Do you want to start forex trading with a funded trading program? This post is for you. Here we will talk about two popular funded forex trading programs – FTMO and The 5%ers. Comparing both these programs will help you select the right one.
When it comes to forex trading, you have two options – whether to put your own capital or go with a funded trading program. Both these options have their own pros and cons. For most newbies getting started with forex trading, the main problem is the lack of sufficient capital.
When you are running out of capital, it may not be possible to start trading. To trade without hassle, it’s imperative to have sufficient capital. To eliminate the problem of lack of capital, funded programs came into play. The purpose of funded forex trading platforms is to allow traders trade in the market without capital.
When you become a trader in a particular platform, you will be trading with the company’s money and not yours. Depending on the platform you select, it may have an evaluation process. The evaluation process helps the company to ensure that the member has enough trading knowledge and skills.
Among tons of funded trading platforms out there, FTMO and The 5%ers are the popular ones. Both the platforms have different rules. Let’s talk about FTMO and The 5%ers in a bit detail.
What is FTMO?
FTMO can be a good place to start your forex trading journey. This funded forex trading platform consists of a two-step evaluation process. In order to become an FTMO trader, you must pass both the steps. The name of those steps are FTMO Challenge and Verification. Both these steps have trading objectives, which you need to achieve in order to become an FTMO trader.
But before you start with the FTMO Challenge step, you need to pay some fee to the company. This fee will be refundable. The amount will be refunded to you once you successfully complete FTMO Challenge and Verification steps, and become a trader at FTMO. After successfully completing the evaluation process, you will be offered a placement in the FTMO Proprietary Trading firm. This is the funded forex trading platform where you can remotely manage the FTMO Account with a balance of up to $200,000.
You can choose from a $10,000 account, $25,000 account, $50,000 account, $100,000 account, or $200,000 account. The fee will vary depending on which account type you choose.
Now, let’s talk about trading objectives of both the steps. Under the FTMO Challenge step in a $10,000 account, the trading objectives are a 30 days trading period, minimum of 10 trading days, a $500 maximum daily loss, a $1000 maximum loss, and a $1000 profit target. Talking about the Verification step, the trading objectives are 60 days trading period, minimum of 10 trading days, $500 maximum daily loss, $1000 maximum loss, and $500 profit target.
What is The 5%ers?
The 5%ers is another best funded trader program for forex trading. When getting started with this platform, you need to be clear about your trading personality. Whether you want to play it less risky or become an aggressive trader.
Depending on your trading personality, you need to select the right plan. Whether your trading personality is low risk or aggressive, the plan starts with the account balance of $24,000. You can choose from a $24,000 account, $40,000, $52,000, or $80,000, and the participation fee of these accounts are $275, $450, $565, and $875 respectively.
As we have said, each funded trading platform is different in its own way. Unlike FTMO, The 5%ers does not require you to go through the qualification or evaluation phase. To get started trading with real money on The 5%ers platform, you are just a sign up away. Once you sign up and pay the fee, you can start trading with real money from the day one.
The good thing about this platform is it just charges a one-time fee. Unlike many other funded trading platforms out there, this one does not charge a subscription fee, hidden fees, or recurring fees. Another good thing about 5%ers is it teaches users the right trading strategies. You can improve your trading knowledge by getting guidance from experienced traders.
FTMO Vs The 5%ers
Both these funded trading programs are different in so many ways. The first major difference is the evaluation phase. FTMO has a two-step evaluation process. Members must pass the evaluation process to become the trader.
Talking about The 5%ers, you can start trading from day one. FTMO has a refundable fee, while The 5%ers has a one-time participation fee. Both are different in many other ways like plans, profit target, etc.
Final Verdict
FTMO and 5%ers are both reputable prop firms that have been around for a bit. FTMO of course has been around the longest and has the most traders, but there upside is still limited even with the $200k addition. We only recommend 3 prop firms at this time with the third and possibly the best one being City Traders Imperium.
No Timeline: City Traders Imperium – CTI has been around awhile their payout isn’t the best starting at 50% to 60% then up to 70% when to get to 7 figures funded. Now why would we suggest somebody with a lesser payout? Because if the company is making more money they will be much happier relaxing the rules and letting traders do what they want. You can trade during the news, hold over the weekends and take as much time up to to a year on your verification. 50k funded account will cost you around $500 USD.
Longer Timeline: 5%ers – same thing they have a lesser payout at 50%, but you have to look at that they want you to succeed that much more with them paying you 50% and the upside is 7 figures again. They have been around awhile and they give you 6 months to pass the verification as well. It is a little pricier for the verification at around $875 USD, but again not as much pressure as a 60 day verification. Take your time and take the higher quality trades instead of rushing into them.
Most Reputable: FTMO – FTMO has been around about the longest of the most popular prop firms. They aren’t too expensive they have different tiers which used to be only up to 100k, but now they do have a 200k. The only downside with FTMO is the rules they are very strict on things like the news and not holding trades over the weekend and such. This can make you better yes, but it can hold a lot of traders back based on their strategy and principles. We have always been low risk high reward traders so it doesn’t affect us that much.