its moment, and I admit, I too was momentarily swept away by the hype. The reality is, they don’t deserve your time or money.

The Funded Trader basics

The Funded Trader origin story

The Funded Trader was founded by Blake Olson, Angelo Ciaramello, and Nick D’Arcangelo, the experienced traders behind VVS Academy and Forex League. They used their extensive experience plus ample feedback from their trading networks to put together a proprietary trading firm that was designed for traders, by traders. The result was the Funded Trader, which officially got off the ground in 2021.

Since then there have been several lawsuits contesting ownership, and it is not really clear (at least to me) who is currently running the show.

The Funded Trader proof of payout

The Funded Trader publishes new proofs of payout on their Discord, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media channels regularly. Here are some examples:

A screenshot from the Funded Trader's instagram shows a $51,390 payout slip from Deel.
Funded Trader payout proof from their instagram
Screenshot of a withdrawal certificate with a profit share of $109,841.99
Funded Trader proof of withdrawal as posted on their Discord channel

How does the Funded Trader work?

The Funded Trader works like most prop trading firms. You pay for an evaluation process that is designed to find consistently profitable forex traders. If you pass the evaluation by hitting profit targets and staying within the trading parameters, the Funded Trader will give you simulated capital equal to the account size you signed up for. 

You can trade this capital and keep 80%–90% of any profits you make. The Funded Trader will cover any losses you incur, but if you lose too much they will close your account and you’ll have to go back through the evaluation process. 

How much does the Funded Trader cost?

The Funded Trader only charges one-time sign-up fees, and they are 100% refundable should you pass your evaluation and receive a funded account.

(These have probably changed, please double check all prices.)

Standard Challenge

Account sizeRefundable one-time fee
$5,000$65
$10,000$129
$25,000$199
$50,000$299
$100,000$499
$200,000$939
$300,000$1469
$400,000$1,879

Rapid Challenge

Account sizeRefundable one-time fee
$5,000$79
$10,000$129
$25,000$229
$50,000$299
$100,000$499
$200,000$899

Royal Challenge

Account sizeRefundable one-time fee
$50,000$289
$100,000$489
$200,000$939
$300,000$1,399
$400,000$1,869

Knights Challenge

Account sizeRefundable one-time fee
$25,000$189
$50,000$289
$100,000$489
$200,000$939

My Funded Trader evaluation

The Funded Trader initially fared very well in my rankings thanks to their outstanding profit splits, affordability and education resources. For a time they were ranked in the lower half of my best prop firms. That time is long since gone.

Their overall score is based on how I ranked the Funded Trader according to the following seven factors:

Profit splits: 5/10

Like a lot of prop firms, the Funded Trader got caught up in the race to the top, in which prop firms began competing for who gave out the highest profit split. Firms like Topstep, FTMO, and the Funded Trader emerged victorious with 80%–90% splits, but the real winners, of course, were the traders — until this model proved unsustainable for some firms.

In fact, the Funded Trader is now giving out up to 95% for certain VIP Traders, which is great, but the fact that they are so far behind in payouts means you might not see that money anyway.

Scaling opportunities: 7/10

The Funded Trader’s scaling plan is good, but not quite as transparent as what you get at other prop firms. A lot of prop firms very clearly spell out a simple set of requirements, but the Funded Trader makes it a little more complicated than it needs to be in my opinion.

Once you’re funded with a Standard account, you need to post an average return of 6% or a profit of 2% or more in each of the three months. At that point you can receive 25% of your initial balance as additional capital. That’s a pretty nice capital increase, especially if you’re trading a $200K account. You can continue to do that every three months, until your account has reached the maximum of $1.5 million capital. 

Screenshot of the Funded Trader's youtube video that attempts to explain the scaling program.
It takes a 1:42 minute youtube video to explain the Funded Trader scaling program

That is pretty straightforward, but there are other rules, such as you can only request scaling while you are awaiting a withdrawal, because your account must be equal to its initial balance before you scale. So if your $200K account is up to $212,000, you have to withdraw the $12K in order to get scaled up to $250K. 

For rapid accounts, it also seems a little unnecessarily complicated. To start, you have to make more than 10% profit over your initial balance in one profit split, then you have to request that 10%+ as a payout, in order to get a 10% balance increase. So with a $100K account, if you make $11,000 profit, you have to withdraw the $11,000 in order to get $10,000 more in capital. 

So basically, you’re replacing your capital with the firm’s capital, which is great, but you’re not scaling up by leaps and bounds, as you’ll still be around $110K in capital.

