My Plan for Swing Trading Funded Trading Plus’ $50k Challenge

My Plan for Swing Trading Funded Trading Plus’ $50k Challenge 39

As 2024 rolls along, the number of resilient prop firms seems to continue to dwindle as more regulatory fears are changing the online prop trading industry as we know it.

One of the most professional and respectable firms I’ve ever traded with is Funded Trading Plus (FT+) and I am seeking to test a simple and objective higher time frame strategy to see if it’s able to withstand the trading conditions of the Experienced Trader challenge.

Full disclosure: I am an affiliate with FT+ and have voluntarily chosen to be so after I thoroughly vetted the firm for its trustworthiness and reliability. I cannot emphasize enough just how much I believe this is one of the very few professional firms that I have ever traded with.

If you’d like to receive 10% off of your FT+ challenge, use “DFX10” at checkout.

In this article, I want to share with you:

  • Why I chose this particular firm to test this swing strategy
  • The conditions of the Experienced Trader challenge
  • Some of the fundamental aspects of the swing strategy I will be using
  • My risk management plan for this experiment
  • Some final notes on trading psychology while trading a challenge

Why Funded Trading Plus?

As I mentioned earlier, I believe Funded Trading Plus is one of the most reliable and sophisticated firms available. They are based in the UK, and the founders have a handful of years of experience trading and running a business in the Forex industry. 

They were the first prop firm to offer a “no-time-limit” challenge and have always done so since they were established. Their motto is that they wanted to “create a challenge that, as Forex traders themselves, would want to trade.” Their trading rules are realistic, they offer news and weekend trading, and there are no hidden rules around lot sizes or the use of stop losses.

So too, they are transparent about utilizing demo accounts as part of the simulated trading experience – this is particularly important for the current challenges that are arising in the prop trading industry. Many government regulatory bodies are looking to crack down on the availability of online live prop firm accounts and the trading of Forex CFDs to retail traders. It’s no secret that many prop firms use simulated accounts as part of their challenge experience – however, when firms like MyForexFunds failed to disclose this information, they were sued and shut down.By offering a simulated challenge, FT+ is protecting them (and us traders) from losing accounts over regulatory changes. 

What is the Experienced Trader Challenge?

The Experienced Trader Challenge is Funded Trading Plus’ 1-phase challenge. This means that traders only have to hit one simulated profit target of 10% in order to qualify for a funded account.

It’s important to note that the max relative simulated loss is 6%, their daily max loss is 4%. If you want a quick explanation of what is meant by relative drawdown, click here. EA’s, weekend trading, and news trading are all allowed.

After receiving funding, FT+ also has a generous scaling program with an increase in funding granted at 10% profit.

My Higher Time Frame Swing Trading Strategy

Timeframe: D chart

Assets: Majors & a couple of popular minors

Time of day for order placement: 5pm EST (New York Close)

Order types: Market and limit order (retracement)

Time spent trading each day: 15 minutes

Main entry criteria: engulfing candle at key levels

daily chart forex strategy

While I won’t be sharing all of the indicators and rules involved in my strategy, I’ll list for you some of the main features that give this strategy an edge and why I’ve chosen to apply this style of trading.

For over two years, I’ve been working on formulating a strategy that could be easily utilized by people who have a full-time job and very little time to trade. I find that the daily chart offers great opportunities for getting a good vantage point of what the market is up to.

Trades taken on the daily chart also allow for large enough stop losses so that the trader doesn’t have to waste a lot of money on commissions or be at risk of getting taken out due to market noise seen on lower time frames.

Price action trading is a fairly popular style as it helps paint a picture of how market players respond to certain price levels. Engulfing candles, on the daily time frame in particular, tend to show how both the high and low of the previous day were tested and the direction of the close engulfing candle won out in favor (Bullish when closing near the high and bearish when closing near the low). The daily open, high, low, and close holds a lot of weight in the eyes of bankers. 

The market rarely moves in a straightforward line. Instead, price tends to pulse and retreat in waves. When engulfing patterns occur at certain levels, such as just past a whole number, among other areas, this gives emphasis that price reached a certain limit and is ready to retrace back to a previous price.

