Glossary

The words these accounts are sold with, explained. The terms that are a field in the census also carry how many models publish it. The five that are a concept and not a field carry no number, because there is nothing to count.

Challenge (evaluation)#

The paid test you must pass to get an account. It can have one, two or three phases. The challenge price is not what it costs. Many firms also charge activation, resets or a monthly fee.

Funded account#

The account you get after passing the evaluation. Note. At most firms it is still a simulated environment, and several say so explicitly in their own terms.

Profit target#236 of 443 models

How much you must make to pass a phase, usually as a percentage of account size. 8 % on $100,000 is $8,000.

Maximum daily loss#268 of 443 models

How much you can lose in a day before the account is closed. The catch is where it is measured from. Some firms start from the balance at the open, others from the highest equity reached that day. Not the same thing.

Maximum total loss#348 of 443 models

The absolute floor of the account. It can be fixed from day one or move with you. And if it moves, the account is far harder than the brochure suggests.

Drawdown#368 of 443 models

The fall from a peak. In this sector “drawdown” on its own means nothing. It means 6 different things depending on how the firm calculates that peak, and the difference decides whether you pass.

Lock level#111 of 443 models

The point where a rising floor stops rising, usually the starting balance plus the target. It only applies to drawdown that trails until it locks. And some firms trail without publishing whether they ever stop.

Consistency rule#191 of 443 models

A cap on how much your best day can weigh in total profit. If your best day is 40 % of what you made and the firm caps it at 30 %, you do not get paid, even having hit the target.

Minimum trading days#159 of 443 models

How many days you must trade before passing a phase or withdrawing. A trading day usually requires at least one closed position; every firm defines “day” its own way.

Profit split#321 of 443 models

What share of the profit you keep. 80-90 % is standard. Some firms give 100 % on the first payout and lower it afterwards. The headline and the small print disagree.

Activation fee#82 of 443 models

A payment charged after passing the evaluation, to activate the funded account. It is not in the advertised price and in some models it nearly doubles it. It is the cost an honest comparison shows and a coupon site does not.

Reset#33 of 443 models

Restarting the evaluation after breaking a rule, for less than a new challenge. Having one is not bad. Not publishing its price is.

Instant funding#

An account with no prior evaluation. You pay and you trade. It usually comes with harder rules, a lower split or a withdrawal cap, so the time saved is paid for elsewhere.

Simulated capital#

That the money in the account does not exist as such. It is a simulation environment and what gets paid comes out of the firm’s own till. Most say so in their terms, if not on their front page.

Payout#

Paying the profit to the trader. What matters is how often you can request it, how long it takes and whether there is a cap. Some firms publish their payouts on chain, and those can be checked one by one.

The 6 drawdown types

It is the most decisive field in the census: the type decides where the floor sits, and with it whether a run that never lost money still closes your account. The census keeps 6 types apart.

Static, from the starting balance#162 of 443 models

The floor is fixed at the starting balance and never moves. It is the easiest to understand and the most forgiving. What you make is yours and grows your cushion.

Trailing on the end-of-day balance#42 of 443 models

The floor rises with each day’s closing balance. What you make during the session does not count until you close the day, so floating profit does not raise your floor.

Trailing on the equity peak#31 of 443 models

The floor rises with peak equity, including unrealised profit. This is the harshest. A trade that goes your way and then turns has already raised your floor before it closed.

Trailing until it locks#114 of 443 models

It trails up to a level where it locks, usually the starting balance plus the target. From there it behaves like a static floor.

Trailing, with no published stop#19 of 443 models

It trails, and the firm does not publish whether it ever stops. It is not that it never stops. It is that they do not say, and that is shown as a gap rather than assumed.

Relative to the current balance#0 of 443 models

The floor is the current balance minus a percentage, and it moves both ways. If you lose, the floor comes down with you.