TradeDay

Account Track Overview

TradeDay offers three sequential phases:

• Evaluation — paid evaluation. Pass to receive a Funded Sim account.
• Funded Sim — simulated funded environment with payouts. Continued performance can lead to Funded Live.
• Funded Live — live trading with real capital, allocated at TradeDay's discretion based on Funded Sim milestones.

Only one Funded Live account is allowed; while live, no new accounts can be purchased.

Consistency

Evaluation

• 30% consistency rule on evaluations. No single day's profit should exceed 30% of the profit target.
• Calculation: best day's PnL divided by total PnL earned to date.
• If your best day exceeds the 30% threshold, the account does not fail — instead, the profit target increases. The new target is calculated by dividing the best day's profit by 30% to determine the total profit needed to complete the evaluation.

Sim Funded / Live

• No consistency rule when you are in your Funded Sim or Funded Live account.

Algorithmic Trading

Allowed

• Automated trading systems run on TradeDay's supported platforms — NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView, Jigsaw, and Quantower — are allowed.
• You may run your own custom algorithms developed for these platforms.

Not Allowed

• Third-party trading bots and ATSs purchased from a third party are forbidden.
• Multiple users running the same trading bot or ATS results in all related accounts being shut down.
• TradeDay does not make platform APIs available to traders for direct automated execution.
• TradeDay does not evaluate third-party trading systems on the trader's behalf.
• Traders must review TradeDay's prohibited trade practices before deploying any automated system. Account suspension and closure apply to policy violations.

Scalping Rules

All Account Types

Scalping is permitted with caveats:

• Automated trading systems designed to scalp at extremely high frequency are prohibited.
• Strategies that produce more than 200 trades in a day are prohibited.
• Strategies that trade in just a few seconds, designed to capture only a couple of ticks at a time, are prohibited.
• Any strategy that attempts to capture queue-position advantage by gaming the simulated matching engine is prohibited (this specifically includes limit-order entry/exit patterns in low-volatility, high-liquidity products like bonds).
• TradeDay's view: scalping strategies often fail in live markets due to simulator fill generosity compared to real conditions, plus competition from professional firms. Trade accordingly.

News Trading

All Account Types

News trading is allowed except during high-impact news (Tier 1). TradeDay automatically liquidates all open positions 2 minutes before Tier 1 releases and reopens markets 2 minutes after.

Tier 1 News Events

Enforcement

• Accidental violations carry no penalty.
• Traders who deliberately ignore the policy will lose their account.
• Tier 1 release dates are available via TradeDay's tier 1 data calendar, the Members trading room, or external calendars (Investing.com, CME).

Permitted Trading Times

Trading Session

• For CME products, a session runs from 5:00 PM CT one day through the close the next day.
• Any trading during this window counts as one trading day.

Daily Cutoff & Auto-Liquidation

• Auto-liquidation at 3:50 PM CT daily. This is the only routine time TradeDay force-closes positions outside of Tier 1 news.
• You must exit all positions 10 minutes before your product's market close — no positions may be open at closing.
• Different CME products close at different times. It is the trader's responsibility to verify closing times for each product (referencing the CME Group website).

Overnight Holding

• Overnight holding is permitted in a limited sense: positions opened after 5:00 PM CT must close before the next day's 3:50 PM CT auto-liquidation cutoff. Positions cannot persist beyond a single session.

Enforcement

• TradeDay does not automatically fail accidental breaches; warnings may be issued.
• Traders who deliberately ignore the policy risk account loss.

Inactivity Rule

Evaluation

• No inactivity rule for Evaluation accounts.

Funded

• If a Funded account is inactive for 30 days without prior consent, TradeDay considers it dormant and closes the account.

Copy Trading

• Traders can use a copy trader to copy trades from a personal account elsewhere into TradeDay Evaluation and Funded accounts.
• Coordinated trading is prohibited: if multiple users are making the same trades, all related accounts will be shut down.

DCA

• TradeDay's public rules do not explicitly address DCA (adding to losing trades) or scaling-in.

Hedging Across Accounts

• Hedging — going long in one account and short in another on the same product — is strictly prohibited.
• Violations result in offboarding, account suspension, and forfeiture of any Funded Account profits.

Other Prohibited Practices

TradeDay prohibits a range of practices that exploit the simulated environment or platform infrastructure:

Market Manipulation

• Spoofing and layering strategies.
• Order splitting (multiple orders at identical prices/times to manipulate fills).
• Strategies exploiting price display errors or update delays.

