Phoenix Trader Funding Review 2024

Phoenix Trader Funding Review 2024

Phoenix Trader Funding is a new futures proprietary firm based in Paris, France, their mission is to rise up to the competitive futures prop firm world by empowering aspiring prop traders to launch their careers with a comprehensive program that combines simulated accounts, real market access, and lucrative profit-sharing opportunities.

With a structured funding program for aspiring futures traders and a focus on risk management, Phoenix Trader Funding offers a risk-free environment with a practice account before stepping into the live market with a flexible 1-Step evaluation and account funding options of up to $150,000. The prop firm also offers a generous profit share of 90% generated on funded accounts.

Challenge Account

Phoenix Trader Funding offers 2 Challenge options both on a 1 Step evaluation and one practice challenge to get yourself familiar with the platform and you trading strategy before start your Classic or Ascencion Challenge and get funded. 

Practice Account

Phoenix Trader Funding offers practice accounts to help you train for their funded challenges. Here’s a breakdown of key points:

• Purpose: Simulate real trading experience without risking real capital.
• Access: Included with every challenge purchase.

Features:

• Mirrors challenge account properties (starting balance, max position size, profit goal, drawdown limits).
• Free resets after failed attempts (unlimited).
• Cannot be funded: Serves purely for training.

Disconnected from challenges: Performance in practice accounts doesn’t affect challenges and vice versa.

Cost: Free with a challenge purchase.

Practice accounts are a valuable tool to familiarize yourself with the platform, test trading strategies, and prepare for the risk management requirements of the funded challenges.

Trial Breakdown :

Classic Challenge

The Classic Challenge is Phoenix Trader Funding most popular option (marked as “BEST SELLER”). Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

• Account Sizes: Offered in three tiers: $50k, $100k, and $150k starting balance.
• Profit Target: You need to achieve a profit goal of $3,000, $6,000, or $9,000 depending on the account size you choose.
• You will need to pay the activation fee of $149 but it will be refunded on your first payout. 

Risk Management:

• Trailing Drawdown: A limit on how much your account value can decline from its highest point. It’s set at $2,000, $3,000, or $4,500 respectively.
• No Daily Drawdown: There’s no restriction on intraday losses.

Trading Requirements:

• Minimum Trading Days: You need to trade for at least 3 days.
• Max Contracts: You can use a maximum of 5, 10, or 15 contracts depending on the account size.
• Fees: A monthly fee of $49, $99, or $149 applies based on the account size.
• Real-time Data: Included for live market access.

Ascension Challenge Overview

The Ascension Challenge is another program offered by Phoenix Trader Funding, positioned as an alternative to their “Classic Challenge” with trailing drawdown. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

Core Concept: This program removes the “trailing drawdown” rule, a common risk management tool in funded accounts. Instead, it focuses on fixed daily drawdown limits and scaling plans.

Key Rules:

• Maximum Position Size:
• No strict contract limit, but exceeding the account’s maximum position size for more than 10 seconds leads to disqualification.
• They trust your judgment on managing risk but have tools to monitor compliance.
• Activation fee of $149 will be directly deducted on your first payout.

Daily Drawdown:

• Each account has a daily drawdown limit that varies based on the “Scaling plan”.
• Exceeding this limit fails the challenge.
• Placing stop-loss orders is highly recommended.

Account Options:

$50k Challenge:

   Profit Goal: $4,000
   Daily Drawdown: $625 – $1,125 (depending on scaling plan)
   Max Position Size: 2 – 3 contracts (depending on scaling plan)
   Monthly Fee: $270

$150k Challenge:

   Profit Goal: $10,000
   Daily Drawdown: $1,250 – $2,250 (depending on scaling plan)
   Max Position Size: 3 – 5 contracts (depending on scaling plan)
   Monthly Fee: $540

The Ascension Challenge offers an alternative to the “Classic Challenge” with a focus on daily drawdown limits and avoiding excessive position sizing. It can be appealing to traders who dislike trailing drawdowns but require discipline in daily risk management.

