You are exactly right in thinking about it like a test. I like to think of it very much like it's a certification exam in other industries! You pay a fee, take the exam, and then take that certification and try and get a job paying you what you hope to make. Depending on how you do and your other experience, hopefully you'll get what you want but it could also be less. Helios just happens to be the firm that's offering a spot to those who pass the Gauntlet™. It’s purely just a risk measurement. The more drawdown you have, the less drawdown the firm wants to give you because it is more risky to do so. I would suggest you adapt your strategy to accommodate the drawdown you wish to receive in your live account. If you want to get the full drawdown, then you should operate as if you were disqualified if you have more drawdown that allowed when funded. I hope the way I explained it made sense!
I find all of this rather amusing, regardless how Earn2Trade has a looser set of rules as per drawdown, if I was fronting funds, I be just as tight as Helios, only I would never offer anyone a payout of 80% from the beginning, more like 50% or even less. I don't know of any experienced trader be doing any of this as they be trading their own funds, so Earn2 Trade mainly has Wanna-bees, and many repeat customers buying into the dream that they can get funds if they can seldom lose, yea those dreams end up of shelling out $350 how many times? I get it your teach others how to trade and offer dreams to less than experienced traders, you all must be have huge number of those doing this, otherwise your personal trading could surely make much more than you make doing all this work in less than a week. Glutton for punishment?
Handle, To me it is a great business model for both E2T and the dreamer. The dreamer does not lose the $2,500 in real money if he/she fails the Guantlet and can even reset at half price if it is done before busting out. E2T does find some traders who are successful and it allows them to diversify across the world with different styles of traders in different markets. For the successful trader, 80% if fantastic and they will make more long term because they can add contracts faster than they prudently could with their own money.
Thanks ES, it is good to see you back at ET. I know you took a new job and have been busy and had put trading on the back burner for a season. Are you still concentrating on trading Bonds?
Bonds move too slow...ES is where the action is. Does anybody trade the MES to tame their drawdown for Earn2Trade? Es
ES is definitely where the volume is but I am starting to believe than the NASDAQ trades smoother. When I restart my Guantlet I am thinking of only trading the NQ