When you decide that day trading is a journey you’d like to embark on, having the tools and tips to succeed should be your primary focus. On top of having all the tips and tricks, you’ll need to have risk management strategies for funded accounts to avoid any unnecessary, controllable losses.
Access to large amounts of capital to facilitate larger trades and stake more significant positions will lead you to a higher profit possibility, but it also comes with increased risk.
To access larger amounts of capital, most people get funded accounts through prop firms like Next Step Funded.
For new traders, let’s briefly define a few key terms to help you understand, as we’ll toss these terms around a lot in this article.
Prop firm: A prop firm is short-hand for a proprietary firm, a financial institution providing access to capital for day and swing traders alike.
Prop firm challenge: To access the prop firm’s capital, investors will have to prove that they can make a profit and minimize risk exposure. The way to do this is known as a prop firm challenge, and upon completion, access is granted to the prop firm’s capital.
Funded account: A funded account is one that a financial institution like Next Step Funded provides to investors who have successfully passed a prop firm challenge.
Day trading: A common strategy where traders open and close positions within the same day is known as day trading. These types of investments are to take advantage of short-term price movements to profit from the fluctuations throughout the day in financial markets.
Swing trading: A slightly different strategy where investors stake a position over a period of days or weeks to capture “swings” or price movements in the financial markets is known as swing trading.
With day trading, you’re looking for an advantage on the same day. With swing trading, you’re trying to capture any upward or downward momentum in the market.
Stop-Loss orders: Stop-Loss orders are a tool used to avoid funded account losses in funded accounts (and investments in general).
In a stop-loss, you set a predetermined price at which point a sale is automatically triggered, preventing further losses on the trade.
With those basic terms under your belt, let’s turn our attention to strategies for funded account loss prevention so that you can begin your investment journey safely and profitably.
This guide is designed to help you navigate how to develop the correct type of risk management strategies for funded accounts for traders of all levels of experience.
Risk Management Strategies For Funded Accounts
The first thing to create income streams through investment trading you’ll need to do to get started is take and pass the Next Step Funded prop firm challenge in either a 1-step or 2-phase challenge.
Once you pass your prop firm challenge and get approved for a funded account, what you need to do is set up your investing goals and set your limits for loss management.
Risk management is a crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when it comes to trading and investing. This is especially true for funded accounts, where you are using someone else’s money to make trades.
While you may be tempted to stake aggressive positions, whether day trading or swing trading, often it’s having a diversified strategy in multiple investments to avoid greater risk exposure.
Establishing a long-term risk management strategy will help give your efforts the greatest chance for success.
Funded Account Loss Prevention: Key Principles
When developing risk management strategies for funded accounts, there are a few key principles to pay attention to first.
One fundamental principle is monitoring account activity regularly to prevent suspicious or unauthorized transactions.
You should employ multi-factor authentication and encryption to increase your advanced security and provide a significant reduction in any likelihood of account breaches.
Also, having strong internal discipline in your trading strategies and regularly keeping up on market trends and potential threats can further enhance account loss prevention efforts.
Set Realistic Goals and Limits
Before diving into the fast-paced world of day trading, beginners must set realistic profit targets and loss limits.
Establishing clear goals helps maintain discipline and prevents impulsive decision-making. In a prop firm challenge, adherence to predefined parameters demonstrates a commitment to responsible trading, a quality highly valued by fund managers.
Position Size And Diversification
An effective strategy for avoiding funded account losses is to manage a realistic position size and diversify your investments.
In general, day trading for beginners should have a conservative approach to avoid overcommitting capital to any one trade.
Implementing a diversified trading strategy across different assets or markets spreads risk and reduces vulnerability to substantial losses in any one position.
- Don’t Trade During Macro-Economic News
Often, during any trading cycle, there are periods of time when significant changes and adjustments to the market occur.
While it may seem like a good time to jump in and stake positions, it’s better to wait for the market to adapt to changes first.
Examples of these important macroeconomic data and news that will have the greatest impact on the global economy include:
- Central bank interest rate decisions
- Inflation rates (CPI)
- GDP
- Unemployment (NFP)
- Retail Sales
- Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI)
Of course, this advice is dependent on the timing of the reports and the overall health of the market and the size of your positions.
- Utilize Stop-Loss Orders
One of the more significant risk management strategies for funded accounts is to have and implement stop-loss orders.
Placing stop-loss orders at strategic levels’ll limit any risk exposure to your funded accounts. Educate yourself about the support/resistance levels of your investment to ensure that your losses are contained within your overall strategy.
- Embrace Risk-Reward Ratios
When you’re taking positions, another fundamental aspect of your funded account loss prevention strategy is with establishing a favorable risk-reward ratio. This ratio should focus on potential profits outweighing your potential losses.
Coupling a realistic risk-reward ratio with stop-loss orders ensures that your staked positions will contribute to long-term profitability and protection against significant drawdowns and losses.
- Stress Test Your Investment Strategies
When you’re beginning your investment journey or are looking at alternative investments, having clear risk management strategies for funded accounts should include stress testing your investment strategies.
Rather than risk real money on a position, using demo accounts will help you track the profitability and potential for loss without any risk to your capital.
You can simulate changing market scenarios to better analyze potential weaknesses in your approach. This strategy will further help day trading for beginners avoiding funded account losses.
At Next Step Funded, we take it further, allowing you to stress your investment strategies and follow more experienced traders with similar strategies in real time.
By implementing sound risk management strategies for funded accounts, new and experienced traders alike can protect their funded accounts, which is a significant determinant when being evaluated by fund managers.
You should increase your long-term success by setting realistic goals, including diversifying an investment portfolio, installing stop-loss orders, and having realistic risk management strategies.
If you’re looking to get your funded account quickly, Next Step Funded provides investors the opportunity to quickly get approved and funded. Simply sign up for our prop firm challenge, show that you can successfully reach a profit threshold, demonstrate risk management strategies for funded accounts, get your capital, and get started with your investment plan.
Ready to get started? Sign up for your account at Next Step Funded today.