All that is just to become eligible for the first scaling opportunity. To scale beyond that, traders have to make a 10% profit in three months and make two withdrawals during that three-month period.

As I mentioned above, traders who are eligible for the scaling program also become eligible for the 90% profit split.

I’ve reviewed a lot of prop firms, and I’m pretty sure that’s more ink than I’ve ever had to use to explain a scaling program. Honestly, it’s not quite as complicated as it seems, but the best scaling programs are also the simplest in my opinion.

Trade parameters/profit targets: 7/10

The Funded Trader is pretty trader-friendly when it comes to max drawdowns and profit targets. The 8% profit target offered in the Rapid and Royal accounts is below that of most other prop firms, and that drops to just 5% for phase 2 of your challenge. 

For the Standard account, the 5% daily and 10% overall drawdowns are right at industry standard

The rest of the Funded Traders rules are also pretty simple. Traders have unlimited trading days to pass phase 1 and phase 2. Weekend holding and trading around important news releases is allowed for any swing accounts or for Royal Challenges, and there are no lot size limits for any of the challenges.

Affordability/value: 0/10

I once gave the Funded Trader “a 10+ when it comes to value”. That was when they were making their payouts on time. When they stopped making payouts, and closed temporarily, they lost all of their value in my eyes. A prop firm with a high likelihood of missing payouts does not offer any value, no matter how cheap they are.

Educational resources: 6/10

For awhile, the Funded Trader’s amazing community did a lot of the work for them in terms of helping traders learn the market. That community hasn’t been the same after all the troubles the firm encountered in 2024.

The Funded Trader also frequently updated their social media channels. Their YouTube channel, in particular, features 3–4 new videos per week. Some of them are obviously promotional, but you’ll also find a lot of good educational content that focuses on different trading strategies. 

Tradable assets: 8/10

The Funded Trader was founded by forex guys, so obviously forex is their chief focus. To that end, they offer trading in 40+ currency pairs. They added nine indices this past year, plus crypto, so they do seem to be expanding their list of tradable assets. Gold and silver are also now available for trade.

If you’re a forex trader, you’ll be happy. If you want to trade shares or have access to a wider range of indicies, you should look elsewhere.

Trustworthiness: 0/10

I have no faith in the new leadership of the Funded Trader, whoever that may be. Ciaramello, long the face of the company, more or less disappeared leaving a number of unpaid traders in his wake. Whoever is in charge no has done some work to clear that backlog, but it is clear that a number of traders felt cheated — just check out their TrustPilot. (More on that below.)

My overall rating: 4.5/10

The Funded Trader had it all for a split second, but I’m not at all optimistic that they can return to that point. Do yourself a favor a choose a more sustainable prop firm.

What others are saying

TrustPilot

Graphic from Trust Pilot showing the Funded Trader's 3.3 average score.

The Funded Trader went from an excellent (4.5/5) rating on TrustPilot with well over 14,000 reviews, to a 3.3. Suffice to say, the last 6,000 or so reviewers have not been pleased with their experience.

The most common complaint are from those who were affected by the shutdown and STILL don’t have refunds or payouts. Those who did receive a free account as compensation have complained that the trading parameters are unfair and not aligned with their previous purchases.

Facebook

Opinions of the Funded Trader took a similar turn on Facebook, as they went from a 4.9/5 with 160 reviews, to only 40% recommended in Facebook’s new review metric. Complaints of bogus account breaches before the shutdown dominate the review board.

Overall

People are angry, and justifiably so. Even before the shutdown, many allege that the Funded Trader was closing their accounts under false pretenses and they continued to sell evaluations even though they knew their liquidity situation was dire. A number of traders were cheated out of their hard earned time and profits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Funded Trader legit?

For a while, they actually were. But after all the shutdowns and manual breaches of accounts, they carry too much baggage for me to still call them legit. It is hard to say if they did what they did in a misguided, amoral attempt to save the company, or if they just did a classic rugpull. Regardless, they have not earned back my trust, no do I expect that they will.

Does the Funded Trader offer discounts, coupons, or promo codes?

Yes, the Funded Trader still offers frequent discounts.

Can anyone join the Funded Trader? 

The Funded Trader is open to anyone other than those residing in the following countries: Cuba, Iran, Syria, and North Korea. The Funded Trader blames restrictions connected to its payment-exchange accounts for the omissions.  

Can Americans join the Funded Trader?

The Funded Trader is based in the US, so yes, Americans can join. They must use the DXTrade platform.

What is the Funded Trader Challenge?