If you miss your evaluation, if you exceed your maximum drawdown, you have 2 choices:

• Wait for your account to be renewed the following month. If your account fails at renewal, Phoenix Trader Funding ‘ll reset it at no extra charge.
• Pay a $85 reset fee (available on your dashboard), and your account will be reset instantly. There is no limit to the number of times an account can be reset.

The amount of the reset does not depend on the initial size of the account. Whether you attempted a challenge of $50K or $150K, the amount of the reset will always be $85.

Rules

Here are the rules you must follow for your challenge to be validated.

Minimum Trading Activity:

• Classic: To qualify, you need to achieve at least 3 winning trading days within the challenge period. Each winning day requires a profit of $200 or more.
• Ascension: This account type requires a minimum of 10 trading days of activity, regardless of individual day profits.

Why the Difference?

When Phoenix funds your trading account, they take on financial risk. To manage this risk responsibly, they need to assess your trading skills and risk management practices.

• Classic: Focusing on winning days ensures your strategy has the potential for profitability.
• Ascension: Requiring 10 days of activity allows Phoenix to observe your strategy execution over a longer period.

Completing the Ascension Challenge Early

Some traders might attempt to “game” the system by scalping micro-contracts to meet the 10-day minimum. This practice,known as “Funding Zone,” is strictly prohibited.

What Happens if You Use “Funding Zone”?

While it won’t disqualify you entirely, any days achieved through this technique won’t count towards your minimum.You’ll still need to trade for at least 10 days using your regular strategy, even if you’ve already reached the profit goal.

In short: Both Classic and Ascension accounts require minimum trading activity. Classic focuses on winning days, while Ascension prioritizes overall strategy execution observed over a longer period.

The 30% Rule

Phoenix Trader Funding is committed to providing you with the tools and insights needed to succeed. The 30% rule, similar to the 10-day trading requirement, is designed to offer valuable data on your trading ability. Let’s break it down:

This rule applies only to Ascension challenges and Funded accounts, whatever the challenge.

This rule ensures consistency in your trading strategy. Throughout your challenge, no single trading day’s profit should exceed 30% of your total cumulative profits.

Imagine you choose a $100,000 challenge account and start trading:

• Day 1: +$460
• Day 2: +$3,540
• Day 3: +$540
• Day 4: -$1,140
• Day 5: +$560
• Day 6: +$550
• Day 7: +$160
• Day 8: -$430
• Day 9: +$860
• Day 10: +$560

By Day 10, you’ve earned a total profit of $5,660, seemingly meeting the challenge target of $6,000. However, Day 2’s profit of $3,540 represents 62.54% of your total gains, exceeding the 30% limit. This means your challenge is not immediately validated.

This doesn’t signify failure. You just need to ensure the Day 2 profit dips below 30% of your overall profit.

Continuing the example:

• Day 11: +$760
• Day 12: +$960
• Day 13: -$335
• Day 14: +$1,850
• Day 15: +$1,350
• Day 16: +$1,650

With a total profit of $11,895, Day 2’s profit now represents only 29.76%, satisfying the 30% rule. Congratulations, you’ve successfully completed this aspect of the challenge!

Key Points to Remember

• Making significant profits is encouraged! The goal is to achieve consistent profitability, not limit your earning potential.
• Surplus earnings generated during the challenge are not transferred to your funded account.
• The 30% rule applies to funded accounts as well. No single trading day’s profit should exceed 30% of your total profit for successful withdrawals.

From here, you can apply for a “Funded-Tier” account using Phoenix Trader Funding real capital. This selection process is competitive, and meeting the required results is crucial for approval. However, rejections are not setbacks. They provide valuable opportunities to refine your skills and re-apply after 30 days.

By understanding the 30% rule and consistently demonstrating your trading ability, you’ll be well-positioned to secure a funded account and launch your successful trading career with Phoenix Trader Funding.

Scalping

Scalping as such is only allowed under certain conditions.

These conditions are as follows:

• The strategy used must not exceed 200 trades/day.
• Trades must last at least 5 seconds.

 
Should you fail to comply with these rules, Phoenix Trader Funding will contact you first. If, after this initial contact, your strategy has not been adopted, Phoenix Trader Funding will be obliged to declare your challenge a failure.

Trading Accounts

Phoenix Trader Funding allow an unlimited number of challenges, but the number of Pre-Funded or Funded-Tier accounts is limited to 5.

