City Traders Imperium Review
City Traders Imperium is a prop trading firm where you can get access to a funded account scaled to $4,000,000 and a profit share of up to 100% when you pass any funded trader program.
City Traders Imperium is a London based prop firm that provides funding for forex traders in the range of $20,000 and $70,000 with a capitalization that can reach $4,000,000. Daniel Martin and Martin Najat, two traders who realised most U.K.-based prop firms were merely offering a pipe dream coupled with education and that there was a large gap in the market for a reliable funding source, launched the company.
With its Funded Trader Programs and Educational Platform, City Traders Imperium seeks to serve as a one-stop shop for all traders globally. The prop firm accomplishes this by inspiring you while utilising a good variety of funding programmes and training services, as well as by assisting you in building your knowledge over a convenient time period that suits your preferences. This allows for more realistic objectives, higher success rates, and a longer period of stable trading.
CTI is currently one of the top-rated prop firms since it provides some of the greatest scaling programmes and educational opportunities in the sector, particularly in the United Kingdom.
To demonstrate your proficiency as a forex funded trader, you must successfully complete an evaluation process based on the guidelines provided by the prop firm. Once you have complied with all the standards, you will be eligible to receive funding with a higher capitalization. The ability to utilise the higher money provided to you is one of the funded trader program’s greatest benefits.
CTI offers traders four different programs to choose from:
- Day trading funding program accounts
- Standard evaluation funding program accounts
- Classic evaluation funding program accounts
- Direct funding program accounts
The Challenge Funding Program
The challenge funded trader programme is for traders who wish to quickly increase their earnings by joining a prop firm. They have designed this programme with the intention of encouraging consistently winning traders to stay with CTI for the long term.
The 10% drawdown can increase your profit by allowing you to take on more risk. Profitable traders are rewarded by having the chance to receive a 100% profit share. To help you get funded more quickly, they give you 45 trading periods rather than 30 on the first phase.
Phase 1
Take the first step toward becoming a CTI Funded Trader by putting your forex trading talents to the test during phase 1.
Phase 2
By demonstrating your abilities to them in this second step, you can earn a spot in the Prop Trading Firm and get a funded account.
CTI Trader
Gain up to 100% Profit Share by continuously trading profitably with this prop trading service.
| Objectives | Phase I | Phase II |
|---|---|---|
| Max Time Limit | 45 Days | 45 Days |
| Min Active Trading Days | 10 Days | 10 Days |
| Max Daily Drawdown | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| Max Absolute Drawdown | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| The Profit Target | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| Free Retake | – | Yes |
| Refund | – | Yes |
Objectives
- Day Trading Funding Program 11
- Max Time Limit: 45 + 45 Days
- Min Active Trading Days: 10 + 10 Days
- The Profit Target: 10% + 5%
- Max Daily Drawdown: 4%
- Max Absolute Drawdown: 10%
- The Profit Split: Up to 100%
- Account Growth Plan: Tier 1 | Tier 2
- Trading Symbols: Forex, Indices, Commodities
Rules
- Weekend Trading: Yes
- Overnight Trading: Yes
- News Trading: Yes
- Account Growth: 30%
- Stop Loss: Required
- Leverage: 1:33
Standard Evaluation
The CTI standard evaluation program has no daily drawdown, no relative drawdown and weekly payouts. You can select an Evaluation plan to get started as a Funded Trader, or select one of the Direct Funding options to avoid the evaluation entirely.
Everyone who wants simple and clear funding with nearly no restrictions on performance should choose the Standard Funded Trader Program. At 9%, the evaluation goals are some of the lowest in the sector. You simply need to finish this evaluation in order to become a portfolio manager. It is the quickest route to funding.
If you meet the requirements to manage a portfolio, you could be paid 400% of the evaluation’s initial balance. Have fun being flexible and free from restrictions that would limit your accomplishment. Every 10% goal will double your account.
