Funded account in gold trading

A funded account is the account a trader receives from a prop firm after passing its evaluation. The firm sets the balance, the leverage, the profit split and the rules, and the trader keeps a percentage of any profit withdrawn. Many such accounts are simulated, with the firm paying profits from its own revenue rather than from live market gains; the terms state which, and it matters for how fills behave.

How it applies to gold trading

On a funded account the stop-out is the rule book, not the platform’s margin level. A $100,000 account with a 5% daily loss limit and a 10% maximum drawdown is really a $10,000 risk budget with a $5,000 daily cap. A gold trader risking 1% of the nominal balance, $1,000, per trade can breach the daily limit with five losses, which is a normal bad day. Many funded traders therefore risk 0.25% to 0.5% of the nominal balance instead.

Consistency rules, minimum trading days and restrictions on holding through news or weekends also shape which gold strategies fit. Scalping the New York open may be fine; holding a swing through NFP may not.

A common mistake

Sizing from the account balance as if it were the trader’s own capital. The relevant number is the distance to the drawdown limit, which is usually a tenth of the balance or less.

See also: Prop firm, Daily loss limit, Drawdown, Equity.

Frequently asked questions