A guide to the Nordic Funder program rules

As a prop trading firm, we trade our (proprietary) capital to generate profit. However, not every trade can be profitable, and not every trader can be profitable. Just like how traders should use a stop loss on each trade, we put a stop loss on every trader, which is the basis of our funded trader program rules. 

We have two strict risk management rules that, when violated, result in the disqualification of traders participating in an assessment or the funded trader program – we call these limits. We also have other conditions which result in positions being automatically closed, but they do not result in disqualification. 

Please read these rules carefully, as Nordic Funder applies very different rules from other prop firms. Many traders fail unnecessarily for simply not reading our rules. For example, we scale every trading account by multiplying your capital every time you reach the profit target, and we use a 10% max trailing loss. 

🎯 Target: Reach 10% profit

Make 10% profit and qualify for funding or scaling.

To pass the assessment and qualify for funding or to scale your account, you must achieve a 10% profit. For example, if you start with $100,000, you need to increase your equity to $110,000 by generating a $10,000 profit.

There are no restrictions on how quick or long you take to pass. The only requirement is to avoid becoming inactive, which we define as not opening, closing or modifying a trade in 30 consecutive days.

⚠️ When your equity has increased by 10%, our risk monitoring system will automatically liquidate your positions, and you’ll have passed the assessment or qualify for additional funding.

🛑 Limit: 5% Max Daily Loss

Your equity can’t fall below 5% of your previous end-of-day balance.

The max daily loss limit determines the maximum amount your account can lose on any given day. Your max daily loss limit is based on the value of your account balance at the end of the previous day, which is 21:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Therefore, the max daily loss limit is adjusted daily at 21:00.

Example: If your end-of-day balance on Monday was $102,000, your account equity cannot fall below $96,900 on Tuesday. Now, suppose your end-of-day balance on Tuesday was $99,000; your account equity cannot fall below $94,050 on Wednesday. 

⚠️ If your account equity falls 5% below your previous EOD balance, your positions will be liquidated, and you will be disqualified. 

🛑 Limit: 10% Max Trailing Loss

Your equity can’t fall below 10% of the starting balance from the high watermark.

The max trailing loss limit determines the maximum amount your account can lose at any point. The max trailing loss limit trails the high watermark of your account, which is increased whenever your balance increases. As the name suggests, the high watermark does not decrease with losses; it only increases when your account balance reaches a new all-time high.

Example: If your initial balance is $100,000, you max loss limit is $10,000, which trails your high watermark. If you close your first trade with a $500 profit, your high watermark becomes $100,500. Therefore, you cannot lose more than 10% of $100,000; your account equity cannot fall below $90,500.

⚠️ If your account equity falls 10% of the staring balance below your high watermark, your positions will be liquidated, and you will be disqualified.

🚧 Condition: Mandatory Stop Loss

*You are required to add a stop loss to every order.

By default, you are required to use a stop loss with every order. However, we recognise this can be restrictive to some trading styles. Therefore, this condition can be disabled by purchasing a voluntary add-on when building your assessment. It costs an additional 10% to disable the mandatory stop loss condition.

⚠️ Failure to set a stop loss before a trade is opened will result in automatic closure, which can cause unnecessary losses due to spreads and commissions.

🚧 Condition: Max Open Lots

Trade lot sizes that are proportional to your account size and leverage.

Each account has an exposure limit, which is expressed as a number of lots rather than a notional value. Suppose your max open lots limit is 10; you would be limited to 2 lots of EURUSD, 2 lots of XAUUSD, 2 lots of UKOIL, 2 lots of UK100 and 2 lots of US500, which is collectively 10 lots. 

You can view the maximum lot size for your account on the Nordic Funder Portal. Remember that the max number of lots you can open is purely a risk management rule and does not necessarily mean you can open that many lots due to the available margin in your account.

One exception to this rule is if any position becomes profitable, you can eliminate the risk by protecting those profits with a stop loss at break-even or profit. In this case, they no longer contribute to your max lot allowance.

Example: If you have a $100,000 account with 10:1 leverage, you can open a maximum of 10 lots at any given time. Suppose you open 10 one-lot positions of US500, and two positions become profitable; if you set a stop loss at break even on two positions, you could open two more positions, making your number of open lots 12. Suppose you remove the stop loss from one position; in this case, you exceed the max open lots, and one position will be liquidated.

⚠️ If you open positions that exceed the allowed lot size, all the positions will be automatically closed, which can cause unnecessary losses due to spreads and commissions.

🚧 Condition: No Weekend Positions

*Your account must be flat before 21:30 GMT each Friday.

By default, you are required to close all your positions before the weekend. However, we understand this can be counterproductive to position trading strategies, which hold trades for several days. Therefore, this condition can be disabled by purchasing a voluntary add-on when building your assessment. It costs an additional 10% to disable the requirement to close all positions before the weekend.

Example: If you open a position on Monday, you can hold that position until Friday. You can manually close your position any time on Friday, provided it’s before the 20:30 GMT cut-off time. At 20:30, all positions will be liquidated.

⚠️ Any open positions at 21:30 GMT on Friday shall be closed automatically at the current market price.

🚧 Condition: Inactivity

We have inactivity rules to ensure the funds we allocate to our remote traders are put to good use. If you do not trade for 30 consecutive days, you will fail the assessment, or your funding will be revoked. Similarly, if you do not pass the assessment or receive a profit share payment in 6 months, you will also fail the assessment, or your funding will be revoked.