Rules
- Evaluation Time Limit: Up to 6 Months
- Min Active Trading Days: 30 ATD
- Stop Loss Risk: 1.5% Per Position
- Max Loss: 5% Absolute Drawdown
| Evaluation | 17.5K | 12.5K | 10K | 5K | 2.5K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Time Limit | 180 Days | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 |
| Min Active Trading Days | 30 Days | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Max Overall Drawdown | 5% from the initial account balance | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
| The Profit Target | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
| Profit Split | Up to 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Portfolio Manager | 70K | 50K | 40K | 20K | 10K |
| Account Growth | x2 for every 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% |
Classic Evaluation
The CTI classic evaluation program is similar to the standard evaluation with the comfort of a 1-year evaluation time along with weekly payout. They will boost your account capital size by 400% once you qualify.
Rules
- Evaluation Time Limit: Up to 12 Months
- Min Active Trading Days: 30 ATD
- Stop Loss Risk: 1.5% Per Position
- Max Loss: 5% Relative Drawdown
| Evaluation | 17.5K | 12.5K | 10K | 5K | 2.5K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Time Limit | 365 Days | 365 | 365 | 365 | 365 |
| Min Active Trading Days | 30 Days | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Max Overall Drawdown | 5% from the high watermark | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
| The Profit Target | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
| Profit Split | Up to 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Portfolio Manager | 70K | 50K | 40K | 20K | 10K |
| Account Growth | x2 for every 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% |
Direct Funding
You can skip the evaluation process completely with the direct funding program. This is for professional traders who are looking to save time and receive weekly payout without needing to go through the evaluation phase. It does require you to have an excellent trading strategy with good money management and low drawdowns.
Rules
- Max Loss: 5% Absolute Drawdown
- Stop Loss Risk: 1.5% Per Position
- Trading Symbols: Forex, Indices, Commodities
| Portfolio Manager | 70K | 50K | 40K | 20K | 10K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Time Limit | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Min Active Trading Days | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Max Overall Drawdown | 5% from starting balance | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
| The Profit Target | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Profit Split | Up to 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Account Growth | x2 for every 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% | x2 / 10% |
Monthly Salary
In order to reward sponsored traders who demonstrated superior risk management during phases 1 and 2, they award them a monthly remuneration. Each of the top 3 performers is paid a monthly salary and may be funded with up to 100% of the profits. When you complete the first and second phases of the $50K or $100K Challenge, you will immediately be registered. The top 3 winners will be the only ones to learn the monthly income at this level because it is confidential.
Trading Strategies
With CTI you can use any trading strategy at any time of day. Their forex funded account allows you to place transactions during the news and leave them open over the weekend and overnight.
Expert Advisors
Automated trading with expert advisors (EAs) is also permitted with some caveats. You can trade using algorithms or EAs if you created the algorithm yourself or purchased a prop firm EA that you employ yourself.
The identical trades are occasionally executed on two or more accounts simultaneously when an EA is purchased online and used by numerous traders. This practise is known as copy trading or “mirrored trading activity.” As CTI seeks to spread its risk by having traders trade using several strategies, this practise is forbidden.
CTI prohibits the use of Martingale, High-Frequency Trading (HFT), Ultra-Fast Scalping, Latency Arbitrage Trading, Any Tick Scalping Strategies, any Copy Trading of other person signals, any Reverse Arbitrage Trading, any Hedge Arbitrage Trading, and the use of any emulators.
Withdrawals
Receive weekly payment for all profits generated. While none of the profits will have an impact on the account’s growth, they will all compound toward the ultimate Profit Target goal.
Hedging
Hedging positions is not an issue. However, you should be aware that hedging positions does not minimise risk. Every open position is still regarded as a new one.
Copy Trading
Only copy trading from your own trading account is permitted; you must afterwards present evidence of this by comparing the MT5 statement of the trading account you are copying with the trading account you manage for them. You must be able to show them that just “you” and not anyone else can trade on the account.
Disqualification
If you exceed your maximum loss on any of the funding alternatives (Classic, Standard, Portfolio Managers & Direct Funding) as described in each Funded Trader Program’s Terms and Conditions, you will be automatically disqualified.
Stop Loss
CTI need you to establish a stop loss on every trade inside the MT5 Terminal because statistical evidence shows that traders who don’t employ stop losses never succeed in the market.
Any transactions finished without a stop loss will not count toward the target or your 30 Active Trading Days, and any profits gained without employing a stop loss would not be eligible. If this happens, the risk management system will flag these trades as violations.