Taking a market order and then leaving a limit order at some part of the retracement of the engulfing daily candle gives two possible opportunities to get in on the trade with the market having a slightly lower risk-to-reward than the retracement order.

By checking the daily charts once a day, Monday through Thursday, there are often opportunities to get in on a trade with my particular setup at least twice a week. Often these trades return between 1.4 and 3 R with a profitable outcome.

My Risk Management Plan for Funded Trading Plus

For this particular challenge combined with this particular strategy, I am looking to risk no more than 0.5% of the initial account balance per trade idea (0.25% for the market order, 0.25% for the retracement order – sometimes only one order of the two is hit).

I intend to use this precise risk amount for the entirety of the challenge, except when the account falls into drawdown.

When the balance falls below 2% of the initial balance, so in this case, to $49,0000, I will cut my risk in half to 0.25% of the initial balance (0.125% for market order, 0.125% for retracement order).

When the strategy can recover half of the drawdown (so when the balance is back to $49,500 or higher), I will return to 0.5% risked per trade idea.

However, should a losing streak continue to unfold, I will reduce my risk by half again. Thus, when price reaches $48,000, I will risk 0.125% of the initial account balance per trade idea. I will return to 0.25% risked per trade when the balance is $48,500. 

While this can make for an extended challenge, such a risk management approach helps me stay level-headed during a time when the trader feels the most fearful. Reducing risk can significantly reduce the pressure placed on oneself during a drawdown.

I have yet to meet a trader who wins 100% of the time. More often than not, even the best strategies can undergo a losing streak for a few weeks, a month, or longer. Thus, this risk management approach prepares for the losing streak in advance.

Due to the nature of the trailing drawdown, I will not increase my risk beyond 0.5% per trade should the account reach higher in profit.

A Final Note on Psychology

There is something about prop challenges that can make a trader more emotional than just trading one’s own funds. 

Perhaps it’s the mix of more restrictions plus the hopes of a greater account size than anything that could personally be saved for in cash.

It’s important to remember that it’s okay to lose a prop challenge, oftentimes that’s part of the process of learning how to manage this style of trading. Thus, be sure to buy a challenge that doesn’t break your break – risk only the funds you are comfortable losing. For many, that could be the cost of a $50k challenge.

I want to also note that I have addressed psychology through choosing a higher time frame to trade and using a very algorithmic approach to limiting losses in drawdowns through my risk management strategy. 

When trading the daily time frame, I am merely setting an order. During the New York close, the market is barely moving. There is nothing to chase. I merely follow my rules and if all the box marks are checked, then I take a trade. If not, then I patiently wait for another day to offer a setup. 

It is all very rudimentary and securely…boring.

Higher Time Frame or Swing Trading can be quite methodical and relieving especially after many long mornings of scalping. It’s also nice that I have the option to continue to scalp (with other accounts) while letting this account do its thing in its own time.

More importantly, I’m going into this challenge with no expectations for how long it will take. I’m not in a rush, and it’s likely that it could take multiple months to reach 10% in profit. I’m okay with that. 

I think between taking less than 15 minutes to trade each day and risking very small amounts of funds helps make this a calm experience. With a calm mindset, I trust that I will continue to show up, follow the rules, and let the process take care of itself.

Conclusion

Overall, this is my plan for taking this FT+ $50k challenge while using a swing style strategy. I recommend checking out the complimentary video for more information and to subscribe to the DisciplinedFX channel or the newsletter to receive updates as this experiment unfolds. Again, if you’d like to take a Funded Trading Plus challenge with me, be sure to use “DFX10” at checkout to get 10% off of your challenge. 

As always, I wish you all nothing but the best of strength and luck!

 

  

Funded Trading Plus Is No Longer a Prop Firm

Funded Trading Plus Is No Longer a Prop Firm 40

In this article I’m going to be talking about Funded Trading Plus and why it’s no longer a prop firm. Hereafter, I will be alluding to the firm’s updated name as FT+

For those of you who don’t know, a prop firm is a company that provides funding to traders in exchange for a fractional share of their profits. This can be a great way for traders to get started in the financial markets, as it allows them to trade with real money without having to put up any of their own capital.

