Proprietary Trading is a trading activity when a firm or an institute invests its Capital into stocks, bonds, commodities, and other financial instruments. The risk factor in proprietary Trading is high, and so is the profit-making opportunity. Selecting a Proprietary Trading Firm is never easy, especially if you are a beginner and want to get the most for your investments. To help you out, we have created a list of some of the best proprietary trading providers. It will make your task easy while searching online for the best proprietary firm. Following is a handpicked list of Top Proprietary trading firms with their popular features and website links.
Top Proprietary Trading Firms
 |  |  |  | |
| Name | Funded Trading Plus | TopStepTrader | Fidelcrest | FTMO |
| Initial Balance: | $12,500 | 200k buying power for $125 monthly | $50,000 | 25k balance for $250, 50k balance for $345 |
| Tradable Assets: | Forex, Indices, Metals, Commodities, Cryptos | Forex, Indices, Metals, Crypto | Forex, Indices, Metals, Commodities, Stocks and more | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Crypto |
| Profit Split: | Up to 90% | Up to 50% | Up to 90% | Up to 90% |
| Link | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
1) Funded Trading Plus
Best Overall Prop Firm & Most Trusted
Funded Trading Plus is a globally renowned funded trading firm headquartered in London, England. Offers Discord Bot for quick support and profitable trading discussions. The founders have been real traders since 2013 havepartnered with EightCap.
They operate very differently to other Top Prop Firms – Which is what makes this company a great choice for traders.
#1 Top Pick
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- What they do: Offers one-stage funding, instant funding, and a classic two-stage funded account.
- Initial Balance: $12,500
- Refundable Registration Fee: Yes
- Profit-sharing: Up to 90%
- Leverage: 1:30
Features:
- All trading styles allowed – EA’s & Algo’s included
- The only achievable scaling plan in the industry can double the account size every 10% profit, without delay
- No Time Limits: Funded Trading Plus pioneered no time limits. They have never imposed any time restrictions on traders
- 1:30 Leverage, Higher leverage = More failure
- No delays on payouts
- Up to a 90% payout split
- Very few ‘hard’ rules
- 24/7 customer support, real people on the end of queries.
- Active Discord community – over 20k active users
- Highest TrustPilot Rating of any firm, one of the most trusted in the industry
- Offers a variety of funding options for all types of traders
- Founding Year: 2013
- Refundable Registration Fee: Yes
- Initial Balance: $12,500
Pros
- Best Scaling Plan in the Industry
- No Time Limits
- Weekly Payouts, From Day 0
- Leverage Aligned With EU Regulatory Standards
Cons
- Daily Drawdown can only be removed at 10%
- Accounts start at $12,500
- Relative drawdown becomes static at 6%.
Profit-sharing Up to 90%
2) TopStepTrader
Best for Forex & Futures traders
TopStepTrader is a financial technology firm for day traders to operate in real-time simulated accounts and assess their profit/loss performance. It was founded in 2012 and is now one of the best prop trading firms with no capital contribution. Traders passing the firm’s evaluation get a trading account to operate in the forex market using the firm’s Capital.
#2
- Location: Chicago
- What they do: Provide prospective day traders with a simulated account.
- Initial Balance: 200k buying power for $125 monthly.
- Refundable Registration Fee: No
- Profit-sharing: Up to 50%
- Leverage: Up to 1:100
- Profit Target: $3,000
Features:
- Buying power of up to $500,000.
- Small monthly fee.
- Excellent reputation.
- Simple rules.
- News event trading, holding positions overnight, and weekends allowed.
- It offers 14 days risk-free trial
- You have to maintain a profit target of $3,000
- The maximum loss allow is $1,000
Pros
- Choose 1:1 coaching, group coaching, or both!
- Personalized stats and tips are provided to improve performance.
- It helps you to understand your performance and helps you to grow.
- You can connect with expert traders via call, chat, WhatsApp, or email.
- Traders who pass the evaluation get a trading account to operate in the Forex market using the firm’s Capital.
