Funded Account
The account you earn by passing an evaluation — where your profits stop being points on a screen and start becoming payouts in your bank.
A funded account is the prize. Once you’ve cleared your evaluation, the firm gives you an account whose profits generate real, withdrawable money via your profit split. This is the moment prop trading stops being a test and starts being a job you actually get paid for.
What changes when you get funded:
- Profits become payouts. Every net dollar you make is now (usually) 80–90% yours.
- The profit target disappears. There’s nothing left to hit. You trade for income now.
- The risk rules stay. Drawdown and daily loss limit still apply — often exactly as before.
- New rules may appear. A payout cycle, a minimum number of days before your first withdrawal, sometimes a consistency rule.
Here’s what a steady funded month can look like:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Account size | $100,000 |
| Net profit for the month | $6,000 |
| Profit split (90%) | $5,400 to you |
| Firm’s share (10%) | $600 |
Do that consistently and you’re running a real business. That’s not hype — it’s arithmetic, and it’s the reason serious traders route their edge through funded capital.
One important nuance: in US futures prop, most “funded” accounts are sim-funded — you trade in a simulated environment and the firm pays your split from its own book, rather than routing your orders to the exchange. Your payouts are just as real; the plumbing is different. Some firms promote strong traders onto a live account later.
Getting funded is the beginning, not the finish line. Staying funded — protecting the account so it keeps paying you — is the skill that compounds. Compare firms and their funded-stage rules in our directory.