Before you pay for a challenge

Ten things to establish first

1. What does failing actually cost?

   The fee is the obvious part. Ask whether a reset is charged separately, and whether a breach ends the account or only the phase.

2. Is the drawdown measured on balance or on equity?

   An equity-based daily drawdown counts unrealized losses while a trade is open, so a position that recovers can still breach you. This single detail fails more accounts than the profit target does.

3. Is the maximum drawdown static or trailing?

   A trailing drawdown follows your highest balance upward, so profit raises the floor you can be stopped out at. Static is far easier to survive.

4. What is the news rule?

   Many firms void trades opened around high-impact releases. If your strategy trades them, the rule matters more than the split.

5. Is there a minimum trading-days requirement?

   Passing in two days can invalidate the attempt at firms that require a spread of activity.

6. Which instruments, and what is the real spread?

   The advertised split is applied after costs. A wide spread on the pair you actually trade removes more than the split ever gives back.

7. How and when are payouts made?

   Ask the minimum, the schedule, the method, and whether the first payout has extra conditions attached.

8. Who is the counterparty?

   Find out whether the firm routes to a broker or takes the other side internally, and who holds the funds.

9. What happens if the firm closes?

   This industry has a short history and firms have shut with balances outstanding. Assume the account is not protected the way a regulated brokerage would be.

10. Is the discount code real?

    Standing discounts in this vertical are usually the permanent price. Judge the cost as the number you would pay today, not as a percentage off a figure nobody pays.