Cons
- The company doesn’t provide bonuses, automated Trading, or other passive income options.
- Their support service works only on weekdays during set hours.
- Rules might seem too complex.
Profit-sharing Up to 50%
3) Fidelcrest
Best for crypto experts
Fidelcrest is a globally operating prop trading firm with headquarters in Nicosia, Cyprus. It is one of the best prop firms for forex trading. It gives skilled traders the ability to meet specific requirements after accessing accounts with real funds, thus making a difference in their living.
#3
- Location: Nicosia, Cyprus
- What they do: This prop trading firm offers a wide range of account size options designed to suit all types of traders with various levels of expertise and needs.
- Initial Balance: $50,000
- Refundable Registration Fee: Yes
- Profit-sharing: Up to 90%
Features:
- 40% of Phase 2 Profit payed instantly as passed
- 5% profit target on MicroFX accounts
- Allows Trading funded accounts up to $1,000,000
- Up to 90% profit split.
- Offers low funding options for newer traders.
- 1:100 Leverage.
- News trading allowed.
- Allows you to hold positions overnight and on weekends (Aggressive account only).
- Instant and automatic account opening
- Founded: 2018
- What they do: This prop trading firm offers a wide range of account size options designed to suit all types of traders with various levels of expertise and needs.
- Time Pressure: Minimum 10 active days per period
- Swap-Free Accounts: Yes
Pros
- You can use Normal and Aggressive trading strategies
- Maximum leverage with all accounts is 1:100.
- You can have a profit of at least 5% to 20% of the initial account balance
Cons
- Only allows holding trades over the weekend for Aggressive Models
- You will have a 10% profit target on ProFX Accounts
Profit-sharing Up to 90%
4) FTMO
The most secure platform
FTMO is one of the best prop firms founded in 2014 for forex trading. This prop trading firm occupies a specific market niche, combining a classic broker, a school, and a competitive platform for traders and their professional associations. It provides two-step verification and a two-step evaluation process, including the FTMO challenge and verification.
#4
- Location: Czech Republic
- What they do: FTMO prop trading firm offers a variety of trading instruments, including forex.
- Initial Balance: 25k balance for $250, 50k balance for $345
- Refundable Registration Fee: Yes
- Profit-sharing: Up to 90%
- Leverage: 1:100
- Profit Target: $1,000
Features:
- Provides accounts worth $200,000.
- Offers profit-sharing up to 90%.
- 2 step evaluation.
- Free re-test (if only balance is positive).
- It can use EAs, hedging, or trade discretionary.
- News event trading and holding positions overnight.
- It offers Swap-Free Accounts
- Time Pressure: Normal, aggressive, swing
- You can have a maximum Loss of $500
- Trading Period: 44 Days
Pros
- In the FTMO challenge or verification, you don’t need to close your positions.
- You can trade your trading strategy with no limits or restrictions
- It allows news event trading and holding positions overnight.
- Offers a wide range of choices of assets across the board, with very low commissions.
- You can choose your profit split day other than the default.
Cons
- You must pass the FTMO challenge within 10 trading days. This could be not easy.
- You will only have the demo account even after passing the FTMO challenge.
Profit-sharing Up to 90%
5) LuxTradingFirm
LuxTradingFirm is a leading proprietary trading firm based in London (UK) and Bratislava (SK), specializing in supporting experienced prop traders. This proprietary trading firm helps traders excel and provide the tools and Capital. It allows you to trade with real money instead of demo games. It provides you with three trading platforms: TraderEvolution, TradingView, and MetaTrader4.
#5
- Location: London EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom
- What they do: Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks.
- Initial Balance: Funding up to $150,000 and an aggressive scaling program up to $2,500,000.
- Profit-sharing: Up to 65%
- Leverage: 1:30
- Profit Target: 6%
Features:
- Trade on your terms with simple, actionable trading plans
- Take advantage of our Plug & Play MT4 Indicator to back your decisions.
