If you are either new to trading or looking for exciting opportunities of a more seasoned trader ready to take your next big step and maximize your profits and rewards for your trading skills and acumen, then access to a funded trading account and the massive capital it puts to your disposal may perhaps be your way forward.
The problem is that most such schemes and arrangements offered by prop firms, require traders to successfully pass a challenge, then move to an evaluation and verification phase and only offer them access to a funded account upon successful completion. Clearly then, if you have your heart set on a funded account and the chance to trade using massive capital that is not your own to risk, you must be ready and able not to lose the challenge.
The truth is that the majority of people signing up for such challenges end up failing and never getting offered a live funded account. This is frustrating and disappointing and may well end up putting them completely off-trading altogether. It is also true that most failures are not because of a lack of trading skills, but often because traders fail to attain the specific profit targets set, within the specified amount of time, while at the same time abiding and not breaching all the trading rules set by the funded account providers.
The need to be able to pass the challenges set by funded account providers has given rise to the creation of automated systems to which interested traders can subscribe. Such automated systems, claim to be able to successfully pass both the challenge and evaluation/verification processes automatically for the subscribing, aspiring funded traders, while also giving them the opportunity to make use of automated trading once they get offered a funded account and thus generate more passive income from their account.
If you are wary of trusting such an automated system, but still would love the opportunity of trading through a funded account and accessing the large volumes of trading capital that you would otherwise never be able to access, you must successfully gear yourself up for passing your funded account challenge. Move beyond fear and disappointment and follow the steps analyzed below to help you pass all the necessary verification stages and get a hold of a funded account that might well bring you closer to financial freedom!
The five steps towards funded account challenge success
Here are the basic steps you need to follow when aiming for success in your funded account challenge. Please note that though not exclusively aimed at more seasoned traders, funded account programs are perhaps more appropriate as opportunities for traders who already know how to generate profit in the forex markets.
Step 1. Ensure your own readiness
Before you sign up for a funded account challenge you must be sure that you are ready as a person and as a trader for this endeavor, which is both challenging and demanding. A good sign that you are ready would be having in your track record at least a few months of consistently making profitable trades. It is also important that this should be achieved through a proper, live account, funded with your own money, and not through a demo account using fake funds or trading in a simulated environment and conditions.
This is because trading in demo mode, with no real funds at stake and at risk, is a completely different situation and the stress and pressure are much less than when trading on a live account. Demo accounts are ok for starting off and for practicing and learning, but no venue to sharpen your trading skills in real conditions. Obviously, when trading through a live account, you run the risk of suffering painful losses every time you take a bad trading decision, but this is exactly the risk-averse and loss-averse mentality that you will need to be able to rise up to the challenge of succeeding in a funded account challenge.
Moreover, prior to signing up for such a challenge, make sure you have devised, developed, and tested your own trading strategy or even set of trading strategies. Such strategies may be mechanical and dictated by indicators or they may be based on your own trading skills and reading of market directions, whatever works best for you and you feel more comfortable with.
In short, go into a funded account challenge with the confidence that you are consistently able to generate profit and armed with trading strategies you are familiar with under your belt.
Step 2. Purposely adapt your trading strategy
If you already have a strategy and keep track of your trading performance, make sure you gather that data and compare the outcome with the specific goals set out in the challenge. Typically, funded account challenges require you to achieve a set profit target over a set period of time, with maximum losses set either on a daily, monthly, or overall challenge period interval. If your current trading track record reveals that to meet the challenge targets you must either increase or decrease your risk or look into ways to be able to generate higher profit marks.
Once you recognize what changes must be made to your trading strategy to attain and obtained the desired results, you should go on and make the necessary adjustments, while it would be a good idea to put those adjustments to the test and see if the outcomes yielded are those anticipated.
Another approach would be to trade using your usual strategies and methods and then gradually adjust your risk as you reach closer to the profit target set out by the challenge or the ensuing verification phase. Reaching success is very much an analytical game that requires constant monitoring and a firm determination to quickly make changes and adjustments as soon as such is deemed necessary, in other words, to figure out how to adapt and adjust to remain with and adhere to the specific challenge parameters and rules.
Step 3. Researching and signing up
If you are ready personally and also ready to adapt your trading strategy, then you are ready to start the signup process. This should be preceded by careful research and info gathering to know everything there is to know about the firm which provides the funded account, the funded account program itself, and the specific parameters, rules, and conditions of the actual funded account challenge.
