How to Pass the Fast Track Evaluation
Trade a minimum of 5 days.
Hit your profit target.
Follow the rules in this article.
Complete all requirements within 14 calendar days. If not, the Fast Track Evaluation auto-fails.
If you do that, you’ll be assigned an Elite account within 72 hours and be on your way to Live Funding.
Fast Track Evaluation Product Rules
1. Reach the Profit Target
Each Fast Track Evaluation has its own Profit Target and Trailing Drawdown. The goal is to reach the Profit Target without hitting the Trailing Drawdown.
Q: How does the trailing drawdown work in Fast Track Evaluations?
Example: You start with an account balance of $50,000, and your max drawdown is $2,000 (minimum account balance of $48,000). If you make a trade and close for a profit of $1,000, your minimum account balance moves up to $49,000.
If you hit your drawdown at any time, your Evaluation account will fail. If that happens, feel free to start a new Evaluation and try again.
2. Minimum Trade Day Requirement
You must trade for a minimum of 5 days and reach your profit target to qualify for an Elite account.
Details on Trading Days
Q: What qualifies as a trading day?
Any day you place a trade qualifies.
Q: Does Sunday count?
No. Sunday evening and Monday are counted as the same trading day.
Q: Is there a maximum number of days to hit my profit target?
Yes. In Fast Track, you must pass within 14 calendar days. If you don’t, the Evaluation automatically fails.
Note: Unlike standard 1-Step, there is no unlimited renewal option—Fast Track has a hard 14-day limit.
Q: Can I trade on holidays and during news?
Yes, but volatility can be very low or extremely high. Manage risk carefully to avoid wiping out your account.
Note: Elite Trader Funding is not responsible for your account during times of very low or extremely high volatility.
3. Evaluation Resets
Fast-Track Evaluations can NOT be reset. If you fail, you must purchase a new account.
Fast Track Elite Sim-Funded Product Rules
In this section, we’ll cover the rules for trading your Elite account and the requirements you must meet to qualify for a payout.
1. Trailing Drawdown
Q: How does the trailing drawdown work in Elite Sim-Funded accounts?
How it works: In an Elite account, the drawdown trails your highest unrealized profit until you’ve earned realized profits equal to the max drawdown + $100.
When it stops: Once that safety net is reached, the trailing drawdown is removed permanently, and you will no longer trail your highest unrealized gain.
Your minimum balance: From then on, your starting balance + $100 becomes your minimum allowable balance. If your account falls below this static level, the account will fail.
Example: How the Drawdown Moves
Starting point: You open with a $50,000 account balance.
Max drawdown: $2,000 → your minimum balance is $48,000.
Step 1 – Trade moves up: You take a trade that goes to +$1,000 in unrealized gains. Even though you don’t close it and it later drops to +$500, the drawdown is based on your highest unrealized profit. Your minimum balance now moves up to $49,000.
Step 2 – Locking the drawdown: Once you build $2,100 in realized profits (max drawdown $2,000 + $100), the trailing drawdown stops moving. From then on, your starting balance + $100 becomes the permanent minimum balance.
2. No Hedging
Traders are not allowed to hedge against themselves with the same or correlated instruments across one or multiple accounts. This prevents conflicts of interest and market manipulation. Learn more.
3. Maximum Account Position Limits
Each account type and size has maximum position limits for minis and micros.
Q: How do the maximum account positions work?
You are not allowed to exceed the maximum allowed positions at any time. Doing so will result in account failure. In Elite accounts, going over the limit will also forfeit profits with account closure.
Legend: 1 mini = 1 position, 10 micro = 1 position.
Example: An account with a maximum open position of 3 minis (or 30 micros). Allowed: 2 mini + 10 micro. Not allowed: 2 mini + 20 micro (equivalent to 4 positions). Not allowed: 3 mini + 60 micro (9 positions).
4. Household Trading Rule
Traders from the same household are not allowed to participate at ETF under any circumstances. Learn more.
5. Trading for Others
Trading for another user, whether within the same household or remotely, is strictly prohibited. Learn more.
6. Flatten Trades
Q: Am I allowed to hold trades overnight? No. All trades must be closed one minute before market close. Times vary by instrument. Check CME Market Hours for details.
Example: ES traders must close all positions before 3:59 p.m. CST on a normal trading day. New trades may be opened at 5:00 p.m. CST. Holiday hours vary; see the holiday trading hours guide.
7. Weekly Trading Requirement
Traders must execute at least one trade per week to keep their account active. If you cannot trade, notify ETF via the self-serve form. Missing a week will result in account closure and void payouts. Applies to all account types, including Diamond Hands.
8. Loss Limit Rule
Once a trader earns 20% profit on their Elite Sim-Funded account, a new loss limit applies. If you lose more than 35% of your total profit from that point, ETF may remove your account from the Elite Sim program. This overrides the initial max drawdown and disqualifies you from the Live Elite program.
