The Apex Consistency Rule is a key guideline established by Apex Trader Funding to promote disciplined and sustainable trading practices among its funded traders. This rule ensures that traders maintain consistent performance and risk management, which are crucial for long-term success in the trading environment.
What Is the Apex 30% Consistency Rule?
Apex Trader Funding implemented the Apex consistency rule to help traders manage risk. You reduce your overall risk by limiting the profit you put at risk at any given time. With Apex Trader Funding, the profit from any single trading day must not account for more than 30% of the total profits in your account.
Apex Trader Funding aims to fund and work with traders who demonstrate the skills to steadily grow their accounts over time. It seeks traders who follow a consistent plan in size, stops, and targets. The consistency rule is aimed at weeding out gamblers, scammers, and schemers who might trade a large contract one time while trading micros the rest of the time, or flip contracts, change contract sizes constantly, or trade at a high frequency.
Following the consistency rule can help you maintain your trading account and avoid large losses.
Key Principles of Consistency in Trading
Consistency in proprietary or prop trading is about generating stable and repeatable profits over time while avoiding large drawdowns and maintaining a disciplined approach to trading. The key principles for developing or reaching that consistency are:
- Defining and sticking to a strategy
- Managing risks effectively
- Executing trades consistently
- Monitoring performance
- Adapting to market changes
- Staying calm
By following these key principles of consistency, you can grow your profits over time instead of taking big risks. You aim to take the same disciplined approach to each trade to produce predictable results over time.
Understanding Consistency Rules on Apex Trader Funding
Darrell Martin, founder of Apex Trader Funding, recently updated the Apex consistency rules to help traders understand who the ideal trader is with whom the firm aims to partner. Here are the rules:
30% Negative Profit and Loss Rule Explained
This rule limits the amount of a loss on a single trade. At the start of the day, a live, open loss cannot be more than 30% of your account’s profit balance on a per-trade basis. For example, a $150,000 account with a profit of $8,000 at the start of the day cannot have an unrealized loss on any trade of more than $2,400 (30% of $8,000). The rule applies to the trailing threshold for accounts with less profit than the initial drawdown. The trailing threshold on a $50,000 account is $2,500, so the loss can be no greater than $750.
Scaling Program
The scaling program manages contract sizes during the evaluation. You can trade half your available contracts until your trailing threshold hits the initial drawdown plus $100. If you have a $50,000 Performance Account, you have 10 contracts. You can trade five. Once your account balance hits $52,600, you can trade 10 contracts, even if you drop below the threshold.
Max Contracts
Repeatedly abusing the rules on contracts can result in Apex Trader Funding terminating your account without a refund or payout. Abuse of the contract rule includes trading combined instruments to the maximum number of contracts multiple times, such as 10 contracts on E-mini S&P 500 futures (ES) and 10 contracts on E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM). You also cannot trade 20 contracts when you have a maximum of 10, or use micro contracts to attempt a similar scheme.
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)
Traders can implement dollar-cost averaging on Apex Trader Funding without restrictions now, although they must maintain reasonable risk-to-reward ratios (5:1 on Apex Trader Funding) and adhere to other consistency rules, such as not exceeding a 30% profit or 30% loss in a day.
Adding into Trades
If your initial entry follows your trading strategies or system rules, you can add contracts to a winning trade. With a Performance Account, you can even scale into winning trades with larger contract sizes. You must follow a defined strategy with a bias for the direction of the trade. You are not permitted to place a large trade without a strategy, hoping the market will move your way.
News Trading
Apex Trader Funding allows news trading to take advantage of significant market news. However, your position must have one direction – long or short, not both. This rule helps traders remain disciplined during a volatile market and avoid hedging. Apex Trader Funding will terminate your account and ban you if you scheme with others to get around this rule.
Contract Size Consistency
You are not required to use identical contract sizes for trades. However, Apex Trader Funding seeks consistency across your trades, and varying contract sizes might indicate erratic trading. The site contains a long list of dos and don’ts to keep you from being disqualified.
Automated Strategies
Apex Trader Funding wants you to actively monitor your trades and manage your entries. You are permitted to use semi-automated software to assist with the speed of your trades, but artificial intelligence (AI), autobots, algorithms, fully-automated trading systems and software, high-frequency trading (HFT), and any other automated trading are prohibited.
Rules Against Hedging
All trades must be in one direction – even in another account. You are not permitted to trade a mini in one direction and a micro in another, or go long on ES and short on YM. This prohibition on hedging covers indexes, metals, grains, or any correlating financial instrument, no matter the size.
Copy or Trading Services Operations or Participations
If your name is on the account, you are the only one allowed to trade the account. Copy and mirror trading are prohibited. No person, group, system, or bot can trade on your account. Your account can be closed for breaking this rule.
Consequences of Violating Consistency Guidelines
Depending on the consistency rule you violate, you can be warned, placed on probation, disqualified from a payout, terminated, or banned. Read the consistency rules before trading on Apex Trader Funding.
Is Apex Trader Funding Right for You?
Apex Trader Funding offers a compelling opportunity for experienced futures traders looking to scale their strategies without risking personal capital. With its flexible evaluation process, high profit splits, and no daily loss limits, it caters well to disciplined, self-directed traders.
However, the firm may not be the best fit for complete beginners or those seeking hands-on educational support and fast customer service. If you’re confident in your trading skills, value consistency, and can navigate the firm’s rules, Apex Trader Funding could be a powerful platform to elevate your trading journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 40% consistency rule?
The 40% consistency rule is a guideline used by some prop firms (like Apex Trader Funding in earlier models) to ensure no single day’s profit exceeds 40% of the total profits during an evaluation or funded account period. For example, if your total profit is $5,000, then no single day should have a profit over $2,000 (40% of $5,000).
Does Apex Trader actually payout?
Yes, Apex Trader Funding does process payouts, but there are specific rules and conditions you must meet to qualify.
What is an example of the consistency rule in Apex?
The 30% consistency rule at Apex Trader Funding ensures that no single day’s profit accounts for more than 30% of your total profit balance at the time of a payout request. Assume you have a $50,000 Performance Account (PA) with a total profit of $5,000. Your highest profit day should not exceed $1,500 (30% of $5,000). If you achieve a $1,500 profit on a single day, your total profit must reach at least $5,000 to comply with the 30% rule.
About Sarah Edwards
Sarah Edwards is a finance writer passionate about helping people learn more about what’s needed to achieve their financial goals. She has nearly a decade of writing experience focused on budgeting, investment strategies, retirement and industry trends. Her work has been published on NerdWallet and FinImpact.