- You can learn from traders with over 50+ years of combined experience.
- You will get daily market updates and commentary via live streams.
- Share your trade ideas and get specific feedback.
- Access to vibrant trading chat room.
- It has a profit target of only 6%
- You can afford maximum loss of $400,000.
- You will get 7-Day Free Trial
- Pricing: Plan starting at £149 per month.
Pros
- The Elite traders get a dashboard integrated with daily streams and a live trading room.
- They provide a verified track record from KPMG, so you can also trade for big banks, family offices, etc.
- There are no time limits in any of the stages.
- This firm works with the most reputed liquidity providers like Goldman Sachs, Barclays, etc.
- You have to pay just once as there are no monthly fees.
Cons
- Expensive fee for the traders who do not pass their evaluation
- The profit splits are slightly low.
Profit-sharing Up to 65%
6) The Funded Trader
Best Funded Trader Program with straightforward trading rules
The Funded Trader is an online prop firm founded in 2021 committed to providing funding solutions to undercapitalized traders worldwide. They provide clients with the ability to prove themselves in a risk-free environment.
This prop trading firm offers two funding program options to its traders. 1) Standard Challenge – Standard Challenge Accounts aims to identify skilled traders. 2) Rapid Challenge – aims to identify serious traders and reward them for their consistency in a two-phase evaluation period.
#6
- Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
- What they do: They allow traders to trade in forex, commodities, indices, and crypto.
- Initial Balance: $600,000
- Refundable Registration Fee: Yes
- Profit-sharing: 80% | 90% with Scaling
- Leverage: 200:1
Features:
- This firm is designed with every trading platform in mind.
- Provides offers features like profit split, high Leverage, and multiple funding options.
- It has very relaxed trading rules.
- You can hold your trade on weekends.
- Offers up to $1.5M in Funded Capital
- Time period for evaluation is 35 days & 60 days.
- It has profit-sharing: 80% / 90% with Scaling.
- It offers a starting price of $549.
- It allows you to conduct news-based Trading.
- It offers maximum Capital of up to $1,500,000
Profit-sharing 80% | 90% with Scaling
7) OneUp Trader
Best overall
OneUp Trader is an exclusive platform that offers users trading insights and tools. This Forex trading prop firm comes with No data fees or hidden fees. Once you clear 1-Step Evaluation, you can get up to 90% profit and receive real money.
#7
- Location: Delaware
- What they do: Offers 1-Step Evaluation with clear and attainable targets
- Initial Balance: $25,000 upto $250,000
- Refundable Registration Fee: No
- Profit-sharing: 90%
Features:
- 1-Step Evaluation with clear and attainable targets
- You will get the free trial option.
- Flawless and reliable 24/7 Customer Service via Phone, Live Chat and Email.
- No recurrent charges, membership fees, or hidden fees.
- There is minimum of 15 total trading days to be eligible for placement with our funding partners.
- You can withdraw your profits with few simple clicks.
Pros
- No data fees or hidden fees
- 24/7 Customer Support (Phone, Live Chat, Email)
- FREE and unlimited profit withdrawals from day 1
- No Daily Drawdown
Cons
- The firm requires traders to put a stop-loss on each trade.
- During OneUp Trader audition, in the event of a hard breach account access will be revoked.
Profit-sharing 90%
8) Leeloo
Leeloo Trading is one of the best and most highly reputed performance based trading founded in 2018. The rules of this performance based trading firm are very transparent to facilitate the trading and funding process. It allows you to trade for at least 10 days and must not violate the rules. Leeloo has four levels in its performance accounts, and these PAs are simulated with real market prices from the liquidity providers.
#8
- Location: Montana
- What they do: Leeloo™, through its proprietary software platform, provides individual traders an opportunity to test their skills in the market with simulated currency and the potential for payouts via periodic performance based contests, well known as Leeloo's Performance Based Trading and Contests™.
- Initial Balance: $25,000 (Foundation account - Aspire)
- Leverage: 1:33
- Profit Target: $6,000
Features:
- You can freely trade with your strategy.
