Strong fit
FTMO Phase 1 for Swing traders
Static DD + weekend holds + 30 days = the eval most aligned with multi-day holding.
Persona: Daily / weekly bias, multi-day holds, overnight + weekend exposure.
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 Swing traders think about prop firms.
Swing traders fight a different set of rules. The minimum-profitable-days requirement is more often a benefit than a problem (a normal swing pace generates plenty of profitable days). What does matter: weekend-hold permission, swap costs on multi-night positions, and the firm's treatment of "negative equity overnight" — some firms count an end-of-day mark-to-market drawdown as a daily loss; others let the floating P&L sit. Trailing-drawdown firms are particularly tough on swing traders because a paper-profit pullback (price moves against you while you're still holding a winner) locks in a higher floor that can stop you out of a trade that ultimately wins. The eval-stage time limit (where present) tightens this: a swing trader can't wait out a multi-week thesis on a 30-day eval.
- Weekend hold + swap policy
- Drawdown reference under floating P&L
- Eval-stage time limit
- Minimum profitable days
- Maximum single-trade exposure
The specific analysis
FTMO Phase 1 × Swing traders.
FTMO Phase 1 is built for swing traders. The 10% static drawdown is the only one in the supported set that doesn't penalise a paper-profit pullback on an open winner, the floor is anchored to the initial balance for the whole evaluation. Weekend holds are explicitly permitted (with swaps). The 30-day window aligns with the typical 3–10 trade cadence of a swing trader. The 5% daily cap is comfortably above the maximum overnight gap risk on most majors. The 10% target reaches at a 2R average on 6–8 trades per month. The only concession swing traders need to make is patience: there's no incentive to over-trade, and most swing failures here are from forcing extra trades late in the eval.
Workarounds
- Plan for 6–10 trades over the 30-day window, no more
- Close any oversized winner partially to manage daily cap on the entry day
- Use Friday afternoon to flatten or hedge open exposure before weekend gap risk
Account killers
- A Sunday gap of 80+ pips on a multi-night swing can hit the daily loss cap on Monday open
- Adding to losing trades after a setup invalidates the original thesis
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 swing 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 swing traders.
Is FTMO Phase 1 a good fit for swing traders?
Static DD + weekend holds + 30 days = the eval most aligned with multi-day holding. FTMO Phase 1 is built for swing traders. The 10% static drawdown is the only one in the supported set that doesn't penalise a paper-profit pullback on an open winner, the floor is anchored to the initial balance for the whole evaluation. Weekend holds are explicitly permitted (with swaps). The 30-day window aligns with the typical 3–10 trade cadence of a swing trader. The 5% daily cap is comfortably above the maximum overnight gap risk on most majors. The 10% target reaches at a 2R average on 6–8 trades per month. The only concession swing traders need to make is patience: there's no incentive to over-trade, and most swing failures here are from forcing extra trades late in the eval.
What's the biggest rule risk for a swing trader at FTMO Phase 1?
A Sunday gap of 80+ pips on a multi-night swing can hit the daily loss cap on Monday open
What risk-per-trade percentage do you recommend?
0.75% of equity per trade is the conservative starting point for a swing 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