One of the problems we have noticed with the online prop firm industry is the skew towards big money accounts and the lack of options for traders who want to slow things down, learn the futures markets, and become better traders. The typical choice for traders in this position seem to be either to trade a pure simulation account with no stakes involved, or trade a prop firm account designed for larger positions and a get-rich-quick mentality.
Our Beginner Evaluations are an attempt to fill in that gap. The Beginner Evaluations were designed go give new traders, or traders new to futures, an environment that combines the safety and risk-free trading of a pure simulation account with the tangible, real goal of earning a funded account. Traders in a Beginner Evaluation are limited to trading a small number of micro contracts and have reduced targets and risk parameters. After passing a Beginner Evaluation, a trader can earn a funded account just as they would with any other evaluation.
How It Works
The Beginner Evaluation has two distinct steps that each must be passed in order to move on to the Funded Account. Each step will be treated like a separate, brand new evaluation, each with an identical profit target, max position size, daily loss limit, minimum required trading days, and max drawdown. The only difference between the two steps is that, while in Step 1, resets are free (once per day), and once in Step 2 resets carry the normal $99 price tag.
The idea behind this model is to give traders a safe environment during Step 1 where they can freely make mistakes without worrying about paying additional fees. Then, once the profit target is reached and the trader feels ready, they can proceed to Step 2, which has the elevated stakes of no free resets. After passing Step 2, a trader can move on to the Funded Account just like any other evaluation.
We offer two options for Beginner Evaluations, each with a corresponding set of risk parameters, which you can view here.
Funded Accounts
As with any other evaluation, traders who complete a Beginner Evaluation will earn a funded account. The account size and parameters will start out very similar to the evaluation, and once the trader reaches the Live Funded Account, the risk parameters can be scaled up, like any other live account, according to the scaling plan. So even though the LFA would start out smaller with a Beginner Evaluation than some of the other options, you could scale it up to the same size as (or even larger than) any other Live Funded account.
Who Should Choose the Beginner Evaluation?
The Beginner Evaluation can be a great choice for many traders, and not just those who are truly "beginners". The free resets that accompany Step 1 offer an ideal environment in which to learn and make mistakes without fear of additional fees, and the opportunity for funding offers a path to truly sustainable profitability. For example, a few types of traders who may benefit from choosing the Beginner Evaluation include:
Traders making the switch from forex, crypto, or options trading to trading the futures markets
Investors or longer-timeframe investors making the switch to day trading
Futures traders who simply want to get a feel for other products and markets
More experienced traders who simply want to get back to basics and reset their expectations
We invite all traders to take a closer look at the Beginner Evaluations and consider them for their funding goals.