Liquidity & Gap Exploitation

• Trading in gapped, illiquid markets to capture stray fills.
• Exploiting unrealistic stop-loss execution in simulated environments.
• Taking trades outside the best bid/offer spread.

Account & System Abuse

• Multiple usernames or email addresses from a single trader.
• Connected accounts trading in concert.
• Using VPNs or VPS services to mask location.
• Circumventing geographical restrictions.
• Holding positions within 2% of CME price limits.

Technology Misuse

• External or slow data feeds.
• Software exploiting platform errors or deficiencies.
• AI or ultra-high-speed systems creating unfair advantages.

Consequences

• Profits from prohibited practices are confiscated.
• Violators lose funding eligibility and refund rights.

Passed Accounts

• You can pass up to 6 Evaluation accounts.
• Upon passing more than 3, only 3 are activated as Sim Funded Accounts; the remaining passed accounts are queued as reserves and activated only when an existing Funded Sim account is lost or transitioned to Funded Live.
• Passed accounts in reserve remain dormant until activated. Renewal is not available for passed accounts.

Max Number of Accounts

• Up to 6 active Evaluation accounts at any given time, traded simultaneously.
• Up to 3 Funded Sim accounts at the same time.
• Only 1 Funded Live account; you cannot purchase additional accounts while you have an active Funded Live account.
• All accounts must be on the same trading platform — you cannot split accounts across different platforms.

Household Restriction

• One username, one user per household. Do not sign up under multiple usernames.

Clear Path to Live

Milestones

• Funded Sim profit milestones are set at every $5,000 of gross profit, up to $20,000 — i.e. $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000. The Head of Trading may extend beyond $20,000 at their discretion.
• Reaching $20,000 typically results in a move to Funded Live. TradeDay may also transition traders after the 3rd withdrawal request, at their discretion.

Review Process

• When a milestone is reached, the account is automatically paused at the End-of-Day run (4:30 PM CT) and reviewed overnight.
• Traders must stop trading once they reach a milestone.
• Any excess profits above the milestone are removed, and the balance is revised back to the milestone level.
• Profit measurement uses gross profits (total profits after commissions, including realized gains and prior withdrawals).

Two Options After Review

After review, the Head of Trading will either:

1. Extend the Funded Sim account to the next milestone, or
2. Move the trader to a Funded Live account.

How Balance Transfers to Live

• Only net profits (gross profits minus prior withdrawals) transfer to the Funded Live account.
• No additional drawdown is transferred at this time. Risk limits may be adjusted to reflect prior withdrawals.

Transfer Example

• A trader has earned $10,000 (after commission) in the Funded Sim — that's gross profit. During this time the trader has taken a payout of $3,500.
• Gross profit = $10,000. Net profit = $10,000 − $3,500 = $6,500.
• Only $6,500 transfers to the Funded Live account.

Payout Eligibility

• Payouts can be made from day one after meeting the buffer requirement.
• The minimum payout request is $250.

Profit Split

The trader split is based on lifetime withdrawals with TradeDay (cumulative across all accounts):

• 80% on the first $50,000 of profits withdrawn
• 90% on profits withdrawn between $50,000 and $100,000
• 95% on profits withdrawn over $100,000
• Buffer-zone withdrawals: 50/50 split (see Buffer Withdrawal Rules below)

Balance Required for Payout (Funded Sim)

Payout Examples

1. Payout request, not into the buffer

A trader on a $50K Funded Sim account earns $4,000, first withdrawal from TradeDay (no prior). Account balance is $54,000, buffer is $52,000. The trader requests $2,000.

• The withdrawal takes the account from $54K to $52K — to the buffer line, but not into it.
• The 80/20 split applies on the full $2,000: trader receives $1,600, TradeDay receives $400.

2. Payout request into the buffer

Same scenario, but trader requests $3,000 instead.

• This takes the account from $54K to $51K — partially below the $52,000 buffer line.
• The first $2,000 (above the buffer): 80/20 split — trader $1,600, TradeDay $400.
• The remaining $1,000 (into the buffer zone): 50/50 split — trader $500, TradeDay $500.
• Trader's total payout: $1,600 + $500 = $2,100. TradeDay total: $400 + $500 = $900.

Sim Payouts Cap

• No payout caps; however, payout milestones are enforced.
• Milestones are set at every $5,000 of gross profit: $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000.
• At each milestone, trading is automatically paused during the End-of-Day run (4:30 PM CT) for overnight review. Traders must stop trading when reaching a milestone.
• Any excess profits above the milestone are removed and the balance is revised back to the milestone level.
• TradeDay may also consider transitioning a trader to Funded Live after the third withdrawal request.