- Minimum 10 traded days.
- No daily drawdown.
- Only One login for multiple accounts.
- No scaling.
- Free Ninja license key.
- Allows you to trade full-size accounts.
- No minimum or maximum withdrawal limit after 1 month of Trading.
- It offers 14 Days practice period.
- Pricing: Pricing starts at $150 monthly but we also have Leeloo Express which is $77 for 14- days Non-Recurring.
9) City Traders Imperium
Best for Forex, gold, indices
City Traders Imperium is a London-based prop firm founded in 2014. It is ideal trading firm for scaling programs and educational offerings. You can learn bank-level trading using smart money, Wyckoff, Wave Theory, and clear design techniques. This pattern helps you identify the Price Action method’s high and low probability swings.
#9
- Location: London, England, United Kingdom
- What they do: They provide various financial trading services, like trading education and funded trading accounts.
- Initial Balance: $10k to $70k
- Refundable Registration Fee: No
- Profit-sharing: Up to 100%
- Profit Target: 5% to 10%
Features:
- Up to 70% profit split
- Provides great education to traders.
- Up to 1 year of evaluation time.
- EAs and hedging are allowed.
- News trades, holding overnight/weekends are allowed.
- Time Pressure of only 30 ATD during the evaluation
- Trading Period: 45 Days
- Free Trial: Demo Trial Only
- Pricing: Plan starting at $99 per month.
Pros
- Lets you access funded accounts with a 100% profit share
- Get large returns with the STT swing trading strategy.
- Teaches James’ systematic strategy, which selects established liquidity zones
- Get Forex to trade one-on-one mentors for beginners.
- The evaluation phase can last up to one year, so the traders get a good chance for funding.
Cons
- The support takes time to reply
- The account is terminated automatically when you hit the 5% relative drawdown.
Profit-sharing Up to 100%
10) The5ers
The5ers is one of the best prop trading firms for forex trading. It offers an excellent option for everyone, from beginners with zero experience to skilled swing traders who do not need Capital.
Founded in 2016, they have 3 models 1) instant funding in real accounts up to $4M, 2) $100K Bootcamp – the first low entry cost challenge, where you can prove your trading skills and pay the rest only once you’ve passed 3) Freestyle – Trade at your own style. get funded and keep 100% profits
#10
- Location: Raanana, Israel
- What they do: You can trade Forex and Metals.
- Initial Balance: Depending on the model and account size, from €85 up to €745, funding up to $4M
- Refundable Registration Fee: depending on the model
- Profit-sharing: Instant funding 50%, Bootcamp up to 80%
- Leverage: 1:30
- Profit Target: 10%
Features:
- Instant funding in real accounts.
- One-time fee only.
- Funding doubles at every stage.
- Provides evaluation on a real live trading account.
- External performance statistics.
- Overnight & and weekend holding is allowed.
- You can access a community of successful traders to share ideas and feedback.
- Profit split from 100% to 50/50, depending on the model.
- Free 1 On 1 Performance Coaching
- Hyper-growth Scaling up to $4m.
- You will have a trading period of 12 Months.
- It offers swap-Free Accounts
Pros
- No profit payout deductions
- You can request payouts at any time and get them with just a click
- Supports all trading systems
- No time restrictions and pressure to meet milestones
Cons
- Low Leverage due to low risk and usage of real Capital
- Doesn’t offer crypto, shares, and futures
11) Jane Street
Jane Street is a global prop trading firm having over 1,200 employees. This prop trading firm has been one of the largest market-makers globally for the past two decades. At Jane Street, they use the most advanced tools for complex problems to get accurate results, making it one of the best futures prop firms.
They also study trading risks extensively and understand the market to help themselves and their clients make bold decisions. It was founded in 2020, and its assets include ETFs, equities, futures, commodities, bonds, currencies, etc.
Features:
- Allows you to actively trade in global equities, bonds, options, and ETFs daily.
