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I'm not sure what part sounds like a word salad to you. Let me know and I can explain it. He posted more in-depth data which was beyond the scope here, which gives me confidence that they know what they're doing. It doesn't guarantee anything but it's more info, and better than what I've heard from other places.
Rather I am an independent contractor working for myself aka my own boss - if you want to compare this situation with an employee/organization way.
Therefore, I should *not* be obligated/forced to share my trade/business secrets with anyone else against my own will just because I am a contractor working for your company.
I had 6 Apex accounts, and they are the first 6 I ever bought, did it 3 months ago. So, I am not a serial "buy and YOLO" type of guy. I admit to blowing some $16 accounts which I never renewed because they were so cheap and I wanted to see how it feels to go all in before a CPI release, without doing it with real money. It was fun I wanted to see how I'd do with this particular funding company, as they are quite strict.
As of this morning, got my profit to $2650 out of $3000 needed for the PA, did it slow and steady over months, just to see if I could work within the Apex rules. To be clear, I trade my own cash account also, but wanted to experiment with this model. Yesterday afternoon I committed capital to another opportunity so I decided to part ways with Apex as of yesterday.
For the following reasons, as of yesterday afternoon, I decided that Apex is not for me, listed in rough priority of most important to least:
I absolutely need the ability to trade into and out of a core position. The ambiguity of even defining DCA when scaling is the deal breaker. Despite tagging Apex on this thread, I could not get a clear answer. (* See footnote for example)
I never want to be in a position where I am required to record (even though I do record), or have to explain very specific objective criteria for taking a trade (though I often do have specific objective criteria), in order to satisfy someone else's inquiry.
I need to be able to get into and out of trades quickly, without being called a "flipper". Sometimes I get in with a 1 lot because I'm feeling out the market, it doesn't feel right, and I close it within 10 seconds. They call this "flipping" when someone takes a 'no-op' trade to count a trading day towards a payout.
Sometimes I trade with 15 lots, sometimes I trade with 1. They frown upon inconsistent position sizing and have denied payouts for it. Most good traders I know size with their conviction in a trade. I don't want to be labeled a "gambler" and denied a payout for sizing up on an A+++ opportunity.
Their Rithmic data feed was untradable for days at a time during key market events. It's great that they "made it right" in many cases, but assaulting someone and then taking them to the hospital does not make one a hero, and failing to have infrastructure to properly support paying customers and then wasting their time by resetting their accounts is not praiseworthy.
Apex management and leadership is confrontational. If you've ever worked for good, professional leadership, you know what that type of speech sounds like. If you haven't, I hope you get to at some point in your life, because it can be inspiring, soothing, and calming during times of panic or disruption. Listen to John, who makes their videos, and decide for yourself whether calling out youtubers and engaging in petty arguments like that is confident, stable leadership.
Apex creates an "us vs them" culture, and seeks to silence those who have legitimate complaints. If you dispute or question them publicly, they reserve the right to deny payouts, cut ties, and ban you. I am on their , and I was put in "time out" for one week because I clicked reactions to posts from their staff which demonstrated dissatisfaction (like a thumbs down). Yes, I was banned from saying anything, for clicking little reactions to posts. I did not take it personally, but I thought it was a bit odd.
Inconsistent messaging on business goals. "Scams and schemes" came with the "One Day Pass" (from a slide on their video), yet, they continue to offer a one-day pass to this day. They do not allow traders to scale in with 3 micro contracts one tick apart, but they are ok with taking enough leverage to double an account in one day.
Ultimately it comes down to this: they can require what they want, and some of these requirements are helpful, but the possibility of a payment denial for a legitimate trade is too high of a counterparty risk to take (as Apex is the market, not CME). So, I decided that I'd rather partner with another company.
I'll be unsubscribing to this thread as it's become mostly noise. I truly wish all who are using Apex the best, and I wish Apex no ill will. Best of luck!
(*) For an example of ambiguity on DCA: if I buy the following prices, in this order, is this DCA? Buy at X, then X+4, then X+2, then X+1. If using my average position price calculated after each buy, there is only one buy below my current position price (the 4th), which means it would be allowed. If looking at individual buys and not calculated using open position, both the last buys would mean a violation. And this isn't even considering scaling out, and how that would affect it.
Apex have now responded to my payout denial. They confirm that scalping while in a trade is allowed, and this is not considered DCA. Due to the way their system currently identifies DCA (more than one execution in red), these trades will initially be flagged as DCA. A manual review is required to look at each individual trade in depth, and the DCA flag will be removed for scalps.
Once Apex becomes familiar with the trader's approach and stats, Apex mark the accounts so repeated denials should not occur.
I am happy with this explanation and I now believe Apex are seeking long-term relationships with consistently profitable traders. 2/3 of my queried payouts have now been sent, and the 3rd is being processed.
On a more general note surrounding the current Apex FUD, here are some observations I've made over the past few weeks:
1. Staff are working evenings, weekends and bank holidays to deal with payout issues.
2. New staff have been recruited.
3. Servers have been upgraded and recent Rithmic issues have been fixed following two weekends of upgrades.
4. The CEO regularly interacts with traders on and Facebook, and will answer questions.
5. Recent issues in the FX prop space has resulted in a lot of new sign-ups for Apex.
6. Month-on-month, Apex payouts are increasing.
7. Apex has a loyal fanbase and staff that are extremely passionate about the company.
In my opinion, this does not look like a company that is in trouble.
Why do you think Apex has so many "payment issues" that their staff have to do that, and new staff recruited?
Why do you think Apex had so many Rithmic issues that their competitors apparently didn’t encounter?
Why, then, are so many of their customers and former customers complaining in some many places that they’ve been banned from Apex’s just for politely asking simple questions and/or complaining about persistently missing payments?
Given the weight of numbers, it’s surely not realistic to imagine that they’re all making it up?
You may be right, and I certainly hope you are; but undeniably many people professing themselves to be well-informed on the subject (and sounding it) seem to be drawing the opposite conclusion, don’t they?
I wanted to see how I'd do with this particular funding company, as they are quite strict.
