Prop trading, explained
What is a funded account,and what is actually yours?
In prop trading, a funded account is a simulated trading account a firm lets you trade after you pass its evaluation, or straight away on an instant program. You trade it within the firm's risk rules, and eligible profit is paid to you as a share, in real money. The balance itself is not yours to withdraw.
What does "funded account" mean?
The phrase means two different things, and mixing them up is where most of the confusion starts.
| A funded brokerage account | A prop-firm funded account | |
|---|---|---|
| Whose money is in it | Yours - you deposited it | Nobody's - the balance is simulated |
| What a loss costs you | The loss itself | Nothing beyond the fee you paid |
| What a profit gives you | The whole profit | A share of it, under the firm's payout rules |
| Can you withdraw the balance | Yes | No - only your share of eligible profit |
| How you get one | Open and deposit | Pass an evaluation, or buy an instant account |
This guide is about the second. GFN's signed wording is explicit about what "funded" means on its accounts:
“All Evaluation and Funded Accounts are simulated or virtual accounts; no customer trades are executed by GFN in live financial markets, and references to “funded” or “funding” refer to simulated or virtual funding.”[1]
How do you get a funded account?
Through one of three routes. They differ in how much you have to prove first, and what that costs you once you are funded.
| 2 Step | 1 Step | Instant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pass first | Two phases: 8%, then 5% | One phase: 10% | Nothing - funded from day one |
| Fee | $405 | $473 | $900 |
| Daily loss limit | $5,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 |
| Max drawdown | $8,000, never trails | $8,000, trails until it locks at $100,000 | $5,000, trails |
| Virtual profit share | 80%, or 90% with add-on | 80%, or 90% with add-on | 70% |
| Withdrawal cap | None | None | $2,000 per cycle |
The pattern is a trade: the less you prove before you are funded, the more the funded account restricts you afterward. Instant asks for nothing up front and caps what each cycle can pay; the 2 Step asks for two phases and does not cap withdrawals.
How much can you withdraw from a funded account?
Your share of the eligible simulated profit - never the balance. The share depends on the program, and on some programs a cap or buffer limits each cycle.
Illustrative only. It shows the arithmetic, not a likely result.
- Simulated profit in the cycle
- $4,000
- At the standard 80% share
- $3,200
- At 90%, with the checkout add-on
- $3,600
- Withdrawal cap
- None on this program
The same profit on a $100,000 Instant account pays at most $2,000 in a cycle, and only once the account is $3,000 above its starting balance. See the payout rules in full.
“Eligible traders may receive real monetary payouts based on qualifying simulated performance, subject to the applicable program rules, profit split, KYC/compliance checks and Terms & Conditions.”[1]
What rules apply on a funded account?
Passing does not switch the rules off. The daily loss limit and maximum drawdown carry on, and a breach ends the funded account the same way it ends an evaluation.
- A breach ends it, and the profit in it. Once an account is legitimately breached, the profit in it is no longer eligible for payout. See breaches.
- Payouts run on a schedule. Every 14 days, counted from the first trade on the funded account - not from when it was issued. See payouts.
- Identity checks come first. Expect KYC before a funded account is issued or a payout is processed. See verification.
- The account is yours alone. Someone else trading it, or copying another trader's positions, is prohibited. See account sharing.
- It has to stay active. An account left without trading activity for too long can be closed. See inactivity.
- Minimum hold time. Every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes.
A payout does not close the account. You keep trading it on whatever balance remains, against the same limits - which means a withdrawal can leave less room between you and the drawdown floor than you had before it.
Is a funded account the same as a demo account?
Mechanically it is close: both are simulated. The difference is consequence. A demo account has no rules that end it and pays nothing. A funded account has hard limits that end it and pays real money when you stay inside them.
| Demo | Prop-firm funded | Personal live | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trading | Simulated | Simulated | Live |
| Your money at risk | None | The fee | Your whole deposit |
| Rules that end the account | None | Daily loss, max drawdown and others | Your broker's margin rules |
| Paid out | Nothing | A share of eligible simulated profit | Everything, and every loss is yours |
What this means for you
A funded account is a contract with a scoreboard. It does not give you capital, and the balance on the screen is not money you own. What it gives you is a way to be paid for trading well inside someone else's limits, at the cost of a fee you can lose. If you do buy one, choose it by its rules rather than its size: the account that fits how you already trade is worth more than a larger one that does not.
Questions
Sources
- Disclaimer and footer statement - Get Funded Now (Bradbury Capital Ltd). Primary source. Retrieved .Used for: GFN's own signed wording on simulated accounts, payouts and regulatory status.
GFN figures on this page are generated from the published pricing and rules data, not restated by hand.