- Offers institutional clients access to its principal liquidity through a variety of services.
- This prop firm for trading has many proprietary models.
- It is located in New York, Chicago, London, and Tokyo
- What they do: It is a quantitative prop trading firm combining a deep market understanding. Helps you to learn about the scientific approach and innovative technology to trade successfully in financial markets.
Pros
- Their traders and specialists work closely with you and help in Trading.
- It has a fast connection to FIX protocol or smart-order router
- Includes a broad range of asset classes in above 200 venues in 45 countries
- Their assets include ETFs, equities, futures, commodities, bonds, currencies, etc.
Cons
- The website does not provide enough information required for new traders.
- There is no live chat support for queries
Link: https://www.janestreet.com/
What is a Prop Trading Firm?
A prop trading firm, also known as a proprietary trading firm, is an entity that engages in trading financial instruments using its capital rather than clients’ funds. These firms employ skilled traders who make speculative trades with the goal of generating profits for the firm.
In essence, a prop firm trading operates as its client, utilizing the expertise of its traders to take advantage of market opportunities and fluctuations. Using their own funds gives these firms greater flexibility and autonomy in their trading decisions.
The primary objective of a prop trading firm is to generate profits by capitalizing on market inefficiencies and price discrepancies. Traders employed by these firms employ various strategies, such as arbitrage, statistical analysis, and technical analysis, to identify potentially profitable trades.
One distinctive feature of prop trading firms is the absence of a traditional client base. Unlike traditional brokerage firms that handle clients’ investments, prop firm trading focuses solely on their trading activities. This allows them to operate with less regulation and oversight compared to firms that handle clients’ funds.
Benefits of Prop Trading
Prop trading firms offer several benefits contributing to their appeal in the financial industry. Here are some of the key advantages:
- Profit potential through skilled traders and specialized strategies.
- Autonomy and flexibility in making independent trading decisions.
- Efficient trade execution using advanced technology.
- Skill development through valuable learning opportunities.
- Potential for high profits by capitalizing on market inefficiencies.
- Diverse market opportunities across various financial instruments.
- Attractive compensation and profit-sharing arrangements.
Drawbacks of Prop Trading Firm
While prop trading firms offer various advantages, they also have certain drawbacks. Here are some of the disadvantages:-
- Increased risk due to the speculative nature of prop trading.
- Limited diversification as firms often specialize in specific markets or strategies.
- Capital requirements can be a barrier for new or smaller firms.
- Regulatory compliance obligations and associated costs.
- Lack of traditional client base, relying solely on their trading activities.
- Intense competition in the prop trading industry.
What is Funded Trading?
Funded trading is a form of speculation that can be done through private investment. For this trading to take place, the individual must be able to get funding from outside sources such as banks and other lending institutions.
The funds are given in the form of credit, so the trader does not need to have any additional funds or capital. This type of trading does not come with high risks because the trader only needs to repay the money if they make a profit
It offers several amazing advantages for the trader, like gaining immediate capital to work with lesser paperwork.
However, you cannot become a funded trader easily without a proven and consistent performance track record.
How to Select a Proprietary Trading Firm?
Here are some important criteria which help you to select the right Proprietary Trading firm:
- The term and size of the deposit: The deposit term and size increased by a portion of the firm’s capital should provide an increase in the volume of transactions. It should not increase the risk of current drawdowns and also not forcing yourself to limit the volume.
- Conditions for Participation in Traders Contests: Legitimate proprietors hold such events using demo accounts and not the real ones. In contests on real trading accounts, there is a risk of not getting back the funds deposited by anyone Trading without a prize. However, there is no certainty that they will get the money from the prop trading firm for the winners. You should remember that market conditions of real Trading cardinally differ from contest ones.
- The reputation of the organization: Bad rep proprietary trading firms are marred with a lot of inconveniences, slippage, non-market price jumps, or interrupted communication. So, there is a greater possibility that scammers may not allow withdrawing the profit and trade to the profit. So, you need to avoid such a company.