This assessment occurs during audits or payout requests, where accounts are checked for stability.
9. Elite Reset
All ETF Elite accounts can be reset only three times.
Please visit the article below to review your reset pricing options.
Elite Payout Requirements
For each payout cycle, you must maintain the safety net and achieve the required number of Active Trade Days.
1. Meet the Active Trade Day Requirement
Traders must complete 8 Active Trading Days (ATDs) for Payout Cycle 1. For Payout Cycles 2–4, 10 ATDs are required.
Q: What qualifies as an ATD? Any day you place a trade that results in at least $200 realized profit and at least 23% of your best ATD P&L. For 10K 1 Step, 25K 1 Step, 25K EOD, and 100K Static Elite accounts, the minimum is $100 instead of $200.
If both criteria are not met, the day will not qualify as an ATD, but profits still count toward your balance. Continue trading until you meet the ATD requirements.
23% Rule: You must earn at least 23% of your best trading day’s profit for the day to qualify. For example, if your best day’s profit is $1,000, you must earn at least $230 on other days for them to count as ATDs.
Check out the example below:
Note: Your best trading day P&L does not reset after a payout. It only resets if you establish a new best day with a higher realized profit.
2. Achieve the Safety Net
You must reach your safety net to meet the first payout requirement. Once you earn realized profits equal to the account max drawdown + $100, the drawdown locks permanently, and the daily loss limit (if applicable) is removed. You cannot withdraw from the safety net during any payout cycles.
Payout Steps
Meet Requirements: Ensure you’ve met the safety net and ATDs.
Request a Payout: Visit your Trader Dashboard and request a payout.
Trade Activity Audited: Your activity will be audited for compliance.
Subscription Active: Keep your subscription active during the payout process.
KYC & Rise Onboarding: Complete KYC and onboard with Rise to receive payments. Residents of restricted countries are not eligible.
Use this table to see the payout ranges for each funding amount and how they increase across cycles until reaching the $25,000 cap and Live account eligibility.
Payout Requests Timing
Approval Timeline: Payouts are approved daily, Mon–Fri, from 3 PM Eastern (excluding holidays).
Cut-Off Time: The cut-off time for approved payout requests to be included in Monday’s batch is Friday at 5 PM EST and the cut-off time for the Wednesday batch is Tuesday at 5 PM EST. Requests after this time will be rolled over to next week.
Elite Sim Payouts: Processed twice weekly, Mondays and Wednesdays.
Live Elite Payouts: Processed daily.
Once you receive email confirmation that your payout is approved, funds are deducted from your account and you may immediately resume trading. Your Trader Dashboard will update with your next trade. You must still meet the weekly trading requirement, or your account may be closed, and payouts will be voided.
Profit Split
Once approved, traders keep up to 100% of simulation profits up to $25,000.
Payout Structure
You can request withdrawals once you’ve met the payout requirements and are in a Payout Cycle.
Withdrawals can be as little as $100, up to the cycle maximum.
In any Payout Cycle, you may withdraw a minimum of $100 until reaching the Payout Cycle maximum cap. (New requests can only be made once the payout has been processed.)
Daily withdrawals may also count as an ATD or trade day, allowing you to keep progressing.
⚠️ If you qualify for Payout Cycle 2 before fully withdrawing Payout Cycle 1, unused funds from Payout Cycle 1 are forfeited.
The day your payout is approved does not count toward your ATD requirement, but the funds will be added to your account balance.
This same structure applies for each Payout Cycle.
Example: In Payout Cycle 1, the maximum payout is $2,000. You can withdraw $100 until reaching $2,000. If you qualify for Payout Cycle 2 after withdrawing $1,500, the remaining $500 is forfeited. In Payout Cycle 2, your new payout maximum applies with the same rules.
LIVE ELITE Transition
How do I get moved to Live?
ETF may transition traders from their Elite Sim-Funded account to a LIVE ELITE account at our discretion—this can happen before, during, or after a payout request.
Transition criteria may include:
5 payouts per trader
50 Active Trading Days per trader
$25,000 total payout cap per trader
What is my starting balance for LIVE ELITE?
Your LIVE ELITE static balance is based on your single best-performing Elite Sim-Funded account that has reached the safety net (account max drawdown + $100):
50K or below: $2,000
100K: $3,000
150K or above: $5,000
If your top-performing account is a Direct to Funded (DTF) account:
25K DTF: $2,500
50K DTF: $5,000
100K DTF: $5,000
NOTE: CME Rules Compliance
All traders must complete 34 lessons on CME Rules and Regulations before advancing to their LIVE ELITE account. Review CME guidelines here.
Fast-Track accounts bought before September 17, 2025, will continue under the previous payout/LIVE ELITE policies.
NOTE: ETF may transition traders from their Elite Sim-Funded account to a LIVE ELITE account at our discretion—this can happen before, during, or after a payout request.