This limit is non-negotiable and ensures that Phoenix Trader Funding maintains a certain seriousness and consistency with Phoenix Trader Funding Scaling programs.

Trading Hours

Trading is available during holidays and news periods from 6PM ET to 4:59PM ET

News Trading

Phoenix does not allow “Tier 1” news trading, you must not be in a position 2 minutes before the news until 2 minutes after. Unfortunately, trading major economic news often tends to be seen as gambling by those who practice it, which is not a problem in itself, but it’s not what Phoenix Trader Funding wants for Phoenix Trader Funding traders.

Consequently, any breach of the above-mentioned rule will result in disqualification of the account on which the offense was committed, regardless of whether it was a funded account or a challenge

Phoenix Trader Funding considers the following news to be “Tier 1”:

FOMC minutes – All products	1:00 PM CT
FOMC interest rate decision statement – All products	1:00 PM CT
Phoenix Trader Funding CPI  – All products	7:30 AM CT
Phoenix Trader Funding employment report  (Non-Farm Payrolls)  – All products	7:30 AM CT
Crude Oil Inventories (EIA) – Oil contracts only	9:30 AM CT / 10:00 AM CT*
Natural Gas Inventories (EIA) – Gas contracts only	9:30 AM CT
Crop production reports – Ags contacts only	11:00 AM CT

However, if you’d still like to try your hand at this type of trading, please note that it’s perfectly acceptable to trade on the Practice accounts supplied with your challenges and that this does not lead to account disqualification.

Funded-Tier

As soon as you have a “Pre-Funded” account, you can apply to upgrade it to a “Funded-Tier” account.

Just like when you apply for the scaling program, Phoenix Trader Funding will carry out a thorough analysis of each and every one of your trades. The aim here is to see whether you’ve actually followed a proven risk management strategy, or whether you’ve simply had a series of trades that were a little too lucky.

Very often, candidates fail at this stage because there’s always a problematic element, a trade that’s gone off the rails or something else that shows flaws in risk management.

If the analysis of your trades has been conclusive, Phoenix Trader Funding will arrange a meeting between you, the trader, and a member of the Phoenix team. This meeting is not a job interview, but a way for Phoenix Trader Funding to see your trading philosophy, your objectives, and your short- and long-term vision as Phoenix Trader Funding partner.

Trailing Drawdown

A trailing drawdown in trading is like a safety net for your money. Imagine you’re making money in a trade, and you want to make sure you don’t lose what you’ve earned if things start going down. So, you set a rule:

• If your profits start dropping and reach a certain point below their highest level, you’ll automatically sell to save most of your earnings.

• This rule moves up as you make more money, always staying a certain distance below your highest profit. It’s a way to keep some of your gains safe, even if the market starts to turn against you.

• This principle is applied not just to a single trade, but to your entire account.

For a better understanding, take a look at this graph showing the balance of an account over time (blue) and the trailing drawdown (orange).

If, at any point, the blue line falls below the orange line, the challenge has failed.

But that’s not all: there are 2 ways of calculating trailing drawdown:

• The unrealized PnL method: This method continually adjusts based on your highest unrealized profit and loss (PnL), the profit or loss you have on paper before closing your trade. The trailing drawdown is updated as your highest unrealized profit changes.

• End-of-day (EOD) trailing drawdown: Unlike the continuous adjustment of the unrealized PnL method, this method sets the trailing drawdown limit only once a day, at market close. It is based on the highest value in your account at the end of the trading day and remains unchanged throughout the following trading day, adjusting only after the market closes.

In short, while the Unrealized PnL method adjusts the drawdown continuously based on current profits and losses, the End-of-Day method recalibrates the drawdown only once a day, offering the trader a more stable approach and greater freedom.

At Phoenix, all challenges with a trailing drawdown are calculated using the End-Of-Day method. For a better understanding, let’s take Phoenix Trader Funding previous chart and add the unrealized balance (dark blue) and the trailing drawdown calculated according to unrealized profits (red).

If the “light” blue curve falls below the red curve on this graph, then the challenge has been missed. In other words, succeeding in a challenge under these conditions is much more complicated and offers the trader much less freedom.

