Perhaps from an operating cost perspective, yes, it makes sense to keep them on sim and pay them on profits, knowing that most will "blow up" the accounts anyway. However, from an ethical perspective (and perhaps legal), it's something that would require disclosure. You can't tell a trader he's on a live account when he's not. That's why DAStrader expelled Nevis Trading, because that is exactly what they did, according to the public document released by DAS.
I don't hear people talking about this much but what the hell is up with paying "exchange data fees" as a Funded Trader? https://topsteptrader.desk.com/cust...971631-funded-account-fees#Exchange-Data-Fees I am interested in trading futures beyond just the ES and CL. I like LE as well. Live Cattle and Corn can offer great mean reversion/fade trading opportunities. If I were a funded trader I would have to pay $340 per month just on exchange fees. The commissions TopStep charges don't seem that great either. In the commission example that TopStep lists they also show a "Data" fee in the commission break down...does this mean TopStep is double charging for data? I have to pay the monthly exchange fee IN ADDITION to being charged for data in every Round Turn? I really want to like TopStep but self funding myself seems like a better option. You won't face these crazy fees with a discount broker. My last futures broker was only charging me $5 bucks for Data Fees for CME to trade ES and another $5 per month for CBOT.
For traders, it's an expense of doing business. It has nothing to do with the fact that one's trading a TST-funded account: everyone who trades futures has to pay them. Just as you would if you were self-funded. Why not just fund yourself, then? TST is available for and aimed at people who have trading skills but are unable, for whatever reason, to do that. The $5 per month fee for CME data is for people not trading live accounts. You were presumably on a demo account, at that point?
Demo account? I was trading with Global Futures and only paying $5 a month for CME data. It was a live account, not demo. I was paying CME "non-pro" fees. Maybe part of the data fee was rolled into the round turn fee? I sure as hell was not paying $85 a month in addition to having it worked into the commission. You can bet your Russian Passport on that one! http://www.globalfutures.com/notices/cme_market_data.asp What broker have you traded with in the past Xela? Name one....
I trade with Interactive Brokers (and don't have a Russian passport - what's on Earth's wrong with you? Why do you try to cast erroneous nationalistic aspersions against someone, just because you don't like the way they try to answer your questions?! You're welcome to continue the conversation without me - perhaps someone else to whom you display less hostility will assist you.) The point is surely that if you're able to fund yourself, you're not really in TST's target market anyway?
Chill out, I guess the lack of humor indicates you are Polish. How much were you paying per round turn at IB? What were your monthly data fees for lets say CME?
...and you pay US$85/month per futures marketplace like at TopStep? For me personally at Interactive Brokers Canada, access to live futures data is an order of magnitude cheaper.
I have decided to give it another go and did a 50K combine, passed it and yesterday had te first day of the FTP. FTP target is 1K.
Interesting - well done and good luck! It looks like you took about one trade per day during the Combine, but found 7 trades to take on the first day of your FTP?