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Prop trading is currently experiencing a boom similar to the retail trading boom many years ago. Proprietary trading involves trading an account that is not funded by the trader, but rather by a firm which allows the trader to retain a portion of the profits. The percentage of the split, the amount of funding, and the rules required to obtain such an account vary from firm to firm, but our Ultimate Traders review aims to make clear why prospective prop traders should consider this firm among the first.
Ultimate Traders review: How it works
Ultimate Traders uses the simple challenge model to qualify traders wishing to obtain a funded account. The challenge is a practical trading evaluation that requires the trader to meet specific objectives on a simulated or demo account. The MT4 account is hosted by a regular broker. Good prop trading firms partner with regulated brokers that provide competitive spreads and trading conditions. If the challenge objectives are met with success, the trader is awarded the funded account. These objectives can be narrowed down to a “do” and a “don’t”.
Profit target (the “do”)
The best way to demonstrate one’s proficiency in a skill is to do it in practice. Ultimate Traders asks individuals to demonstrate their proficiency by trading up the starting balance of the evaluation account by a certain percentage. A minimum of 3 trading days is required.
Drawdown limits (the “don’t”)
This is the measure the firm takes to safeguard against reckless and lucky traders. Ultimate Traders sets a threshold which must not be breached on any given day. This means that the account equity should not fall beyond a certain amount. Ultimate Traders specifies a daily and a max drawdown limit.
Ultimate Traders review: Benefits of Ultimate Traders
Since the main purpose of the Ultimate Traders review is to highlight why this prop firm is one of the most preferable, the most important reasons are listed below.
Up to $400K of funding
Traders invariably choose the prop trading route because they wish to trade funds much larger than those usually available to them. Trading larger positions increases the scope for larger profits, therefore, when searching for a prop firm, it’s important to find one capable of satisfying a trader’s ambition. Ultimate Traders covers both ends of the spectrum, with the largest account size of $400,000 catering for the most ambitious of traders, and the smallest of $5,000 catering to those wishing to work their way up, or simply try something new.
Profit sharing of up to 90%
No matter how big the account size, it doesn’t mean much if the firm siphons away most of the trader’s profit. Ultimate Traders’ profit sharing is set to 80% by default with the option of an add-on guaranteeing 90% available upon registering. This is a key point in the Ultimate Traders review.
All strategies permitted including EAs
Ultimate Traders does not dictate how traders operate in the markets. Scalping, hedging, news trading, swing trading, HFT, and expert advisors are permitted, providing they are not abusive (as required by all brokers). Traders are required to close positions by the end of the trading week; however, an option exists to remove this requirement through an add-on upon registration
A choice between two evaluations and no time limit
Ultimate Traders offers both a 2-step and a 1-step challenge. The Classic Challenge requires 2-phases to complete – once the 10% profit target is met during the first phase, the balance is reset, and the trader must again reach a new profit target of only 5%. The Speedy Challenge can be completed in just 1-phase with a 10% profit target. Unlike other firms, there is no deadline to complete the evaluation.
Excellent drawdown criteria
The drawdown limits for both the Classic and Speedy Challenge are a huge selling point in the Ultimate Traders review. The max drawdown limit of the Classic Challenge is 12% with a daily limit of 6% percent. Since it is only 1-phase, the Speedy Challenge drawdown limits are 6% and 4% respectively, but this is still very generous within the industry. The max drawdown trails until it reaches the starting account balance amount, after which it simply becomes fixed and harder to breach. For a $100,000 account, that means the 12% max drawdown starts at $88,000 and linearly increases as the trader increases their equity up until $112,000, at which point the max drawdown remains fixed at $100,000 for all time, even if the balance continues to rise. The daily drawdown is recorded once a day at a given hour and must not fall by more than $6,000 within the next 24 hours.
Highly competitive registration fee
Another bonus worth mentioning in the Ultimate Traders review is that the registration fee is fractional compared to the total account size. For example, at the time of writing, the $5,000 Classic account only costs $49 to register for (roughly 1%). The $100,000 Classic account costs $499 (only 0.5%). The $400,000 Classic account costs $1,799 (0.45%). Importantly, traders who progress to the funded stage are refunded their fee upon their first withdrawal of profits.
Ultimate Traders review: The funded stage and withdrawing profits
Traders who successfully complete the challenge are awarded the funded account. At this point, they go through the usual KYC procedures and can then begin funded trading. Profits can be withdrawn monthly (including the refunded registration fee). The drawdown limits will still apply but there is no more profit target, so traders can attempt to make as little or as much as they like.
Ultimate Traders review: Prop trading or regular trading?
No matter how generous a prop firm is or how lenient its trading rules are, it is natural to wonder if it is worth forfeiting the autonomy of self-funded trading. After all, registration is not completely free, and the trader is not guaranteed to succeed in the challenge.
Ultimately, prop trading involves risking relatively small capital to trade much larger capital. Although the trader may fail to obtain the account on the first time of trying, the personal risk is proportionally very low. On the contrary, with self-funded trading, the personal risk is always relatively higher for a comparatively lower reward. Prop traders also tend to be motivated to trade sensibly since even a small gain in pips can translate to substantial earnings.
Hopefully, the Ultimate Traders review has helped those in search of a reliable prop firm to begin trading with.
