There are so many firms to choose from in the online prop trading industry. There are the giants that are Topstep and Apex Trader Funding that most seem attracted to. There are the newer ones that have trended up like Tradeify and Lucid. Then there are ones that fly under the radar like Earn2Trade and The Futures Desk (“TFD”). There are plenty of others out there that I haven’t named.
I wouldn’t have ever learned about The Futures Desk if it wasn’t for a friend. I think this trader knew what I was seeking (a firm that truly encourages consistency), and she was spot on with the recommendation. She is the one I thank for finding this firm for me. I was on a quest for consistency in my trading, and someone handed me a map to one firm with the rules that fit my journey!
There are certain rules that set TFD apart from the rest. There is plenty to like about this firm. Some are rules that I think many traders wouldn’t like though. I think the opposite, because most traders seem to like stuff that isn’t healthy for them anyways. It’s kind of like healthy food; we tend to like and get addicted to junk food even though we know it’s not healthy. We then get used to avoiding healthy food.
I’m hoping that TFD becomes the only firm I continue to trade with in the long term.
Rules/ environment others would like that I also like:
- LOW COMMISSIONS
Their execution fees are very good. As of writing, the commissions and fees are around $1.20 on ES per side ($2.40 round-trip). For reference, TopstepX has “commission-free” pricing and so you only pay for NFA & Clearing Fees which comes out to $2.80 round trip. The Futures Desk commissions are cheaper than any other prop firm I have come across. How did The Futures Desk achieve this? They have Corporate CME membership. They are the real deal when it comes to a prop firm. I wonder why aren’t all prop firms Corporate CME members? - STATIC DRAWDOWN
I think a trailing drawdown is a way to trap prop traders. Firms will argue it is risk management, which I understand partially. However, imagine an account where you make $2,000 on your first day, then lose $2,000 on your second day. In prop trading, many firms will call that a blown account. Avoiding a trailing drawdown just puts unnecessary pressure on trading. If it was a fresh personal brokerage account, you’re right back where you started. At TFD, you have the option of choosing a static drawdown and it would be treated like a personal account; you’d be right where you started. - PAYOUT RULES
There are no payout requirements when you make it to Live Funded. Manage payouts however you want. You can request 100% starting from Day 1 of Live Funded (although this could just end your relationship with the firm). No hurdles to jump through here. No five days of $150+. No minimum profit requirements between payouts. This is where you get to see the account more like your own. This also removes any pressure to make that last $1 to make it a $150 winning day. I have literally blown a funded account trying to make $20 to count towards a payout winning day. - TAX TREATMENT
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT TAX ADVICE. At The Futures Desk, you are able to change your taxes from a 1099 to a K-1. This allows for passing through section 1251 tax treatment. This may not mean anything to some folks, but it means plenty to me. If you need additional information on what this could mean then speak with a tax professional. - PLATFORM CHOICES
I like to execute on Sierra Chart, and I do so with my personal account. It is snappy, it executes well, and rarely has issues. The Futures Desk claims that if I am Live Funded they are able to switch me over to Teton order routing (A Sierra Chart order routing service) which is pretty top notch. I would also be able to use my own data (Denali). Because of the way I like to trade, this is quite important to me.- They have other platforms that work too, and they seem to partner with ATAS. Jigsaw, Motivewave, and other platforms are available as well.
- As of writing, they continue to have ProjectX (TopstepX) and I bet they will continue to have access to it. They have an existing relationship with Plus500, and they are a legit prop firm with corporate CME membership. I think what would need to happen is for Plus500 to allow Topstep Brokerage be TFD’s broker. Topstep Brokerage would also need to allow TFD to have access to ProjectX firm risk management and monitoring tools, and there would probably be some transaction fees involved. If Topstep Brokerage wants to attract any other prop firms in the future, this would be the smart move. However Topstep Brokerage may just be wanting individual trader accounts. I’ll update this once something is known though.
- JOURNALING
TFD has one of the most, if not the most, robust journaling and performance tracking I’ve ever seen at any prop firm dashboard. You can track things like performance by day, by the setup (you have to tag your trades), by time of day or hold times. I think this is great especially for traders that have multiple strategies or setups so that they can track individual statistics. One thing that really stood out was the MAE/MFE analysis (Maximum Adverse Excursion and Maximum Favorable Excursion). These metrics are often ignored because it goes into how far your individual trades went into drawdown or profit before you actually close the position. Being able to objectively measure these statistics is huge.
Rules/ environment others would dislike but I like:
- BASE HITS
There is a cap on how much you can make per day in the Evaluation stage called a “base hit”. This is basically a consistency target, but their rules are more forgiving if you go over the target. In the long run, I think this rule encourages traders to make “enough” and end their day. That’s a healthy habit. On a $6,000 drawdown, the most restrictive base hit is $1,000. Imagine someone putting $6,000 into a personal account and making $1,000 in a day. I would not consider that as restrictive since that is a 16.67% return on your max drawdown in a single day. That is even their most restrictive base hit! Their least restrictive base hit is at 35% of your max drawdown. - DAILY LOSS LIMIT
Traders seem to hate a daily loss limit (“DLL”). The thing is, all firms that move to a Live Funded account enforce a DLL while you’re in Live. It’s standard risk management. If I’m in a personal account, I would want a DLL. I’ve tried to enforce one myself, but always find a way to turn it off which I regret more than half the time. So I want a firm that enforces a DLL at all stages (evaluation, sim funded, and live funded). Other firms seem to let traders get used to an environment where they can turn off the DLL (which leads to more blown accounts). Then if the trader makes it to the Live Funded environment, the trader then has to get used to a DLL which usually doesn’t work out. I personally like a DLL, so I like that TFD enforces one at all times. - LIMITED SIM FUNDING
The most you can make in Sim Funding at TFD is between $1,000 and $6,000 depending on your account parameters. I think many traders today would instantly move on to another firm upon finding out they can only make $6,000 max before getting moved to Live Funded. Now I realize the brilliance of this.- At other firms that allow more than $100,000 in sim funded profits, I found myself surrounded by traders that really were not interested in healthy trading habits. I want to be surrounded by traders that are in it for the long haul.
- If you’re a “partner” with a firm (and as a prop trader, that is how I believe we should see ourselves), would you want your firm to have to payout upwards of $175,000 in simulated profits to sim farmers? Of course it would be nice to be on the receiving end of those simulated profit payouts, but where do you think those payouts are sourced from? Limiting sim funded payouts pushes the firm towards longevity and reduces counterparty (the firm) liquidity risk as a trader.
The stuff I don’t like, but am okay with:
- 80/20 PROFIT SPLIT
It’s a lower profit split than some of the others. However, this is the max they can do since they are Corporate CME members. Due to the lower commissions and the tax treatment, I am fine with this split. My tax situation offsets the change from a 90/10. Consult a tax professional if you need to. - RITHMIC SERVER
They are on a shared paper trading Rithmic server for the evaluation and the sim funded stage. It kind of sucks to be honest. However, if they actually can let me use Denali + Teton via Sierra Chart then this is irrelevant if I get to Live Funded. They can even put you on a CQG data feed after you make it to Live Funded. In my opinion, quality data and refresh rates makes a huge difference in trading. Your executions will thank you for good data.