The Funded Trader has four challenges: the Standard Challenge, Royal Challenge, Rapid Challenge, and Knights Challenge. Each challenge has different rules, but the fundamentals are the same. Pass an evaluation on a demo account with virtual funds—two phases for the Standard, Royal and Rapid Challenge, but one phase for the Knight Challenge—and you’ll receive a funded trading account. 

A funded trader still has to abide by the rules but will receive 80%–90% of the profits they make with their funded account and won’t be responsible for any of the losses.

How do you pass the Funded Trader Challenge?

Note: These change frequently, please consult the Funded Trader directly for latest rules.

In a nutshell, to pass any of the Funded Trader Challenges, you have to meet your profit targets without going over your maximum drawdown limits.

The Funded Trader offers four different account types, all with slightly different trading parameters. Here’s a breakdown: 

AccountProfit targets
(phase 1/phase 2)
Max drawdown
(overall/daily)
Standard Challenge10%–5%10%–5%
Rapid Challenge8%–5%8%–5%
Royal Challenge8%–5%10%–5%
Knights Challenge10% (only one phase)6%–3%

The Funded Trader uses different drawdown calculations for different accounts. For the overall maximum drawdown limit, the drawdown is simply a calculation based on your account’s initial balance. For a Standard Challenge, for example, if you have a $100K account, in phase 1 your account balance can’t dip below 10% ($10,000) of $100k. Very simple.

Daily drawdowns are a little more complicated. Most of the Funded Trader accounts use both equity and balance to determine your maximum drawdown. At 5 p.m. EST the value of your account is determined based on both your balance and the equity value of any positions you may have open at that time. They then use the larger number to determine your maximum drawdown. 

For example, let’s look at a Standard $100K account, which has a 5% daily maximum drawdown. If you have an open position that is $2,000 in the green at 5 p.m. EST, your account is valued at $102,000. Your 5% maximum daily drawdown is still taken from your initial balance, so $5,000. That means that your new threshold is $97,000. If at any time your account equity dips below that mark, you are in violation.

The overall drawdown for the Knight Challenge is a relative drawdown that moves with your account balance until you reach 6% profit or more, then it stays at the original account balance. That can be a real boost for profitable traders. For example, if you run up a 5% profit on your $100K account, your maximum drawdown would be $99,000. If you make a 6% profit, the maximum drawdown is $100,000. Run that up to a 7% profit, and the drawdown stays at $100,000, giving you a little more breathing room. 

Beyond avoiding your maximum drawdowns, to pass any of the Funded Trader challenges, you simply have to reach your profit target within the allotted time (35 days for phase 1 and 60 days for phase 2 with most accounts). Depending on which account you open, you may also have to close any positions over weekends and remain flat during big news releases. 

What can I trade with the Funded Trader?

The Funded Trader mostly focuses on forex and offers 44 currency pairs, which should be sufficient for retail forex traders. Beyond that you can trade nine different indices plus gold and silver. 

What types of accounts does the Funded Trader offer?

The Funded Trader has five different types of account to choose from. The Rapid account, Standard account, and Royal account all have two-step evaluations, while the Knights account offers a one-step evaluation and no minimum trading days. There’s also something with a dragon, but I’m not going to take the time to look into it. All, of course, can lead to funded trading accounts should you pass the challenge.

What trading platforms and brokers does the Funded Trader use?

The Funded Trader allows DxTrade for US clients, but cTrader and “Platform 5” for international clients.

Is the Funded Trader regulated?

Like most prop-trading firms, the Funded Trader is not regulated. Since they are not brokers, they are classified as a financial education company and escape oversight from the SEC, CFTC, NFA, or any other financial regulator. This may change in the very near future as the CFTC seems to be taking a good hard look at prop trading firms. 

If I violate the trading objectives do I get a second chance?

The Funded Trader does not offer second chances. If you’ve violated a drawdown or any other trading rules, you’ll have to purchase a new account and start over.

How do I get in contact with the Funded Trader?

The Funded Trader can be contacted via their Discord link, email: support@thefundedtraderprogram.com.

My Funded Trader review summarized in exactly thirty words

The Funded Trader had its moment, and it blew it. After several shutdowns, an enormous backlog of payouts and refunds, and uncertain leadership, they are no longer to be trusted

4 thoughts on “The Funded Trader Review: Rules, Pros, Cons, and Promos”

    • For a Standard Challenge, the Funded Trader offers leverage of 1:200. I honestly haven’t used an EA with them, so I’m not sure. I’d double check directly with the Funded Trader to see if you can use a martingale strategy. Good luck!

      Reply

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