What is the purpose of prop firm evaluations?
As a proprietary trading firm (prop firm), we are looking for consistently profitable traders who understand risk management and relatively stable returns. We are not looking for irresponsible gamblers who land on a lucky streak. One of the challenges of being an under-capitalized trader is that you are often trapped between a rock and a hard place: Trade irresponsibly by risking far too much of your capital on each trade, which often leads to blowing entire account balances, or learn proper risk management and earn the equivalent of less than minimum wage for the hours of effort you put into your trading. This is the catch-22 of individual traders. Our trading challenges provide an opportunity to trade responsibly, using proper risk management for the account size, to make the most of your trading performance. While rules may seem strict, they are necessary to filter out irresponsible gamblers in order to discover real pro traders with long-term potential.

What trading platforms (software) do you offer?
We currently offer Rithmic R | Trader Pro™, you may also bring your own Rithmic-compatible trading platform if you own a license already for the software you prefer. We will be announcing new platforms in the near future.

How many accounts can I have at a time?
You may open as many Evaluation Challenge accounts as you want. There are no limits on Evaluation accounts. Once you've passed, there is a limit of 10 funded accounts per household.
IMPORTANT: All of your accounts must be under one User Login ID. Creating multiple User Login IDs in an attempt to circumvent these limits is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the Terms of Service.

I signed up for an evaluation account. How do I start trading?
You should see the credentials for your account shortly after signing up and also receive an email with the details. If you don't receive this email immediately, please check your spam/junk box in case it landed there by mistake. Once you have your credentials, download Rithmic's R|Trader Pro platform here and sign in. Note that if the market is closed (after the futures exchanges close on Friday and before they re-open on Monday), you may not be able to sign in until the market re-opens for the week.

How do I make changes or cancel my subscription?
Sign in to your dashboard and you can manage your existing subscriptions online.

Am I allowed to cancel at any time?
Yes. However, please be aware that if you have paid for a month of access and you cancel before the end of that month, you will lose access to your evaluation for the remainder of the month.

How long do I have to reach the profit target?
As long as you do not hit your maximum drawdown, you may take as long as you need in order to reach the target.

After I am funded, what tax forms do I submit?
When you request your first payout, you will be required to fill out an IRS Form W-9.

Do you have a minimum buffer for payouts in funded accounts?
Your buffer is equivalent to your max loss limit in dollars. This is to ensure your account will always have enough to absorb drawdowns after each payout.

After I am funded, will I work as an employee of Level2Markets?
No. Traders are classified as independent contractors. You work for yourself and would be contracted to Level2Markets. Please consult a tax professional to confirm the requirements applicable to you.

If I reach my target in less than the minimum trading days for my evaluation account type, do I still have to continue trading?
Yes. We are looking for consistent traders who can regularly trade profitably on a consistent basis. Even though you may reach the target in a shorter timeframe, please continue trading as you normally would.

Is news trading allowed?
You may trade around news times. However, be aware that volatility can be very unpredictable around the times of major news releases such as the US Non-Farm Payrolls. You can easily lose a large amount of your profits (or your entire max loss limit) in one trade. And if you make a profitable trade during news volatility, keep in mind that the trade cannot make up more than 33% of your overall profits when passing an evaluation (or requesting payouts after passing.) This rule is in place because we are looking for consistent professional traders, not gamblers who get lucky with a single trade that happens to go well during news volatility.

Is scalping allowed?
Yes, you may scalp trade. We do not impose a minimum holding period for your day trading.

If the max loss is $x then doesn't that mean the account size I get is actually $x and not the stated account size?
No. Those who claim this and similar statements are showing that they have a long way to go to learn professional trading standards. When a hedge fund raises $200 million to trade, there is no scenario where it is ever acceptable for the manager to lose the entire $200 million in one trade or even one month. Doing so would be irresponsible gambling, not professional trading, and any fund manager who does this would not last long in the field. Nearly every professional trader would teach beginners to risk 2.0% of your account (or less) per trade. This is the most basic form of risk management in trading. The max loss sizes allowed by every prop firm are multiples of this, which means that a good trader can have room to make multiple losing trades (not just one) because drawdowns are inevitable but a good trader should be able to recover and reach the profit target. The benefit for the prop firm is to find good professional traders. The benefit to the trader is that, if you are under-capitalized, you will either be risking too much (if you have not learned professional risk management) or if you trade safely, then you tend to make very little - the equivalent of less than minimum wage for the hours of work you put in. With a prop firm, you gain access to capital that makes proper risk management viable. This is key to making the most of your performance.