All this may seem not very easy at first, but in the end, all you need to remember is that the EOD calculation method is by far the most advantageous for you. If you’re new to the markets, you’ll soon get the hang of trailing drawdown.

To cut a long story short, yes, the trailing drawdown is active once you’ve been pre-funded or funded, but only for a certain period. In fact, once your trailing drawdown exceeds your initial account balance +100$, it stops.

Let’s take another look at Phoenix Trader Funding chart, funded account:

Scaling Plan

Scaling Plan Ascension Accounts

Intra-challenge scaling is exclusive to Ascension accounts and to Phoenix as a whole.

Specifically, this plan modifies 2 variables: the maximum position size and the daily drawdown amount.

Modification of maximum position size

The $50K account:

When you start the challenge, the maximum number of contracts is 2 minis (20 micros). If you go beyond this limit, your challenge will be disqualified, per Phoenix Trader Funding rules. Once you’ve exceeded a net profit of $2500, your position size will increase to 3 minis (30 micros) until the end of the challenge.

Here’s a graphic that sums it all up:

The $150K account:

The 150K account is the direct continuation of the 50K account, but this time 2 changes are depending on the profits you generate. When the challenge begins, you have access to 3 mini contracts (30 micros), once you’ve made $2,000 in profit, the position rises to 4 mini contracts (40 micros), and finally, when you’ve made $6,000 in profit, the maximum position is raised to 5 contracts.

As for the 50k, here’s a chart that sums it all up :

Modification of the Daily Drawdown

The 50K account:

Daily drawdown is the other essential component of the intra-challenge scaling plan. As with the maximum position size, the daily drawdown of the 50k account is modified only once, when the account balance rises to $52,500.

Specifically, when you start the challenge, the Daily Drawdown is $625, and once you’ve generated over $2,500 in profit, this Daily Drawdown increases to $1125 for the remainder of the challenge.

The $150K account:

For the 150K account, the principle is the same, and 2 adjustments are made. The basic daily drawdown of the challenge is set at $1250, once you’ve generated $2000 in profit this increases to $1750 and once you’ve generated over $6000 in profit this increases to $2250 for the remainder of the challenge.

Scaling Plan Funded Account

One of the key aspects of Phoenix’s user experience is the scaling plan. Phoenix Trader Funding chose to direct traders towards static drawdown accounts, which are a much clearer reflection of the real trader’s job.

Here’s a detailed diagram of how the scaling plan works :

Payout Withdrawal

Profit Sharing

Phoenix Trader Funding have a very simple profit-split rule: you keep 80% of all your profits and Phoenix Trader Funding take 20%, at all times.

However, this ratio can be increased to 90/10, so you keep 90% of the profits if you have maintained a very high level of consistency for a minimum of 6 months. This process is subject to a manual account review.

Phoenix Trader Funding believes this profit is the fairest alternative for both you and Phoenix Trader Funding since Phoenix Trader Funding aims to trade with you, not against you like most propfirms.

Payout Rules

Please note that as Phoenix Trader Funding are constantly developing, payout rules are subject to change. You will be notified of any changes via Phoenix Trader Funding social networks or Phoenix Trader Funding Discord.

The current payout rules are as follows:

• You must have traded for at least 10 days in each payout request.

• The authorized number of payouts per month is 1. This number can be increased to 2 payouts per month upon request (at no additional cost). A manual review of your account will then be carried out within 72 hours.

• This account review will take into account your performance on the financed account and the challenge used to validate it. In the event of refusal, a new review may be carried out every 30 calendar days.

• In all cases, the 1st payout is available after 10 trading days on the funded account.

• The 30% consistency rule is still in force in the financed account. This means that between each payout, no day should exceed 30% of overall profits (taking the active balance at the last payout as a basis).

• The minimum amount for a payout is $500.

• The maximum payout amount is set at $2,000/payout, subject to a limit of 3 times the account’s total drawdown OR $6,000. Once this amount has been exceeded, a manual review of your account will be carried out and you will be transferred to a real account on Broker.

