How are new trends changing the world of trading?

In the past, if the average person wanted to succeed in the world of trading, he had to have enough money in an account or gain access to trading funds in some other way (e.g. be able to trade the funds of a proprietary trading company). If a trader wanted to trade $200,000, he or she had to have a very good job that would allow him or her to save that amount, win the lottery or inherit that amount, etc. When he or she tried to trade with a small amount of funds, the chances of profitability were quite small, and the trader had to be content with very small profits.

Traditional proprietary trading is not for everyone

One of the ways a trader could trade larger amounts of funds in the past was the aforementioned trading for a traditional proprietary trading company. A trader could be allocated a large amount of funds to trade in such a company, have the background of a large company, including the know-how and access to tools and information that he would not otherwise have had the chance to access.

However, such companies had relatively high demands on their potential traders, including higher education, completing exams and obtaining additional certifications, or passing psychological tests. In addition, those who wanted to trade for such companies had to have a certain trading history and had to prove their track record. As this was a highly competitive environment, traders had to be able to cope with the high stress arising not only from the trading itself but also from the need to achieve good results on a regular basis.

Modern prop trading as an opportunity for skilled traders

As a leader in modern prop trading, FTMO has changed this established system from the ground up, offering potential traders options they could never have dreamed of just a few years ago.

FTMO has developed a way to objectively identify and educate talented traders in the ranks of those interested in trading, without the risk of financial loss to clients. The process of this identification and validation of trader skills consists of access to online training programs and analytical applications, and an online platform that allows simulated trading in various financial instruments.

Saving money

One of the main advantages of modern prop trading is the fact that traders do not trade with their own funds, or are not at risk of losing their real funds, as all "trading" is simulated and no initial investment is required.

However, the opportunity to work with modern prop trading companies is not completely free. Before traders have the opportunity to trade in a simulated environment with the possibility of receiving real financial rewards, they must demonstrate their risk management and money management skills, or meet the conditions of the so-called Evaluation Process. In order to participate in the Evaluation Process, traders are required to pay a fee based on the amount of fictional capital they wish to subsequently trade within the simulated environment.

However, the amount of this fee is not comparable to the amount of funds that these traders would have to invest if they were actually trading on their own account and wanted to make profits comparable to the remuneration that can be obtained in a simulated trading environment (e.g. FTMO).

In addition, the fee for participating in the Verification Process, after which the client has the opportunity to receive real financial rewards, is refundable once all rules have been met.

Real conditions simulation

The conditions that clients have on demo accounts at FTMO are built to emulate real trading conditions in the financial market. While the entire environment and trading is simulated, the platform includes real data provided by liquidity providers. Therefore, although it may appear at first glance that clients do not have access to real prices on the financial markets when trading in a simulated demo account, the opposite is true.

At the same time, the execution of orders in the simulated environment is modelled on the execution of orders in the real market. Orders are always executed based on the current market conditions at the time the simulated order is processed. As in real trading, this price may differ from the desired price, i.e. the price at the time the simulated order is placed, which can cause slippage. However, this allows clients to get a taste of what it is like to trade in real markets from the start of the Evaluation Process and can prepare them for the possibility of trying to trade with their own funds with a brokerage firm at some point in the future.

Educational background

Another aspect of modern prop trading (and thus FTMO services), which is also related to the previous point, is the effort to raise client awareness of financial market trading and to educate them. The basic trading rules that clients must follow when trading on the demo platform are designed to help clients improve their skills and build habits that will help them achieve good results. In terms of gaining theoretical knowledge, clients can expand their knowledge by studying educational articles on the blog as well as the FTMO Academy, which offers clients a wide range of information, from the basics to creating a trading plan and help with creating advanced trading strategies.

Trading apps and performance coaching

At FTMO, clients have a set of tools and services designed to help clients improve their performance and improve their risk management strategies. For example, the Metrix App shows clients all important data and statistics about their account, the Macroeconomic Calendar alerts them to the news with a significant impact on financial market events, calculators make it easy to calculate basic parameters when opening positions, the trading journal simplifies archiving results and past analysis of their trades, etc.

As psychology plays a very important role in trading, clients can benefit from the services of dedicated performance coaches. They can detect undesirable habits and patterns of client behaviour and identify their source, helping clients understand the issues that may be negatively impacting their results. Working together can then lead to long-term solutions that can have a positive impact on the firm's clients' trading results.