How Prop Firm Evaluations Work
Proprietary trading firms, commonly known as prop firms, offer traders the opportunity to trade with the firm’s capital after successfully completing an evaluation challenge. This model has become increasingly popular because it allows traders to access significant trading capital without risking their own money beyond the initial challenge fee.
A typical prop firm evaluation consists of two phases. In Phase 1, traders must reach a specific profit target (usually 8-10%) while staying within strict drawdown limits. Phase 2 typically requires a lower profit target (usually 5%) with the same drawdown constraints. Once both phases are completed, the trader receives a funded account and begins earning profit splits.
The Role of Funded Account Management Services
A funded account management service takes the complexity out of prop firm evaluations. Instead of attempting to pass the challenge yourself — which often results in emotional trading, rule violations, and ultimately failure — our professional traders execute the entire process on your behalf.
Our team of professional traders at PFM Capitals has extensive experience with all major prop firms including FTMO, MyForexFunds, The5ers, Funded Next, True Forex Funds, MyFundedFX, E8 Funding, and many others. We understand the nuances of each firm’s rules, including daily drawdown limits, maximum drawdown thresholds, consistency requirements, and news trading restrictions.
Sample funded trading account certificate — the result of our successful prop firms passing service
Types of Prop Firm Challenges We Manage
Our prop firms passing services cover a wide range of challenge types offered by prop trading firms worldwide:
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Two-Step Challenges
The most common prop firm evaluation format requiring traders to pass two phases with different profit targets and drawdown limits. We have a 95%+ success rate on these evaluations.
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One-Step Challenges
Single-phase evaluations that require traders to meet a profit target within specified drawdown parameters. These are generally more straightforward but still require professional execution.
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Instant Funding
Some prop firms offer instant funding accounts where traders begin trading with real capital immediately. Our team can manage these accounts for ongoing profit generation.
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Trading Competitions
Many prop firms host trading competitions where top performers receive free funded accounts. Our traders regularly participate and win these competitions for our clients.
Scaling Challenges
Programs that allow traders to scale their account size as they demonstrate consistent profitability. We manage the scaling process to maximize your funded account size.
Profit Share Management
Ongoing management of your funded account after passing the challenge. We trade on your behalf and share profits according to a pre-agreed structure.
Understanding Drawdown Rules and Profit Targets
One of the most critical aspects of any prop firm evaluation is understanding and respecting the drawdown rules. Drawdown refers to the peak-to-trough decline in your account balance during a specific period. Prop firms typically enforce two types of drawdown limits:
Daily Drawdown Limit
The maximum amount your account can lose in a single trading day, usually calculated based on the account balance at the start of the day. This is typically set at 5% of the account balance. Violating this limit results in immediate account termination.
Maximum (Overall) Drawdown Limit
The maximum total loss your account can experience from its initial balance or highest point, whichever is higher. This is typically set at 10% of the account balance. This limit is cumulative and applies across the entire evaluation period.
Our professional traders are trained to operate well within these limits, typically using only 1-2% risk per trade. This conservative approach ensures that even a series of losing trades will not trigger a drawdown violation, giving us a significant edge over individual traders who often risk too much per trade.
Prop Firms We Support
Our prop firms passing service supports all major proprietary trading firms in the industry. We maintain up-to-date knowledge of each firm’s rules, requirements, and evaluation criteria:
| Prop Firm |
Account Sizes |
Profit Target |
Daily DD |
Max DD |
Our Success Rate |
| FTMO |
$10K — $200K |
8% / 5% |
5% |
10% |
96.2% |
| The5ers |
$6K — $480K |
6% / 4% |
4% |
8% |
94.8% |
| Funded Next |
$6K — $200K |
8% / 4% |
5% |
10% |
95.1% |
| True Forex Funds |
$10K — $200K |
8% / 5% |
5% |
10% |
93.7% |
| MyFundedFX |
$10K — $300K |
8% / 5% |
5% |
10% |
94.3% |
| E8 Funding |
$25K — $250K |
8% / 5% |
5% |
10% |
93.9% |
| TopStep |
$50K — $150K |
6% / 5% |
3% |
6% |
92.5% |