However, in recent years, there have been a number of prop firms that have been shut down by regulatory bodies. This is because many of these firms were not properly regulated, and they were taking on too much risk while also misleading their clients regarding what was going on in the background of the firm’s platform.

One of the most high-profile examples of this industry infracture was MyForexFunds, which was shut down by the CFTC in September of 2023. The CFTC found that MyForexFunds had been making false and misleading claims about its services. While the majority of the issues relevant to the MyForexFunds case involve irresponsible business practices, another major reason for its closure is due to its failure to uphold the legal responsibilities of maintaining a proprietary fund.

As a result of these events, a number of online prop firms that are still in the industry have been forced to change their business models as they relate to the legal responsibilities of running a prop firm. FT+ is one of these firms that is making a massive shift in how it legally organizes and presents itself.

FT+s used to offer prop trading account challenges, but it has since discontinued this sort of service. Instead, it now proclaims to offer simulated trading accounts with payouts for achieved simulated profit. This means that traders can still use the FT+ platform to trade, but they will only be trading simulated funds and receive a performance-based commission representative of simulated earnings.

< GET 10% OFF OF YOUR SIMULATED FT+ CHALLENGE WITH CODE “DFX10” >

Funded Trading Plus says that this change was made in order to comply with regulatory requirements. However, it is also likely that the company was concerned about the reputational damage that was caused by the closure of other prop firms.

So, what does this mean for us traders who have depended on prop trading to access greater leverage in the markets?

If you were hoping to get funded by a prop firm with actual live funds, your chances at finding firms who still offer this option are exponentially dwindling as the industry shifts. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to avoid utilizing firms that claim to offer real proprietary funding, as regulation continues to disrupt the standard practices in this industry.

However, it’s still possible to make money using trading strategies on simulated accounts. 

In fact, it’s likely that many of us who have traded with “funded accounts” over the last few years have already been trading on simulated funds up to this point. I don’t have a way to back this statement with evidence, but I can make a fair guess after spending the last 3 years researching prop firms and watching a handful of firms get taken down by regulatory bodies.

The MyForexFunds debacle also highlights another important aspect regarding retail trading with online funds – now more than ever, it’s important to seek to maintain a portfolio of real or simulated trading accounts from various firms. It’s no longer safe to put all of your eggs in one basket. I go over a list of reliable firms in this article about the best prop trading firms for the remainder of 2023.

The best way to manage multiple accounts is to utilize a trade copier. This allows you to link all of your accounts to one main account, from which you place your trade, and thus copy that order onto all other accounts.

< My best recommendation for a trade copier: Traders Connect >

So apart from diversifying your accounts, it’s also important to stick with firms that are responsible, agile, and professional. 

I can’t begin to tell you how many of these prop firms are run by 20-something-year-olds with no education and no experience running a business. FT+ is not one of those companies. It is managed by a highly professional team who have the experience and responsibility to oversee the support and service of trading education and opportunities for millions of people. 

Here is an example of one of FT+’s updated programs:

Funded trading plus simulated trading experienced program

This is known as their one-phase, “Experienced” simulated program. Some of its main features are that it’s a no-time-limit, one phase simulated challenge with a profit target of 10%, a maximum simulated loss of 6%, a daily simulated loss of 4%, and a scaling plan that lets you bump up the simulated account size with every 10% increase on the account. Furthermore, you’re able to hold open positions through the weekend and for a $100k simulated account, the fee is only $499 compared to FTMO’s equivalent account program with a fee of $575. 

This is one of the best and most reliable account options available in the online trading industry right now. This is an educational experience that you can profit from by displaying your well-honed trading skills on a simulated challenge. Funded Trading Plus is being highly proactive and will continue to thrive and survive as the entire prop firm industry goes through a major squeeze.

I am an affiliate of this firm because it is one of the last few that I trust and have been thoroughly impressed by through all of these years of navigating the prop firm industry. 

Be sure to use my affiliate coupon code, “DFX10”,  for 10% off of your simulated challenge!

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