CFD & Futures Prop Firm Strategies: FTMO, The5ers & Topstep

Fund trading (Prop Firm Trading) has become the most popular way for retail traders to access large capital from tens of thousands to millions of USD. However, the failure rate of fund exams is up to 95%. The reason is not because traders lack methods, but because they **do not understand the rules of the game and lack specific capital management strategies** for each type of fund.

1. Understand the Rules of the Game: CFD (FTMO, The5ers) vs Futures (Topstep)

Each fund has its own drawdown rules that require you to clearly understand:

📊 CFD Funds (FTMO & The5ers)

• FTMO: Leading in reputation in the CFD field. The Daily Drawdown limit is 5% calculated based on the balance (Balance) or assets (Equity) at the beginning of the day, whichever is greater. The Max Drawdown limit is a fixed 10%.
• The5ers: Supports lower leverage but has Drawdown rules based on real assets (Relative Drawdown) or fixed (Absolute Drawdown) depending on the exam package. The strong point is that the capital growth program (Scaling Plan) is extremely fast when traders have regular profits.

📈 Futures Fund (Topstep)

• Topstep: Futures Fund is the oldest and most prestigious. Trade directly on the futures market through CQG/Rithmic (NinjaTrader, Tradovate platforms).
• Latest law: Topstep has completely removed the Real-time Trailing Drawdown rule that causes inhibition for test accounts. Instead, they apply a fixed **Maximum Loss Limit** based on the initial account balance, making it much easier for traders. However, you must strictly follow the position size rules (Scaling Plan as the account grows) and the Daily Loss Limit law.

2. Capital Management Strategy During the Fund Examination Phase (Evaluation Phase)

During the test phase, your goal is to achieve the required profit level (usually 8% - 10%) without violating the drawdown limit. The most optimal risk allocation strategy:

📌 Extremely low risk per order: Should only risk words 0.25% to 0.5% account per order setup. Absolutely do not risk 1% when the account does not have a safety cushion.

📌 Daily Stop threshold: If you lose 2 or 3 orders in a row (about 1% - 1.5% of your account), immediately **close the computer**. This keeps you well away from the fund's 5% Daily Drawdown limit.

📌 Consistency rules: Avoid being lucky and winning a very large order to pass the fund. Divide your goals into small pieces and maintain winning orders of similar size to meet the consistency rules of today's funds.

3. Trading Strategy After Passing & Receive Live Account (Funded Phase)

Congratulations on receiving a Funded account! However, this is when the psychological pressure multiplies because you are starting to see real money. Strategies to keep a Live account long term:

🛡️ Build a "Safety Buffer Zone"

When your Live account is at $0 profit, you are standing right at the edge of the Drawdown abyss.
• Strategy: Take super small risks, only **0.1% — 0.2%** until the account accumulates a profit of **2% to 3%** (called Safety Cushion).
• Once you have a safety cushion of $2,000 - $3,000 (for a $100K account), then you can gradually increase the risk to normal levels (0.3% - 0.5%) to increase profits.

💸 Payout Strategy

Don't try to keep money in the fund for too long to make the account look big. Please **withdraw money as soon as possible** (eg FTMO's 14-day withdrawal cycle or after reaching Topstep's minimum withdrawal limit). Holding real money in your bank account will relieve 90% of the psychological pressure of trading and strengthen your real confidence.