• To request a payout, your account must have at least $100 in profit remaining AFTER the payout. For example, if you want to withdraw $2,000 from a $100,000 account, you must have a balance of $102,100. This measure is designed to provide you with a “safety net” after your payout.

• Phoenix Trader Funding have chosen Payoneer as Phoenix Trader Funding payment processor for bank transfers.

• Phoenix Trader Funding process cryptocurrency transfers in-house

Platforms

Currently, your accesses allow you to trade with more than 20 trading platforms, more precisely you can trade on :

• QScalp
• Tslab
• Collective2
• Investor/RT
• Multicharts
• Overcharts
• Medved Trader
• Photon Trader
• OptimusFlow
• Quantower
• Agena Trader
• SierraChart
• VolFix.Net
• MotiveWave
• ScalpTool
• Trade Navigator
• Atas
• NinjaTrader (with your own license)
• InsideEDGE Trader
• R | Trader / R | Trader Pro
• Bookmap
• Tiger.Trade

Instrument

Below is the list of products currently tradable on the various platforms.

Equity Futures contracts	Symbol	Tick size	Data Feed / Exchange
E-mini S&P 500	ES	$12.50	CME
Micro E-mini S&P 500	MES	$1.25	CME
E-mini NASDAQ-100	NQ	$5	CME
Micro E-mini NASDAQ-100	MNQ	$0.50	CME
E-mini Russell 2000	RTY	$5.00	CME
Micro E-mini Russell 2000	M2K	$0.50	CME
Nikkei/USD	NKD	$25.00	CME
E-mini Dow	YM	$5.00	CBOT
Micro E-mini Dow	MYM	$0.50	CBOT

FX Futures Pairs contracts	Symbol	Tick size	Data Feed / Exchange
Australian Dollar	6A	$5.00	CME
British Pound	6B	$6.25	CME
Canadian Dollar	6C	$6.25	CME
Euro FX	6E	$6.25	CME
Micro Euro FX	M6E	$1.25	CME
Japanese Yen	6J	$6.25	CME
Swiss Franc	6S	$12.50	CME
New Zealand Dollar	6N	$5.00	CME

Metals Futures contracts	Symbol	Tick size	Data Feed / Exchange
Gold Futures	GC	$10.00	COMEX
Micro Gold Futures	MGC	$1.00	COMEX
Silver	SI	$25.00	COMEX
Copper Futures	HG	$12.50	COMEX
Platinum	PL	$5.00	NYMEX
Palladium	PA	$50.00	NYMEX
E-mini Silver	QI	$31.25	COMEX
E-mini Gold	QO	$12.50	COMEX

Agricultural Futures contracts	Symbol	Tick size	Data Feed / Exchange
Lean Hog	HE	$10.00	CME
Live Cattle	LE	$10.00	CME
Feeder Cattle	GF	$12.50	CME
Corn	ZC	$12.50	CBOT
Chicago SRW Wheat	ZW	$12.50	CBOT
Soybean	ZS	$12.50	CBOT
Soybean Meal	ZM	$10.00	CBOT
Soybean Oil	ZL	$6.00	CBOT

Bond Futures contracts	Symbol	Tick size	Data Feed / Exchange
2-Year T-Note	ZT	$7.81	CBOT
5-Year T-Note	ZF	$7.81	CBOT
10-Year T-Note	ZN	$15.63	CBOT
U.S. Treasury Bond	ZB	$31.25	CBOT
Ultra Bond	UB	$31.25	CBOT
Micro 10-Year Yield	10Y	$1.00	CBOT

Energy futures contracts	Symbol	Tick size	Data Feed / Exchange
Crude Oil	CL	$10.00	NYMEX
Micro Crude Oil	MCL	$1.00	NYMEX
E-mini Crude Oil	QM	$12.50	NYMEX
E-mini Natural Gas	NG	$10.00	NYMEX
Henry Hub Natural Gas	QG	$12.50	NYMEX
Heating Oil (NY Harbor ULSD)	HO	$4.20	NYMEX
New York Harbor (RBOB Gasoline)	RB	$4.20	NYMEX

Commissions for Rithmic

Below are the commissions applied to each of your trades. These commissions apply to both challenges and Pre-Funded & Funded-Tier accounts.