A good starting point for the latter is to carefully study the faq section compiled by the funded account provider and challenge setter. Another good source of information is the reviews and experiences of other traders, who previously signed up for the specific program you are considering. Once you gather the information and compare different funded account providers, you will be able to decide firmly on which one is best suited for you and then initiate the signup process for the challenge of the particular funded account provider.
The actual sign-up process is usually a straightforward affair during which you will need to provide your personal and contact information. Usually, you are also called to select the trading platform you will be using for trading during the challenge phase, as often there is more than one available option. Make sure you choose a platform that is intuitive, reliable, and clean, and definitely, one that you have successfully used before and you are familiar with how it works and its special and added tools and features.
Another issue that you need to look into, is ensuring you can comfortably afford to pay and afford to lose if things turn sour, the amount needed for a relevant fee, be it a subscription or sign-up fee or a trading deposit required. Find out exactly what you will be expected to pay to participate in the challenge and make sure that amount is not an amount you cannot afford to go without. Also, find out if payments are one-off or recurrent and whether you stand you be refunded for certain amounts in case you successfully complete the challenge and verification processes and gain access to a live trading funded account.
In case you will be making the relevant payment via your credit card, it would be wise to contact and inform your credit card service company beforehand to make sure the transaction is processed swiftly and smoothly and to minimize the wait time.
Once your sign-up details and payment are received you may expect to be contacted by the prop firm offering the funded accounts and provided with your username and password through which you will be trading for the purposes of the challenge.
Step 4. Set up your trading environment and polish off your strategy
Once you have your login info at hand, log in explore the dashboard and overall trading environment, and become familiar with all available resources and tools. During this process, make sure you also set up any charts and other indicators you will need to be consulting while trading. It is imperative that you become as comfortable and familiar with using the platform as possible before you start the trading challenge.
Since most challenges set minimum trading days and are strict about traders keeping the rules, do your utmost to avoid any loopholes and mistakes. A good way is to polish off your strategy and decide if any last-minute adjustments are needed to it and then do a mental walk-through of how you will be implementing your particular strategy within the given trading environment, including your entry and exit points for each trade.
It may be worth considering to use Expert Advisor and some of the best trading bots on the market as your trading tool, but before you make a decision, we recommend you first read our comprehensive guide on using expert advisors to Pass a Prop Firm Challenge. This guide will provide you with valuable insights and strategies to ensure you're making an informed choice that aligns with your trading goals. Please note that not all prop firms allow the use of EA and trading bots.
Step 5. Start trading and stick to the rules
Once you start the challenge trading phase the most crucial pain point and the make-or-break factor is being disciplined. Your discipline as a trader will be challenged due to the stress and nervousness caused when trading and trying to meet the goals and remain within the rules and limitations of the challenge. In fact, the dynamics of your trading experience, no matter how seasoned a trader you were beforehand, are greatly affected when you are pressed to avoid precise loss limits and achieve specific profit targets.
To manage to retain your discipline you must discover and employ your own stress coping mechanisms in order to keep your stress as low as possible and within the limit and avoid spasmodic moves or emotional and erratic trading decisions on the spur of the moment. Give yourself regular breaks and time and ways to relax and unwind. Also, make sure you are getting enough sleep and get proper meals, as your chances to succeed increase if you take care of yourself and keep fit and in good shape, both physically as well as mentally. In fact, since the whole purpose of the challenge is to prove your skill and acumen as a pro and profitable trader, then your own preparation should resemble that of an athlete preparing for a high-profile pro sporting event.
And above all, remember to stick to your plan and strategy since it is proven to work but be ready to adjust it accordingly if needed. Be vigilant and track your record and performance precisely, taking time to assess, evaluate, re-evaluate, and reflect.
If you follow the steps outlined above and if you do manage to retain your discipline your chances of succeeding to pass the funded trading account challenge of your choice will be greatly maximized. Use the same approach during the verification phase and soon you will be receiving the funded account option, unlocking huge possibilities and massive trading capital that will help you take your trading to the next level.
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Posted by
George Milios
Lead Generation & Business Growth Specialist
Helping Companies Scale their Organic Traffic & Conversions over the long-term by implementing strategies that work. In addition, George is an avid cryptocurrency researcher, advisor, investor, and trader.
