- Weekly Trading Requirement
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Traders must place at least one trade per week to maintain an active account. If you are unable to trade due to specific reasons, please notify ETF via the self-serve form available here. Failure to trade for a week will result in account closure and void any payouts. This rule does not apply to Diamond Hands accounts.
- Risk Management
Risk management is crucial at ETF to ensure traders stay within set limits.
- Daily Loss Limits: Elite Sim-Funded and LIVE ELITE accounts that experience a loss greater than 35% of the growth in a single day after reaching 20% growth, will be invalidated.
- Trailing Drawdown: The drawdown follows your highest intraday gains and stops trailing once you realize gains equal to the drawdown amount plus $100.
- End-of-Day (EOD) and Static Rules
At market close, your cash balance must be above the daily loss limit and drawdown to avoid liquidation mode.
- Static Drawdown: The static drawdown remains fixed. If your balance falls below this minimum, your account will enter liquidation-only mode.
- Flatten Trades: All positions must be closed 1 minute before market close. Failure to do so will result in account termination and forfeiture of profits. Diamond Hands accounts are exempt from this rule.
- 40% Consistency Rule
- For Elite Sim-Funded accounts before August 1, 2024, your most profitable day must not exceed 40% of your total profit when requesting a withdrawal. This is calculated as:(Best Day P&L / Total P&L) * 100 = % of P&L.
- Account Management Example
- A starting balance of $150,000 grows by 20% to $180,000. If a loss exceeds 35% of the increase ($10,500), the account becomes invalid with a $169,500 balance.
Account and Risk Management :
This table illustrates how account growth and losses affect participation in the Elite Sim-Funded program.
Account Stage | Description | Account Balance | Change |
---|---|---|---|
Initial Balance | Starting account balance | $150,000 | - |
After 20% Growth | Account increases by 20% | $180,000 | +$30,000 |
After Significant Loss | Loss exceeding 35% of the increase ($10,500 loss) | $169,500 | -$10,500 (35% of $30,000) |
Trailing Drawdown:
This example explains how the trailing drawdown is calculated and applied during trading.
Scenario | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
Starting Point | Initial account balance | $150,000 |
Intraday Highest Unrealized Gain | Highest gain achieved intraday (not yet realized) | $10,000 |
Trailing Drawdown | Drawdown follows the intraday highest gain | Follows $10,000 gain |
Realized Gains + $100 | Drawdown stops after realizing gains + $100 | Stops after $5,100 in realized gains |
Exceeding the Drawdown | If losses hit/exceed the drawdown amount, the account fails | Losses exceed $5,000 |
End-of-Day (EOD):
This table illustrates how traders must manage their account balance at the end of the trading day.
Scenario | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
Account Size | Initial balance of the account | $150,000 |
Static Daily Loss Limit (DLL) | Maximum daily loss allowed; exceeding triggers liquidation mode | Daily loss limit is set at $3,300 |
EOD Max Drawdown | Balance must remain above this by market close | Max EOD drawdown is $4,500 |
Trailing Stops After Gains | EOD drawdown stops after gains exceed the drawdown + $100 | Stops after $4,600 gains |
Intraday Minimum Balance & Liquidation | If your balance hits the minimum intraday, your account will result in liquidation-only mode and be marked as failed | Balance drops to $145,500, triggering liquidation-only mode and marked as failed |
Static :
This explains the static minimum balance and how the account will be marked as failed if it falls below this balance.
Scenario | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
Account Size | Starting account balance | $150,000 |
Static Minimum Balance | Minimum balance that must be maintained | Static minimum balance is $148,750 |
Fixed Drawdown Mechanism | The drawdown remains fixed and does not trail gains | Drawdown remains at the static minimum balance of $148,750 regardless of account gains |
Account Growth | As the account grows, the static drawdown level remains fixed, providing a stable threshold for risk management | If the account grows to $160,000, the drawdown is still $148,750 |
Liquidation Mode | If the balance falls below the minimum, liquidation is triggered | Drops below $148,750 |