Course 3 Funded accounts · Lesson 15 of 18

Funded Stages and Scaling Plans

After the evaluation, most firms move you through funded stages: a first funded account, a scaling plan that increases the balance when you hit profit milestones, and at some firms a live stage where real capital is allocated. Scaling plans typically add 25 percent to the balance every three or four months of profit, up to a cap of one or two million dollars, and they are the source of the large numbers in prop-firm advertising.

What you'll learn

  • Understand the typical stages after passing
  • Read a scaling plan critically
  • Know what changes between stages

The first funded account

Same size as the evaluation, same loss limits, no profit target. Some firms impose a lower split or a first-payout waiting period, and some require a small profit before the first withdrawal. The account is still simulated at most firms. This is where most of the money in prop trading is actually made and lost, and where the rules on consistency and news are usually strictest.

Scaling plans

Typical conditionTypical reward
10 percent net profit over three or four months, with payouts takenBalance increased by 25 percent
Repeated at each milestoneUp to a cap, often 1 to 2 million dollars
SometimesProfit split increased, for example from 80 to 90 percent

A plan that takes four months per step needs two years of consistent profit to reach the top. Advertising that leads with the cap is describing a trader who has kept a positive record for that long, which very few do. Read the plan as a ladder and price the first rung.

Live stages

A few firms move consistently profitable traders to real capital, either with a broker in the firm's name or through a copy of the trader's positions. The trader usually sees no difference on screen. The firm's motive is to turn a payout obligation into a hedged profit, and it is a sign the firm takes the trader seriously.

What can go wrong

  • A breach on the funded account ends it; there is no reset to funded.
  • Some firms reset the scaling clock on any losing month.
  • Payout caps per period can delay withdrawals on scaled accounts.
  • Rule changes: firms alter terms, and the funded account is usually bound by the current terms rather than those you signed.

Key takeaways

  • Funded accounts keep the loss limits, drop the target, and often have stricter conduct rules.
  • Scaling adds balance in steps over months; the advertised cap is years away.
  • Live stages exist at some firms for consistent traders.
  • A funded breach is final, and terms can change under you.

Knowledge check

  1. A scaling plan adds 25 percent every four months of profit. Starting at 100,000, roughly what balance would you have after one year of continuous qualifying?

Glossary

Guides

Trading forex, CFDs and other leveraged products carries a high risk of losing money. This lesson is general education, not advice. Risk disclosure.

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