FTMO Review

Let’s say you are a really good trader and the only thing that’s holding you back is your lack of capital – what do you do in such cases? Well, that’s where funded trading accounts providers like FTMO come in handy.

And in this FTMO review, we would like to talk about what everyone needs to know about this company before electing to work with them.

What Is FTMO? An Overview

FTMO is a Europe-based online prop firm that works with traders from all across the globe. The company is known for its thorough evaluation process that ensures only the best traders in the game get to join their team.

Once you join their team of traders you get to enjoy a myriad of benefits including the possibility of trading with a $400,000 account and keeping 90 percent of your profit in the best-case scenario.

But what about the worst-case scenario? Stick around as we evaluate how exactly this system works.

How it Works

The reason why FTMO has managed to survive in the murky waters of funded trading is that they have a detailed evaluation process. This is a 2-step process that exclusively aims to discover talented, resilient, and disciplined traders.

Remember, you can be talented but not disciplined! And as we all know, to be successful in the world of forex you need both. This is probably why the FTMO uses a 2-step evaluation approach – let’s break this down for you.

Step One: The FTMO Challenge

This is a 30-day period when you cut your teeth and comply with FTMO’s trading objectives that include $1000 target profit after which you’ll be verified. The main objective of this first step is to gauge your discipline and the ability to stick to the Trading Objectives provided.

Step Two: Verification

Once you successfully complete the FTMO challenge you’ll be ushered into the verification stage. This comprises 60 grueling days during which you, once again, are required to prove your worth.

Once again, you’ll be expected to meet the company’s trading objectives during this stage of trading.

Luckily, if you happen to meet your set objectives in fewer days, you’ll not have to wait for the 60-days to end. The company we’ll get you promoted to the next level at that point in time.

So, much as most people find this initial phase a bit too strict, there’s a silver lining in the sense that you can advance up the rungs faster if you’re really good at what you do.

Step Three: Becoming an FTMO Trader

Once you make it past the challenge and verification stages, you get to enjoy the full benefits of being a fully-fledged FTMO trader. These include the freedom to manage an account of up to $400,000 USD and the freedom to make decisions.

But even then, just to make sure that you are trading diligently you’re given two drawdowns namely a maximum daily loss of $500 and a maximum loss of $1000.

What Instruments Can You Trade Under Your FTMO Account?

One thing we absolutely like FTMO is the kind of freedom they give to their traders. For instance, you are completely free to embrace whatever style of trading you’re comfortable with.

They don’t limit or restrict your strategy. Plus, they don’t even have any limits as to the kinds of tradeable assets you can work with. So, you’re free to try your hand at:

• Forex
• Crypto
• Stocks
• Indices
• Commodities (and so forth).

What's more, you can even use Expert Advisors (Robots) and have them make the right moves for you. However, FTMO has some restrictions in this regard in that you can only open 200 orders at a time and a maximum of 2000 positions per day.

The idea, in that case, is to prevent EA hyperactivity. And should that happen, FTMO's customer support will contact you requesting you to adjust your EA's parameters.

Key Features of FTMO

Other than being a hub for funded traders, FTMO offers a whole load of features that make them one of the most competitive platforms out there currently.

1. Performance Coaches

Behind this company is a team of highly qualified performance coaches. The coaches work with you by evaluating your performance and asking pertinent questions so that they can guide you along the way. This free, complementary service is designed to help make you a more sure-footed trader and to support you on your journey to attaining better trading results.

Some of these coaches are as follows (of course the list keeps growing and varying from time to time):

Nelly N – A graduate of Coventry University with a Master’s degree in Psychology. Trading Psychology is her main area of expertise although she also can assist with tools development and insights management.

Michael K – Mike is an alumnus of Charles University with Psychology being his area of expertise. He has been actively trading forex since 2015 and currently doubles up as a coach and mentor to many. So, if you want to get the most out of your trading strategy, this is the man for the job.

In general, the FTMO trading platform is all about boosting your performance and helping you uncover your fullest potential. Their coaches work with you to help you address your weaknesses as you also get to maximize your strengths.

2. Scaling Plan

First off, you get to define the kind of account you’d like to work with at the challenge stage. You will still be required to trade within that plan once your account is verified and confirmed. That is to say, if you were approved for a $200,000 account you will be required to stick by that limit.

Fortunately, the limit is not permanent. Based on your performance, the FTMO team will increase your account limit by 25% every four months.

So, if you started with $200,000 you can get that boosted to 250,000 in a few short months and up to $300,000 in a year.