Free Retake
The worst scenario is that you succeed in the first challenge, “Assessment Phase I,” but later lose money, forcing you to restart. So long as you fulfil the criteria below, they will give you one free retake.
- Lost on “Qualification Phase II” in the second phase.
- In the second phase of qualification, you were in net profit.
- Haven’t transgressed any Day Trading FTP regulations.
Discount
If you purchase your next challenge within 24 hours of your last challenge failure, you will be eligible for a 20% discount if you fail the first challenge’s “Assessment Phase I.”
You are eligible for a 10% discount on your subsequent challenge if you purchase the challenge after 24 hours have passed.
Profit Target
Phase I’s profit target is 10% of the starting amount, and Phase II’s profit target is 5%.
The Eligible Net Profit after all positions and outstanding orders have been closed constitutes the Profit Target.
To assess the account at the conclusion of each phase, all Market and Pending Orders must be closed once the Profit Target has been reached.
The total of all positions excluding any trades that were closed in profit without a stop loss makes up the Eligible Net Profit. This is necessary since failing to employ a stop loss violates the funding terms and conditions.
Profit Split
You will receive a 70% Profit Split on the first 15% Net Profit you make on the Live account once you have completed Phases 1 and 2 of the Challenge. Then an 80% Profit split will be applied moving forward.
- They will provide you a 90% Profit Split after you are accepted into Tier 1.
- They will offer you a 100% Profit Split after you are approved for Tier 2.
To qualify for a 90% Profit Split “Tier 1”, you must meet the following objectives:
- Achieve 10% or more within 4 consecutive months (average of 2.5% per month).
- 2 out of 4 consecutive months were profitable.
- You also must have processed at least 2 withdrawals within those 4 months on the 80% Profit Split.
- Your account balance must be positive at the end of the 4th month
- Every 4 months is considered 1 cycle, with the 1st cycle starting on the date of issuing the account.
To qualify for a 100% Profit Split “Tier 2”, you must scale up your account three times (repeat Tier 1 three times).
Active Days
Both Phase I and Phase II must be completed in at least 10 days.
Calendar days are not a part of the Active Trading Days. When you open a new trade on a new day, that day is referred to as an active trading day, or ATD.
One active trading day, for instance, would be defined as initiating a trade on Monday and closing it on Thursday. The trade’s opening day, not its full life, is what matters.
In a similar vein, a day where you open 2 or more deals on counts as 1 active trading day.
As a result, you must open at least 10 transactions on 10 distinct days for each phase in order to meet the goal of having a minimum number of active trading days.
You must keep track of these active trading days, thus they give you access to an exclusive Metrix EA, which you can install on your MT5, to keep track of how many active trading days you have already accrued and how many are still needed to complete this task.
Drawdowns
Maximum Daily Drawdown
The Maximum Loss cannot, on any given day, be greater than or equal to 4% of the opening account balance. Any swaps, commissions, and spreads are included in the Max Daily Drawdown. Every day at midnight Broker’s Time, the Max Daily Drawdown is reset.
- MDD = 4% x Initial Account Balance
- And your Daily Stopout Level “DSL”, would be
- Daily Stopout Level “DSL” = Start of Day Account Balance – (4% x Initial Account Balance)
For example, Let’s assume
- You started with a $50K Challenge with an initial account balance of $50,000.
- On day 3, your account balance was $54,000.
On that same day,
- Your Max Daily Drawdown “MDD” would be $50,000 x 4% = $2,000.
- Your Daily Stopout Level “DSL” would be $54,000 – $2,000 = $52,000.
Maximum Absolute Drawdown
The “Max Absolute Drawdown” is a fixed USD loss that you might incur on any given day, determined from the initial account amount.
In this instance, 10% of the initial account balance is designated as the Max Absolute Drawdown.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that the Max Absolute Drawdown was created to keep your losses to a specific portion of your starting account balance. In this instance, your losses may not total more than 10% of the opening balance of your account.
Your challenge or funded account would be cancelled, for instance, if your account balance fell to $45,000 or less, breaching the Max Absolute Drawdown.
