Elite Account Rules
Below is an explanation of Elite sim-funded account rules. View our Elite Account Payouts page for more information on how payouts work for our Elite traders. You must pass one of our evaluations to qualify for an elite account. Once you pass your evaluation phase and have moved to an Elite Account, you start with the same capital and drawdowns as the evaluation account. Your drawdown will be permanently removed once you have earned realized profits equal to max drawdown +$100.
Max Trailing Drawdown
How does the trailing drawdown work in 1 Step Elite sim-funded (qualified) accounts?
A In your Elite account the drawdown trails your highest unrealized profit until you have earned realized profits equal to drawdown +$100; then you will no longer have a trailing drawdown as it will be removed permanently. At this point, the starting account balance +$100 becomes your minimum allowable balance in your Elite account; do not let your account balance fall beneath this static level or you will fail.
Example: You start with an account balance $50,000 and your max drawdown is $2,000 (minimum account balance of $48,000). If you make a trade and it goes to +$1,000, but you don't close and your trade is now only +$500 your minimum account balance moves up to $49,000 because your highest unrealized profit was $1,000. Once you make $2,100 in realized profits (drawdown + 100) the drawdown stops trailing.
If at any time you hit your drawdown your Elite account is blown and no payouts are made. You can feel free to start a new evaluation and try again if that happens.
Trailing Drawdown Elite (qualified) Example
50k Elite with $2,000 trailing drawdown.
Holding trades overnight
Am I allowed to hold trades overnight?
A No. You are not allowed to hold trades overnight.
All trades MUST be closed 1 minute before the close of the market. Different instruments have different market closing times. It is your responsibility to know these and close your positions before the respective market closes. Holding a position past market closing time will result in the failure of your evaluation or Elite account. Holding a position past market close in your Elite account will result in a forfeit of profits with account closure.
Example: ES traders must close all positions before 3:59pm Central Standard time on a normal market hours trading day. New trades may be opened at 5pm Central Standard time.
It is the traders responsibility to know holiday trading hours that may vary.
Details on trading days
What qualifies as a trading day?
A Any day you place a trade qualifies. Sunday and Monday are counted as the same trading day.
What qualifies as an Active Trading Day (ATD)?
A Any day you place a trade that results in a minimum of two hundred dollars ($200) in realized profit and/or a realized profit that equals at least twenty-three percent (23%) of the best ATD P&L will count. For the Elite accounts—10K 1 Step, 25K 1 Step, 25K EOD, or 100K Static—the minimum realized profit is one hundred dollars ($100) instead of two hundred dollars ($200).
Learn more here.Does Sunday count as a trading day?
A No. Sunday evening and Monday are counted as the same trading day.
Can I trade on holidays and during news?
A Yes. Just know during these events volatility can be very low or extremely high and can wipe an account out quickly if risk management is not applied.
Maximum Account Positions
How do the maximum account positions work?
A You are not allowed to have more than the maximum allowed positions open at any time. Doing so will result in a failure of your evaluation or Elite account. Going over your max allowed positions in your Elite account will result in a forfeit of profits with account closure. 10 micros counts as 1 mini.
Legend:
1 mini = 1 "position"
10 micro = 1 "position"
Example: An account with a maximum open positions of 3 minis, 30 micros or 3
small will be used for this example.
Allowed: 2 mini, 10 micro
Not Allowed: 2 mini, 20 micros (20 micros is equivalent to 2 "positions" putting this at 4 total
positions. 1 more than the 3 allowed.).
Not Allowed: 3 mini, 600 micro (9 total "positions")
What contract expiration can I trade?
A You agree to trade the highest volume, most current contract for the instrument you are trading. Trading low liquidity and low volume contracts is not allowed.
The 40% Rule
*This policy is not applicable to accounts purchased or activated on or after August 1, 2024.*
What is the 40% rule?
A ETF wishes to empower traders with knowledge and tools that allow them to make prudent investment decisions and build and invest according to long-term, consistent trading strategies. ETF is not a gambling website, nor is it the intention of ETF to empower those who treat trading as a gambling enterprise. Because of this, it is the policy of ETF that at the time of any withdrawal request from an Elite Sim-Funded account, the most profitable Active Trading day shall not exceed forty (40%) percent of the total accumulated profits, including withdrawals. Further, to receive credit for an active trading day, realized profit must equal at least twenty-three (23%) percent of the best Active Trading Day P&L AND earn a minimum of two-hundred ($200) dollars in realized profit. This policy is uniformly applied to all Elite Sim-Funded traders using our Services, without exception.
Example: In the table below we are showing the highest single active trading day gain (PNL) as $10,000 on day 5. This means $10,000 cannot be greater than 40% of your total realized profit at the time of requesting a payout.
QWhat happens after I receive a payout?
A Nothing changes, you keep trading!
QDoes going over 40% fail my account?
A NO. You simply must keep trading to gain more profit to bring your best day % of Total PNL below 40%.
QDoes the consistency rule apply to evaluations?
A No, not at all. 40% consistency rule applies to Elite Sim-funded accounts only.
| Active Trade Day | PNL | Total PNL | % of Total PNL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 100% |
| 2 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 50% |
| 3 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 33.33% |
| 4 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 25% |
| 5 | 10,000 | 14,000 | 71.42% |
| 6 | -5,000 | 9,000 | 111% |
| 7 | 8,000 | 17,000 | 58% |
| 8 | 5,000 | 22,000 | 45% |
| 9 | 3,000 | 25,000 | 40% |
| 10 | 3,000 | 28,000 | 35% |
| 11 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 33% |
| 12 | 2,000 | 32,000 | 31.25% |
| 13 | 2,000 | 34,000 | 29% |
| 14 | 500 | 34,500 | 28.9% |
| 15 | 2500 | 37,000 | 27% (Can request first payout) |