Managing a Funded Account

Passing the evaluation is the beginning, not the end. Most traders who receive funded accounts lose them within 60 days. The same discipline that passed the evaluation needs to continue — with even more at stake.

The funded account paradox: you traded conservatively to pass the evaluation, then immediately increase your risk because "now it's real money." This is the single most common reason funded accounts fail. The conservative approach that passed the evaluation IS the strategy. Don't change it.

Funded account math: most prop firms offer 80-90% profit splits. On a $50,000 account, if you make $2,000/month consistently, your payout is $1,600-$1,800. That's a solid income from a $50K account you didn't fund. The temptation is to push for $5,000/month — but the risk of blowing the account makes the expected value negative.

Position sizing for funded accounts should be MORE conservative than during the evaluation, not less. During the evaluation, you could reset and try again. With a funded account, losing it means starting over from evaluation. Use 0.5-1% risk per trade maximum. On a $50,000 account, that's $250-$500 risk per trade.

The psychological shift from evaluation to funded: during the evaluation, losses feel like progress setbacks. On a funded account, losses feel like losing your income. This psychological weight makes every trade more stressful. Your journal should track your emotional state even more carefully during funded trading — the pressure of real money amplifies every psychological weakness.

Funded account survival rules: (1) First month: trade at half the size you used during the evaluation. Get comfortable with the psychology of real payouts before sizing up. (2) Pay yourself on schedule — don't let profits accumulate as a buffer; the firm provides the buffer. (3) Journal every day. The moment you stop journaling is the moment your discipline starts slipping. (4) Take breaks. Funded trading is a marathon, not a sprint.