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I understand what you're saying. I was over thinking and looking at this setup in a different way. I will just need to all there to clearify more. Thanks!
Yes, you're fine. Thanks for the help. Both of your answers clarified somethings for me.
I am confused because a while back when I spoke to their forex side. Their "$500K" funded account was truly just the margin buying power, something that was really just $5000(can't remember exactly), but was $500,000 buying power in leverage(Uk based broker they have a partnership with up to 100:1 leverage I think?).
Anyways, the 150K is really irrelevant? Up to 15 contracts, utilizing their rules, and keeping 80% after the first $5k profit is all that matters lol. My main concern was how much personal equity is comparable to their program to which their program is no longer beneficial?
It sounds like you are wondering how to determine an equivalence between the funded account and a person's comparable individual account. If that's the question -- and it's a good one -- the answer depends in part on the margin that would be put up for the individual account, plus, of course, on the amount of risk you are willing to take. The Combine/funded account only has a risk of the Combine fee; the personal account has your personal money at risk. The risk issue may be the most important for many. (Of course, a person may end up paying the fees for many Combines.)
But the margin question is easier:
The CME exchange has a requirement for trades held overnight. You can check with CME for the particular contract/product you are interested in. It will be several thousand dollars per contract, for any futures contract.
For trades that are opened and closed within the same trading day (as all TST trades must be), the CME sets no requirements -- it's up to your broker. Some brokers have margins for ES (S&P futures) as low as $400/contract. Many set it at $500/contract. Numbers this low are regarded by many traders as insane, because when a change of one point in ES is worth $50 per contract, then 10 points of ES movement against you will amount to $500, wiping you out. This could be just a few losing trades (or one very big losing trade. ) When margins are optional with low minimums, it is unwise to take the lowest number.
So, if I understood your concern, it's basically not answerable, because it depends on your individual loss/risk tolerance.
As far as the Combine/funded account goes, all that matters is the number of contracts you are given to trade with. In the funded case, the number can be increased in time if you have a profitable performance, so there is some flexibility there.
Is the Combine and then a funded account a good choice for a particular trader? Not necessarily. Someone with limited money, or someone who may want to work on his game in a limited-risk situation, may find it a good idea. Someone else may not benefit at all. Also, given the newly-introduced micro emini contracts for equities -- and the micro contracts for currencies -- there are other limited-risk choices that may be better learning opportunities. Again, up to the individual.
It is my pleasure to welcome back John Hoagland for our 355th webinar event, on Tuesday, July 30th @ 4:30 PM Eastern US.
The title for the event is "Identifying Crucial Levels", and bullet points include:
- John Hoagland is a Senior Performance Coach @ TopstepTrader and 30-year market veteran
- Review live markets and pinpoint the areas of support and resistance that he regularly shares with his private coaching clients,
- Teach you how you can take these leanings and parlay them to earning a Funded Account,
- Provide a limited-time offer for the futures io audience
Thanks for the reply. So there is no threshold? This is what I see at the link:
"Traders will receive 100% of the profits from withdrawals, up to a total of $5,000. After the first $5,000 of funds have been received by the trader, the profit split will become 80/20, with the trader receiving 80% of withdrawals and TopstepTrader retains 20% of the requested withdrawal."
So TopStep does not withhold a portion of profits in the account. But it does reset the account to the initial number of allowable lots.
once you're funded with TST, let's say you make $9000 in profit without ever withdrawing. then you happen to mistakenly place a trade during FOMC and you're immediately flunked out of the Funded account.
are you still able to withdraw that $9000 or do all profits you made in a funded account just vanish into thin air once you break a rule in the Funded account?