Payout Window

• Requests received before 5:30 PM CT are processed within 24 hours (business days only).

Payout Process — Funded Sim

1. From the Dashboard, click "Request Withdrawal."
2. Enter the amount you wish to withdraw.
3. Click submit; you will see a confirmation message.
4. Requests received before 5:30 PM CT are processed within 24 hours (business days only).
5. After processing, you receive a confirmation email instructing you to log into Riseworks to withdraw the funds.

Payout Process — Funded Live

• Request the payout via email at fundedtrader@tradeday.com.
• TradeDay will instruct Tradovate to transfer funds from the live account.
• Once funds have moved from the live account, TradeDay authorizes the payout at Riseworks.

Payout Methods (via Riseworks)

• US bank wire — free
• International wire — $15 per withdrawal
• L1 Crypto — $2.50 + gas fees
• L2 Crypto — free

Live Program — Funded Live

TradeDay's live program is the Funded Live account — a live-market account funded with TradeDay's real capital. A Funded Live account is a sub-account of TradeDay's master account at its broker, and the trader is granted the power of authority to trade it. Because the trader is trading the firm's money in the live markets on the Exchange, they are classified as a professional by the Exchange.

As of TradeDay's late-May 2026 restructure, the route to Funded Live depends on which of TradeDay's two programs the trader bought: Quick Pay or Fast Pass. The two follow fundamentally different paths and produce different Funded Live accounts. Account tiers are $50K, $100K, and $150K.

Two Paths to Funded Live

Quick Pay — $10,000 gross-profit threshold (balance transfer)

• Quick Pay Funded Sim accounts are reviewed at a single $10,000 gross-profit threshold in each funded account for a move to Funded Live.
• The trader must stop trading on reaching the threshold. During the End-of-Day run (4:30 PM CT), account access is automatically paused and the trading team reviews the account overnight; TradeDay aims to complete the review before the US cash equity market opens the next day.
• In most cases the trader is moved to Funded Live at this threshold. On rare occasions an extension to continue in Funded Sim beyond $10,000 may be offered (Head of Trading's discretion).
• Any profits above the $10,000 gross-profit level are forfeited — they are not eligible for payouts, transfer to Funded Live, or any extension.
• Gross profits = the profits in the current Funded Sim account (after commission), i.e. current realized profits plus any withdrawals already taken from that account.
• Drawdown: all Quick Pay Funded Sim accounts use an intraday trailing drawdown — regardless of the drawdown type on the evaluation purchased.

How the balance transfers (Quick Pay)

• Only the profits remaining in the account (gross profit minus prior withdrawals) transfer to the Funded Live account. No additional drawdown is transferred at this stage.
• The transferred profit is itself subject to a profit split at the moment of transfer: 50/50 on any balance below $4,000, and 80/20 on any balance above $4,000.
• On transfer, the maximum drawdown limit is set to $0 — i.e. the transferred balance becomes the floor; the account may not go below it.
• Risk limits may be adjusted at the transfer stage to reflect the trader's withdrawals and the balance being sent to Funded Live.

Transfer example (Quick Pay): A trader earns $10,000 (after commission) in Funded Sim (gross profit) and has taken $3,500 in payouts. Net profit remaining = $6,500. Of that, $4,000 transfers at 50/50 and $2,500 transfers at 80/20 → $4,000 × 50% + $2,500 × 80% = $4,000 transferred to the Funded Live account.

Fast Pass — 5th payout request ($0 start + EOD drawdown)

• There is no profit threshold for Fast Pass. Upon a trader's 5th payout request, the Funded Sim account transitions to a Funded Live account.
• At transition the existing Funded Sim account is closed and a new Funded Live account is opened with:
  • a $0 starting balance, and
  • the same End-of-Day (EOD) drawdown assigned from the original evaluation account tier ($50K → $2,000 / $100K → $3,000 / $150K → $4,500).
• Position limits on the Funded Live account start at the limits originally assigned to the Funded Sim account: $50K → 2 contracts, $100K → 3 contracts, $150K → 4 contracts. Any future increases are at the trading team's discretion.
• All Fast Pass Funded Sim accounts use an EOD drawdown.

Direct-to-Live (rare)

• TradeDay reserves the right, on rare occasions, to move a trader directly to a Funded Live account on passing the evaluation, based on the trader's prior evaluation, Funded Sim, and Funded Live history.