In order to prevent account cancellation, it is crucial to control your risk and refrain from going over the Max Absolute Drawdown restriction.
- Max Absolute Drawdown “MAD” = 10% x Initial Account Balance.
- And your stopout level, “SL”, would be.
- Stopout Level “SL” = Initial Account Balance – (4% x Initial Account Balance).
Let’s say your initial account balance is $50,000, and your stopout level would be $50,000 – ($50,000 x 10%) = $45,000.
Scaling
The City Traders Imperium scaling strategies are designed to provide traders with more so that they can work with CTI in the long run. Once you are eligible for the Tier 2 Funding, CTI will reward you for being a profitable trader with more financed capital and a higher profit share of up to 100% profit.
Each time you meet the requirements for account growth, they will increase the size of your account by 30% of the First Account Balance.
- Your account will increase for the $10,000 Challenge in increments of $10,000 x 30% = $3,000.
- Your account will increase in $25,000 x 30% ($7,500) increments for the $25,000 Challenge.
- Your account will increase for the $50,000 Challenge in increments of $50,000 x 30% = $15,000.
To scale up you must qualify for Tier 1 level where:
- You achieve 10% or more within 4 consecutive months (average of 2.5% per month).
- 2 out of 4 consecutive months were profitable.
- You also must have processed at least 2 withdrawals within those 4 months on the 80% Profit Split.
- Your account balance must be positive at the end of the 4th month.
- Every 4 months is considered 1 cycle, with the 1st cycle starting on the date of issuing the account.
Scaling Plans
Scaling plans for standard and traditional evaluation funding programme accounts are included in the table below. The only prerequisite for scaling your account is to hit a profit target of 10%. When you accomplish your profit goal, you are able to scale your account. You should also take into mind the fact that your withdrawals won’t prevent your account from growing. When your overall profits hit the 10% profit threshold, your account will become eligible for scaling.
| Account size | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 | Phase 5 | Phase 6 | Phase 7 | Phase 8 | Phase 9 |
| $2,500 | $10,000 | $20,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 | $160,000 | $320,000 | $640,000 | $1,120,000 | $2,000,000 |
| $5,000 | $20,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 | $160,000 | $320,000 | $640,000 | $1,120,000 | $2,000,000 | – |
| $10,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 | $160,000 | $320,000 | $640,000 | $1,120,000 | $2,000,000 | – | – |
| $12,500 | $50,000 | $100,000 | $200,000 | $400,000 | $800,000 | $1,120,000 | $2,000,000 | – | – |
| $17,500 | $70,000 | $140,000 | $280,000 | $560,000 | $1,120,000 | $2,000,000 | – | – | – |
Timeframes
There are no minimum trading days or time limits to reach the 10% profit target on your portfolio manager account since CTI wants you to trade at your own speed and without any restrictions.
Closing all open positions and requesting a withdrawal and account upgrade by email should be done whenever you hit the 10% profit threshold.
Your account will be upgraded to the following PM level and CTI will pay you the profit-sharing proportion in accordance with your PM level.
Leverage
With both account types, you are allowed to trade with leverage of up to 1:10, meaning that if you invest $10, you can purchase $100 worth of securities.
Payments
You will be allowed to request withdrawals after you have your Live Account if you meet any of the two requirements below:
- 1 month following the execution of your initial trade
- Achieved a profit of at least 15%.
You can send them a request to review the performance of the funded account if you reach 15% in net profit and close all trades. In the event that you are qualified, they will process your profit sharing and give you a newly funded account. You are free to go on trading after this initial check.
Education
You can find some helpful educational resources on the CTI website. There are some cool trading strategies for inspiration along with some handy trading guides to help you become a better trader and fundamental analysis from market experts which can give trade ideas. Whilst these are easy to understand and suitable for traders of all experience levels, they do cost extra.
- Trade ideas given weekly across Currencies, Indices, Metals, and Commodities (£1,000 Value).
- Weekly Market Recap videos every Sunday (£150 Value).
- Weekly Technical and Fundamental breakdown webinars (£250 Value).
- Weekly data reports and political events provided (£150 Value).
- Market updates throughout the week on market activity (£250 Value).
