How to Pass the FTMO Challenge?
If you are looking to make a living as a prop trader, then you might want to know how to pass the FTMO challenge. This will give you access to a funded trading account where you can get a generous profit share and scale up to over $2,000,000. In this article, we will explore ways in which successful traders have passed the FTMO challenge to help you improve your chances.
What Is the FTMO Challenge?
FTMO is a proprietary trading firm that funds traders who successfully complete their two-step evaluation process. The challenge and verification portions of the course help determine whether the trader has the skills necessary to be given up to $400,000 to trade with by the company, and as a trader, you will keep up to 90% of the profits you make. Traders who complete the program successfully are given the opportunity to join the FTMO prop firm.
Why Take Part in the FTMO Challenge?
The main reason aspiring prop traders try to pass the FTMO challenge is because it can give them an opportunity to trade a substantial amount of capital that they would otherwise not have access to. There are many good traders out there who have winning strategies but feel restricted because they are lacking that initial investment. FTMO cannot fund everyone, which is why the FTMO challenge is necessary for them to discover only the most consistent and profitable traders. It is a win-win situation for both the prop firm and trader as each get their fair share of the profits.
| Maximum capital | $2,000,000 |
| Profit split | Up to 90% |
| Scaling | Yes |
| News trading | Yes |
| Weekend trading | Yes |
| Automated trading | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes |
| Maximum leverage | 1:100 |
Many traders choose FTMO because they are widely regarded as one of the best prop trading firms in the industry, with very reasonable conditions, achievable targets and a great reputation for operating in an open and transparent manner. This is vitally important in an industry where many prop firms claim to give you a funded account but will make up all sort of rules to try and trip you up. When you pass the FTMO challenge, you can be sure that you will receive funds as promised.
Who Can Pass the FTMO Challenge?
Anyone with an internet connection and a passion for trading can take part in and pass the FTMO challenge. If you have some prior trading experience, that would be ideal. This means you should find the challenge objectives realistic and have no problem passing provided you stick to your trading plan and use sensible money management. You can always use a trading strategy that you have been having success with.
On the other hand, even if you are a novice trader you can still learn how to pass the FTMO challenge by following the experiences of other prop traders. That way you can see the mistakes they made and understand what worked for them. You can also take advantage of the FTMO educational resources along with the countless free and paid trading guides and tutorial that you will find online.
Why Do Traders Fail the FTMO Challenge?
You may have already failed the FTMO challenge or know someone has. Perhaps you are planning to take the challenge and want to be as prepared as possible. Either way, here are a few ways in which traders fail the FTMO challenge:
- Poor money management
- Forbidden trading strategies
- Breach trading rules and conditions
- Do not meet the challenge objectives
- Try to cheat the system
How Many Fail the FTMO Challenge?
FTMO have mentioned that an astonishing 92% of traders fail their challenge. Whilst this might sound like a large amount, it is of no surprise. After all, the majority of retail traders fail even when trading using their own funds. Trading is very difficult and can take many years of practice to master.
You need to be able to dedicate time to learn about the financial markets and practice your trading strategies. Too many novice traders jump straight into the challenge because they are blinded by the dollar signs and don’t realize just how hard it can be to pass the FTMO challenge, especially when you are not well prepared.
Best Ways to Pass the FTMO Challenge
There are many different ways in which you can pass the FTMO challenge. The route that you take is going to depend on your trading strategy and experience level. You might want to try and pass the challenge with an existing strategy that you have. If you don’t have the trading skills or time required to learn how to trade, you might consider using an FTMO expert advisor to trade automatically for you. Whichever way you decide is best for you, here are some tips to give you the best chance of passing the FTMO challenge.
- Avoid risky grid trading and martingale strategies
- Don’t breach the trading rules and conditions
- Make sure you achieve the profit targets within time
- Stay within the maximum loss and drawdown rules
- Don’t use a prop firm passing service
- Have a trading plan and sticks t
Good money management
The stop loss and take profit used can be the difference between a winning and losing strategy. You should have sensible money management if you want to pass the FTMO challenge. With a favourable risk to reward ratio, you will avoid one bad trade cancelling out a run of winner. FTMO give you clear guidelines on the maximum loss and drawdown allowed, so you should ensure that you take these into consideration when planning your position size and stop loss levels.
Proven trading strategies
There are literally countless different trading strategies that you can use. This can range from something simple like a moving average crossover to something more complex that utilises a combination of price action analysis, technical indicators and economic news events. Whatever strategy you choose, you will want to make sure it is consistent and does not breach the FTMO terms. Any strategy should be able to work on a live account just as it does on a demo account.
Focus on your targets
The FTMO challenge has very achievable targets. You don’t need to reach them in one trade and are given plenty of time to pass the challenge. You should take your time so that you can remain focused on your trading without feeling stressed out which can lead to silly mistakes. Just make sure that you plan carefully and take entries that fit within your trading plan. Try to avoid negative emotions which can impact your performance such as fear, anger and greed.
Demo trading account
A demo trading account is a great way to practice your trading strategies and work on your trading plan. You can build up your discipline and learn how to control your emotions, which can prepare you for trading in a real environment. Once you start to see some consistent results and feel confident enough, you can then try to pass the FTMO challenge using everything that you have learned from demo trading.
Expert advisors (EAs)
Expert advisors or EAs for short, are fully automated trading system that can analyse the markets using a unique trading algorithm. You simply place them on the charts in your trading platform and when they find a valid signal, they can take and manage a position on your behalf. This makes them a popular choice for passing the FTMO challenge for beginners. There are prop firm EAs that have been specifically programmed with passing prop firm challenges in mind. They have settings which you can adjust to make sure you stay on course to achieve the required objectives.
How Fast Can You Pass the FTMO Challenge?
To be honest, if you are thinking about how quickly you can pass the FTMO challenge and get a funded account, then it might not be for you. There are no quick fixes when it comes to making a living from prop trading online. That being said, the minimum trading days required by FTMO is 10 trading days. This means that you need to trade for at least 10 days, not open one trade and leave it for 10 days just to try and pass the challenge.
FTMO Pros & Cons
Final Thoughts
There are many ways to pass the FTMO challenge and get funded account, some better than others. It is better to use a trading strategy which is sustainable and can be used for the long-term. If you are looking for a quick way to pass and use a risky or forbidden strategy, you could find yourself failing the challenge for being in breach of the terms and not meeting the required targets.
FTMO are a prop firm that want to fund the best prop traders with proven strategies who are consistent and implement good money management principles. They give you access to significant capital with a generous 90% profit share and take on all of the risks. For those reasons, it is worth taking the time to ensure that you can successfully pass the FTMO challenge with flying colours.