Equity Futures contracts	Symbol	Exchange	1 Side	Round Turn
E-mini S&P 500	ES	CME	$1.99	$3.98
Micro E-Mini S&P 500	MES	CME	$0.51	$1.02
E-mini NASDAQ-100	NQ	CME	$1.99	$3.98
Micro E-Mini NASDAQ-100	MNQ	CME	$0.51	$1.02
E-mini Russell 2000	RTY	CME	$1.99	$3.98
Micro E-mini Russell 2000	M2K	CME	$0.51	$1.02
Nikkei/USD	NKD	CME	$1.99	$3.98
E-mini Dow	YM	CBOT	$1.99	$3.98
Micro E-mini Dow	MYM	CBOT	$0.51	$1.02

FX Pairs Futures contracts	Symbol	Exchange	1 Side	Round Turn
Australian Dollar	6A	CME	$2.36	$4.72
British Pound	6B	CME	$2.36	$4.72
Canadian Dollar	6C	CME	$2.36	$4.72
Euro FX	6E	CME	$2.36	$4.72
Micro Euro FX	M6E	CME	$0.42	$0.84
Japanese Yen	6J	CME	$2.36	$4.72
Swiss Franc	6S	CME	$2.36	$4.72
New Zealand Dollar	6N	CME	$2.36	$4.72

Metals Futures contracts	Symbol	Exchange	1 Side	Round Turn
Gold Futures	GC	COMEX	$2.31	$4.62
Micro Gold Futures	MGC	COMEX	$0.76	$1.52
Silver	SI	COMEX	$2.31	$4.62
Copper Futures	HG	COMEX	$2.31	$4.62
Platinum	PL	NYMEX	$2.31	$4.62
Palladium	PA	NYMEX	$2.31	$4.62
E-mini Silver	QI	COMEX	$1.51	$3.02
E-mini Gold	QO	COMEX	$1.51	$3.02

Agricultural Futures contracts	Symbol	Exchange	1 Side	Round Turn
Lean Hog	HE	CME	$2.79	$5.58
Live Cattle	LE	CME	$2.79	$5.58
Feeder Cattle	GF	CME	$2.79	$5.58
Corn	ZC	CBOT	$2.79	$5.58
Chicago SRW Wheat	ZW	CBOT	$2.79	$5.58
Soybean	ZS	CBOT	$2.79	$5.58
Soybean Meal	ZM	CBOT	$2.79	$5.58
Soybean Oil	ZL	CBOT	$2.79	$5.58

Bond Futures contracts	Symbol	Exchange	1 Side	Round Turn
2-Year T-Note	ZT	CBOT	$1.36	$2.72
5-Year T-Note	ZF	CBOT	$1.41	$2.82
10-Year T-Note	ZN	CBOT	$1.51	$3.02
U.S Treasury Bond	ZB	CBOT	$1.72	$3.44
Ultra Bond	UB	CBOT	$1.56	$3.12

Energy Futures contracts	Symbol	Exchange	1 Side	Round Turn
Crude Oil	CL	NYMEX	$1.99	$3.98
Micro Crude Oil	MCL	NYMEX	$0.51	$1.02
E-Mini Crude Oil	QM	NYMEX	$1.99	$3.98
E-mini Natural Gas	NG	NYMEX	$1.98	$3.96
Henry Hub Natural Gas	QG	NYMEX	$1.26	$2.56
Heating Oil (NY Harbor ULSD)	HO	NYMEX	$1.98	$3.96
New York Harbor (RBOB Gasoline)	RB	NYMEX	$1.98	$3.96

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

Phoenix Trader Funding offers enticing features for aspiring futures traders, including adaptable account sizes, competitive pricing, scaling plans, and a free trial. Their fixed drawdowns and daily transparency measures instill confidence in risk management. Furthermore, low minimum withdrawals and flexible trading hours cater to individual needs.

However, some limitations exist. Since Phoenix Trader Funding is a relatively new company in the futures prop trading industry, payout rules are quite restrictive, with limitations on the frequency and maximum amounts. However, these limitations are more to be interpreted as a cautious approach to risk management.
Overall, Phoenix Trader Funding has the potential to be a stepping stone for traders seeking a futures funded account.