- World events broken down and simplified w/ trading opportunities (£999 Value).
Community
You can meet other prop traders, discuss strategies and learn from each other in the City Traders Imperium community.
Prop Firm Mentoring
The company help to expedite your development and give you the tools you need to develop consistency so that you can trade with confidence and consistency. With the appropriate approach, they can assist you in passing any Funded Trader Program.
Platforms
City Traders Imperium use the MetaTrader (MT5) platform which is one of the most widely used trading platforms for both retail and professional traders. It is fully loaded with all of the trading tools that you need for conducing in-depth market analysis and making informed decisions. You can study multiple charts across various timeframes, place and manage trades.
Instruments
This prop firm lets you trade forex, commodities and stock indices. There is a good choice of financial instruments if you are looking to trade forex, gold and silver, but you might feel restricted if you are looking to trade individual stocks.
Spreads
CTI spreads are very low, with the EUR/USD spread starting from just 0.1 pips. Keep in mind that spreads can vary depending on the instrument which you are trading, time of day and current market volatility.
Dashboard
You will receive the CTI Proprietary Rules & Guidance Tool when you sign up, and you can add it immediately to your trading chart to track your progress during the Funded Trader Program and prevent breaking any rules.
Free Trial
You can get a free City Traders Imperium trial where you can test the platforms, spreads, commissions and execution speeds. On this account, you can place trades that replicate the trading conditions of the funding programme. To prevent a rules breach from occurring, they have disabled all rules for this account which can make it difficult if you are trying to make sure you stay within the requirements.
| Maximum capital | $4,000,000 |
| Profit split | Up to 100% |
| Scaling | Yes |
| News trading | Yes |
| Weekend trading | Yes |
| Automated trading | Yes |
| Free trial | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:10 |
In conclusion, City Traders Imperium is a respectable proprietary trading company that gives investors a chance to select from four distinct financing options: direct funding, day trading, standard evaluation, and classic assessment.
Day trading programmes are an industry-standard two-phase evaluation challenge that must be completed in order to be financed and qualified to get weekly profit splits. Before becoming financed, CTI demands traders to meet profit targets of 10% in phase one and 5% in phase two, which are reasonable trading goals given that you must adhere to 4% daily and 10% maximum loss regulations. With day trading programmes, you can scale your accounts and receive profit splits of up to 100%.
You have a variety of account sizes to choose from with conventional applications. Before you can begin making money on a weekly basis with the one-step assessment account, you must achieve a profit target of 9% over a minimum trading duration of 30 days and a maximum trading time of 6 months.
You have a variety of account sizes to choose from with traditional programmes. Before you can begin making money on a weekly basis with the one-step assessment account, you must achieve a profit target of 7% over a minimum trading duration of 30 days and a maximum trading time of 1 year.
With direct funding programmes, you can forego the trial period and start trading right away while collecting weekly profit splits. There are no time restrictions; all that is required of you are the third-party copy trading risk and third-party EA risk regulations, as well as the maximum loss limit, necessary stop-loss, stop-loss risk per position, and required stop-loss. You can get a 70% profit split through direct funding schemes, and by growing your account balance, you can get up to a 100% split.
Anyone seeking for a prop firm with simple trading guidelines might consider CTI. They are a reputable proprietary trading company that gives a large group of people with various trading philosophies exceptional circumstances. After taking into account all CTI has to offer, it is clear that they are among the top prop firms.
What payment methods are available?
What happens when I sign up?
Is there a free trial?
Can I leave trades open over the weekend?
Can I trade during the news?
CTI are aware of how frustrating it can be to be unable to trade when the market is volatile. As a result, they provide you the freedom to trade without limitations during any low, medium, or high-impact news event.
Can I use expert advisors (EA’s)?
Do CTI allow hedging?
What happens if you violate any of the funding rules?
What are the rules for immediate disqualification?
What is the starting day of the challenge?
How many challenges I can take?
What is the maximum funded capital per trader?
Can you merge accounts?
Do you have to stay the full 45 days to complete the challenge?
No. The 45 days is the max time allowed per challenge. As soon as you meet all the other requirements, you will move to the next step, given there are no violations.