3. 90:10 Payout System

As a trader, you get to do the hardest job of identifying trading opportunities and opening/closing trades. It can be tiring and downright frustrating. This is why you need to be assured of a decent piece of the pie once you close profitable trades.

In that case, the FTMO has an 80:20 payout ratio meaning that you get to keep 80 percent of your profits.

What’s more, the payout system can reach up to 90:10 based on your performance and is reviewed once every four months. So, if you’re a talented trader you can get your funded account boosted by 25% and your payout at a staggering 90:10 ratio.

4. 1:100 Leverage

FTMO offers a leverage of up to 1:100. That means if you have a $200,000 account, it's possible to trade at a capacity of $2,000,0000. Those are humongous numbers and you can fully take advantage of them and still get to keep up to 90% of the profit.

So, if you’re short of cash and are talented, FTMO is probably the platform that will offer you the fastest growth curve possible.

5. No Recurrent Charges

There are no hidden fees when it comes to working with this firm. You only pay a registration fee of $161.50 and that’s it. What’s more, this fee is refunded to you once you churn out a profit i.e., during your first withdrawal.

So, if there are no recurrent fees how does FTMO operate? Well, for each profitable trading streak you run, the company gets to keep 10 to 20 percent of the money. That’s precisely where they recoup their running costs from.

Some of the paid benefits you reap from this include:

• Mentor Application
• Statistical Application
• Trading Journal
• Account MetriX
• Account Analysis

As you can see, these are services that people normally pay more for elsewhere. But you won’t need to do so as long as you pass the initial test at FTMO.

6. Awesome Trading Platforms

FTMO allows you to use MT4, MT5, and cTrader. For those who are used to working with TradingView, cTrader might be a good alternative. It has a friendly user-interface and provides you with lots of freedom to use drawing and charting tools as you’d like. 

And the best part about cTrader is that it makes it possible to pull up economic news and any kind of Level II data next to your chart for easier analysis.

Of course, MT4 and MT5 are good in their own ways but we feel that the availability of cTrader under FTMO is really something worth appreciating.

7. Account Analysis

At the end of every trading cycle (or at the end of an FTMO challenge), the system will generate a detailed account analysis. This is a free bonus report that other providers either don’t provide or charge for.

An FTMO account analysis comprises key details such as one’s risk reward ratio, success rate, average profitability (or losses), total profit among others.

It also furnishes you with important charts and summaries that you can refer to for better decision-making.

8. The MetriX App & Other Apps

This is a nice app that monitors your trading journey and helps you understand your strengths and weaknesses in a better way. This app serves everyone even those on the free trial version of this program. Above all, the app (which is also accessible via web browsers) provides you with important markers of progress so you can easily determine how you’re faring against your trading objectives.

9. Other cutting-edge apps that come as part of the package include:

The Statistical App: An application that brings you up to speed with market probabilities and market behavior in general.

Trading Journal: Whenever you initiate trades, they are automatically recorded for you in the journal. And then, over time, you can use this information to discover unique information about your style of trading. Theoretically, you can use this kind of intel to eliminate future mistakes.

Mentor App: An automated mentorship app that monitors your style of trading and guides you accordingly. It helps you eliminate emotions and reminds you to stick by your risk limits so you become a disciplined trader.

Equity Simulator: This is another powerful app from FTMO. It’s unique in the sense that it simulates different trading outcomes. Its goal is to help you project how much income you’re likely to reap in the future based on your current strategy.

Benefits of this Prop Trading Firm

In a world full of prop trading firms why on earth should you choose FTMO? Here are some solid reasons behind choosing this firm.

(I) Free Trial Package

It’s always good to get the opportunity to test drive a service before you commit your funds to it. And that’s precisely what this company’s 7-day free trial period is about.

(II) Up To 90% Profit is Yours

Of course, forex trading is a double-edged sword meaning you can win or lose. However, when it comes to FTMO, if you win, you get to keep 80 to 90 percent of the profit. And when you lose, they absorb the losses for you. Yup, you read that right.

That said, they do have rules and limits to prevent you from making a continuous streak of losses because they are a business at the end of the day.

(III) Good Customer Support

This is the backbone of every successful business these days. And we’re glad to see that FTMO excels in this field as well. Their team is available via chat, mobile, and even email. They are highly responsive and helpful.

(IV) Educational Content

Whether you’re looking to learn the basics or the advanced stuff – or even if you’re after mentorship, this platform has got all that figured out for you already.