Strong fit
FTMO Phase 1 for News traders
The only supported firm that explicitly permits news trading, but the "dominant source" caveat matters.
Persona: Event-driven entries around NFP, CPI, FOMC; brief holds, leveraged spreads.
Rules at a glance
FTMO Phase 1, the six numbers.
- Profit target
- 10.0%
- Daily loss cap
- 5.0%
- Max drawdown
- 10.0%(static)
- Payout cadence
- 14 days
- Recommended risk/trade
- 0.75%
- Status
- live
Persona context
How News traders think about prop firms.
News traders inhabit the seam of every prop firm's rulebook. The standard "no positions open during high-impact news" clause is interpreted differently by every firm: some define it as ± 2 minutes around release, some as ± 5, some as ± 30 — and some allow news trading but disqualify the profit if it's the dominant source. News strategies also tend to size aggressively (the asymmetric payoff justifies it), which makes the per-trade and daily caps a live concern: a 5R win on NFP can easily breach the consistency rule the same week. Spread widening at release is the second killer — most demo-priced challenges don't reflect the 15–40 pip spread blowouts that hit live accounts on tier-2 brokers.
- News-trading rule interpretation
- Spread/slippage modelling in eval vs funded
- Per-trade size cap
- Consistency rule trigger from outlier wins
- Position-on through release
The specific analysis
FTMO Phase 1 × News traders.
FTMO Phase 1 is the only firm in the supported set that explicitly permits trading through high-impact news in the evaluation phase. That makes it the natural home for news-driven strategies. The fine print: profits earned predominantly from news trades may be subject to additional review at payout, and the firm reserves the right to disqualify if "the entire result is achieved by news trading." In practice this means: a strategy that takes 30 trades a month with 5 of them being news plays is fine; a strategy that takes 8 trades a month, all of them around NFP/CPI/FOMC, gets flagged. The 5% daily cap is enough room for one full-size news bet to lose and not bust the eval. The 10% static DD is the second backstop. Spread modelling matters: FTMO's MT4/MT5 spreads widen meaningfully at release on tier-2 brokers in their stable.
Workarounds
- Mix news entries with steady-state strategy entries so news isn't the "dominant source"
- Cap any single news trade at 1R risk; an event-driven 4R winner still fits under the consistency expectation
- Test your strategy on FTMO's demo with their actual broker spread before going eval-live
Account killers
- A "news-only" strategy passing eval then getting disqualified at first payout review
- Entering 30 seconds before release on a thin-spread instrument, 40-pip slippage eats the trade
Run the math
Three calculators pre-flight your strategy.
- Firm-rule drawdown calculator , project equity floor and breach distance under FTMO Phase 1.
- Firm-mode position sizing , recommended 0.75% risk-per-trade for a news trader.
- Prop firm vs self-funded cost , total cost to pass FTMO Phase 1 given your realistic pass-rate.
FAQ
Questions about FTMO Phase 1 for news traders.
Is FTMO Phase 1 a good fit for news traders?
The only supported firm that explicitly permits news trading, but the "dominant source" caveat matters. FTMO Phase 1 is the only firm in the supported set that explicitly permits trading through high-impact news in the evaluation phase. That makes it the natural home for news-driven strategies. The fine print: profits earned predominantly from news trades may be subject to additional review at payout, and the firm reserves the right to disqualify if "the entire result is achieved by news trading." In practice this means: a strategy that takes 30 trades a month with 5 of them being news plays is fine; a strategy that takes 8 trades a month, all of them around NFP/CPI/FOMC, gets flagged. The 5% daily cap is enough room for one full-size news bet to lose and not bust the eval. The 10% static DD is the second backstop. Spread modelling matters: FTMO's MT4/MT5 spreads widen meaningfully at release on tier-2 brokers in their stable.
What's the biggest rule risk for a news trader at FTMO Phase 1?
A "news-only" strategy passing eval then getting disqualified at first payout review
What risk-per-trade percentage do you recommend?
0.75% of equity per trade is the conservative starting point for a news trader at FTMO Phase 1. Use Glitch Executor's position-sizing calculator to confirm the lot size respects both your risk budget and the firm's drawdown cushion.
Does the firm permit trading through high-impact news?
Yes, FTMO is the only firm in the supported set that explicitly permits holding through news, subject to a "dominant source" review at payout.
How does the drawdown rule work specifically?
FTMO Phase 1 uses a static 10.0% drawdown anchored to the starting balance, it doesn't follow your highs.
Compare and shortlist
Where this fits in the wider research.
- Best prop-firm challenges shortlist
- FTMO Phase 1, full rule + payout brief
- Current prop-firm partner offers
- FTMO Phase 1 drawdown calculator
Authored and reviewed by Ryan Tran (Strategy Lead, Glitch Executor). Last reviewed . Rule values pulled from the firm-rule registry in this repo; verify with FTMO Phase 1 directly before funding.
Same firm, different personas