- Paid training: A trader in a prop firm is an employee, and the employer must educate him free of charge. However, Russian pro-trading companies train for money, and they do not even guarantee employment. So read the terms of your selected proprietary trading firm.
How does one get started with a Prop Trading Firm?
Here are the steps that you can follow to get started with a prop trading firm:
Step 1) Understand the basics of Prop trading
Learn how prop trading works, processes, etc., for a better understanding
Step 2) Get Trading and Market knowledge
You should study and analyze how trading and markets work
Step 3) Go through the market rules
You need to understand and follow all the market rules associated with Trading
Step 4) Make a trading strategy
Study and prepare a trading strategy for executing your trades
Step 5) Practice with risk management
Analyze and practice risk management using historical data
Step 6) Try paper trading
Before starting actual Trading, you should practice paper trading on simulator accounts provided by trading firms
Step 7) Do research and find the best proprietary trading firm for you
You can go through the list given above to study all the proprietary trading firms and how they operate
Step 8) Apply to a Proprietary firm as a Trader
Once you are ready for Trading, you can apply to a proprietary trading firm to start trading
Step 9) Get evaluated
Once you apply to a proprietary trading firm, you need to be evaluated by the firm in different means to qualify
Step 10) Get funded
Once you are evaluated, you can now get capital funding to trade with your strategy.
What do prop trading firms do?
Prop trading firms engage in trading financial instruments using their capital to generate profits. These firms, often considered the top prop trading firms, employ skilled traders who utilise various strategies and tools, such as arbitrage and technical analysis, to identify profitable trades. They mainly focus on capitalizing on market inefficiencies and price discrepancies to maximize returns.
Additionally, prop trading firms may participate in fund index prop funding, where they allocate capital to specific investment strategies based on the performance of index funds. This approach allows them to diversify their investments and potentially enhance their profitability.
FAQs
Following are the Best Proprietary Trading Firms:
- Funded Trading Plus
- TopStepTrader
- Fidelcrest
- FTMO – Most secure platform
- LuxTradingFirm
- The Funded Trader – Best Funded Trader Program with straightforward trading rules
- OneUp Trader
Here are the important pros and cons of joining a proprietary trading firm:
Pros:
- You can obtain start-up capital with a low entry threshold.
- Free training in Trading.
- Getting access to high-level data software.
- You can directly access the exchange.
- Does not have a conflict of interest between the legally operating company and traders.
- You can take advantage of company priority–algorithms for fast profit share.
Cons:
- You need to pay a security deposit.
- You need to spend lots of time and effort.
- You need to learn prop trading software.
- If you are constantly making a loss, the account will be automatically blocked.
Here are some major differences between Hedge Fund and Prop Trading:
| Hedge Fund | Prop Trading |
|---|---|
| Hedge funds put their client’s money to invest in the financial markets. | Proprietary traders use the firm’s money to invest in the capital markets. |
| Hedge funds are answerable to their clients. | Proprietary Trading works to strengthen the firm’s balance sheet by investing in the financial market. Hence, no restrictions are followed in terms of risk. |
| They are the target of the Volcker Rule, which aims to limit financial institutions’ risk. | Traders can certainly take more risks since they are not dealing with client funds. |
Here is the list of prop trading firms known to support copy trading. Some of the examples are:-
- AvaTrade
- Naga
- PrimeXBT
- BingX
- ZuluTrade
Best Proprietary Trading Firms
| | | | |
| Name | Funded Trading Plus | TopStepTrader | Fidelcrest | FTMO |
| Initial Balance: | $12,500 | 200k buying power for $125 monthly | $50,000 | 25k balance for $250, 50k balance for $345 |
| Tradable Assets: | Forex, Indices, Metals, Commodities, Cryptos | Forex, Indices, Metals, Crypto | Forex, Indices, Metals, Commodities, Stocks and more | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Crypto |
| Profit Split: | Up to 90% | Up to 50% | Up to 90% | Up to 90% |
| Link | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
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