Funded Live Account Details

• Setup takes around 5 business days — the broker and clearing firm run time-consuming KYC and AML background checks.
• The trader must purchase the professional market data feed to trade the live account — currently $156/month per Exchange (CME data fees are passed through and billed to the trader's card; Tradovate adds a $2/month card-processing fee). Funded Sim accounts have no market-data fee.
• Trading commissions on Funded Live are debited directly from the trading account balance.
• Slippage rules apply on Funded Live (TradeDay risk management). There is no slippage rule on Funded Sim.
• No activation fee — TradeDay no longer charges to activate a funded account, and the monthly TradeDay membership fee is cancelled once funded.
• Returning Funded Live traders are placed back into Funded Sim so TradeDay can reassess and manage risk.
• Losing a Funded Live account triggers a mandatory 3-month cooling-off period, during which the trader cannot take TradeDay evaluations. After it ends, they may reapply by emailing FundedTrader@TradeDay.com.

Multiple Accounts

• A trader may hold up to 5 Funded Live accounts at any time (a limit set by NinjaTrader). While holding a Funded Live account, the trader cannot purchase additional accounts.
• Across all programs a trader may have up to 6 accounts total, with a maximum of 3 active Funded Sim accounts (extra passed evaluations queue).
• When moving Sim → Live, the profits from each qualifying Funded Sim account move into a new Funded Live account. If the trader already holds 5 Funded Live accounts, an additional Funded Sim balance is merged into an existing Funded Live account (position limits set to the highest among the merged Funded Sims, possibly reduced for risk).
• Hedging is prohibited (long in one account, short in another on the same product); violators are offboarded and forfeit funded profits.

Funded Trader Rules (Funded Sim & Funded Live)

These rules apply to both Quick Pay and Fast Pass, Funded Sim and Funded Live:

• Rule 1 — Maximum drawdown: Do not hit or exceed the maximum drawdown (calculated per the evaluation purchased — EOD or Intraday). A trailing max drawdown continues to trail account growth until it reaches the starting account balance, where it freezes; from that point the account may not go below the starting balance.
• Rule 2 — 2% price limit: Funded traders may not trade within 2% of a price limit; breaching this loses the funded account.
• Funded Live only — Slippage policy: an additional slippage risk-management rule on reducing position limits.
• If a funded account is lost with a positive balance, profits are returned to the trader (after the profit share), except profits from trading Tier 1 data releases, trading outside permitted times, breaches of prohibited trade practices, continuous abuse of permitted Times/Products/Position Size guidelines, or profits earned in a simulated account.

Profit Splits & Withdrawals

Profit splits are now calculated per individual account, not by lifetime withdrawals. The minimum payout request is $250. Requests received before 5:30 PM CT are processed within 24 hours (business days only). All splits/thresholds are calculated on gross profits (account net profits + withdrawals taken from the account).

Funded Sim — Quick Pay

• No buffer-zone requirement; a payout can be requested as soon as the account has any positive profit.
• You cannot withdraw below the starting account balance at any time.
• Split: 80/20 on the portion above $4,000 net profit, 50/50 on the portion below $4,000.

Funded Sim — Fast Pass

• No buffer requirement, but to qualify for a payout (and each subsequent payout) the account must: have a balance above the starting balance, show a net profit since the previous payout, and the trader must complete a minimum of 5 individual profitable trading days (non-consecutive allowed). Split: 80/20.
• Minimum profitable day by tier: $50K → $150/day, $100K → $200/day, $150K → $250/day.
• Payout cap: a request may not exceed 50% of the account balance and is also capped by tier — $50K → $2,000, $100K → $2,500, $150K → $3,000. After each payout, the new balance becomes the starting balance for the next payout trigger.
• On the first payout request, if the Trailing Max Drawdown has not yet reached the starting balance, it moves up to the starting balance and is fixed there.

Funded Live (both tracks)

• All Funded Live withdrawals are a flat 90/10 profit split (trader keeps 90%).
• Funded Live payouts are requested by email to FundedTrader@TradeDay.com (the dashboard does not update for Funded Live), including the amount, TradeDay username/email, and Funded Live account number. After requesting, the trader must refrain from trading until TradeDay confirms the payout is complete.

Payout Methods (via Riseworks)

TradeDay does not charge for withdrawals; its contractor-management platform, Riseworks, does:

• US bank wire — free
• International wire — $15 per withdrawal
• L1 Crypto — $2.50 per withdrawal + estimated gas fees
• L2 Crypto — free

Funded traders must be set up with Riseworks before requesting a payout. (For Riseworks account issues, contact Riseworks directly via the chat box on their website.)