With a thorough understanding of the Forex market and the financial challenges retail traders encounter, Next Step Funded is a proprietary Forex trading firm revolutionising the way retail traders obtain funding. They draw on over a decade of experience in Forex trading and financial markets.
Next Step Funded derives its inspiration from the challenges experienced by skilled retail Forex traders who lack sufficient capital. Founded with the aim of giving a platform to these able traders to acquire funding, the firm has funded more than 5,000 traders and distributed over $1.2 million in its first six months. With several months’ worth of reserves set aside for future payouts, Next Step Funded makes a consistent and noteworthy impact on the arena of Forex trading.
Next Step Funded has a global presence, with operations and team members strategically situated across several continents. Operating from Australia for their finance division, Next Step Funded extents its reach to the United States and European Union, enabling them to cater to a diverse clientele and effectively serve traders worldwide. This global presence means they have a comprehensive grasp of different markets and regulatory environments and are aware of new trends and developments in the industry, which in turn means they empower their traders in attaining financial freedom and success.
Next Step Funded provides a variety of funding options for traders beginning out on their journey through to those with more experience, and their rules are clear and easy to follow. The firm offers funding up to $200,000, which though low in comparison to other firms offering funding as high as $2m, is in our view more realistic. The experienced traders and liquidity risk managers who set up Next Step Funded see $200,000 as the optimum amount of capital before excess levels of slippage and trade conditions unsuitable for retail traders set in.
The company offers an accelerated evaluation, the One Step Challenge, and a two-phase evaluation called the Two Step Challenge. The former has a minimum of three trading days and the latter a minimum of five. Your profit share is 80% regardless of the funding account you choose, while the maximum daily loss, maximum total loss and profit target vary.
The cost of each funding program is a one-off flat fee, but price depends on the account chosen.
Once you have passed the final stage, you need to complete the KYC process, which you can find in the profile section of your trader dashboard. When the KYC is approved, you’ll be sent your Deel contract and login for your funded account within 3 business days.
One Step Challenge (funded account only)
First month:
◦ No trade can be more than 50% of your total profit
◦ 80% profit split
Second month:
◦ No trade can be more than 50% of your total profit
◦ 80% profit split
Third month+:
◦ 80% profit split
Once you have passed the One-Step Challenge, Next Step Funded provides a 100% refund on your first payout.
Two Step Challenge (funded account only)
First month:
◦ Minimum 10 days in trade range
◦ Profitable trades that fall outside trade will be removed
◦ No trade can be more than 50% of your total profit
◦ 60% profit share
◦ 5% profit cap on account
Second month:
◦ Minimum 5 days in trade range
◦ Profitable trades that fall outside trade will be removed
◦ No trade can be more than 50% of your total profit
◦ 70% profit split
◦ 5% profit cap on account
Third month:
◦ 80% profit split
◦ 5% profit cap on account
Forth month +:
◦ 80% profit split
Traders pay a one-off fee to try the Two Step Challenge. As this cost is a service which is rendered immediately upon purchase, no refund can be given – all transactions made are final. Therefore, traders paying for an evaluation with Next Step Funded should be aware that they will not be refunded.
EAs and Indicators
Next Step Funded allows the use of EAs, including the use of tools for managing risks, auto trading bots and third-party bots. They do not, however, allow the use of reverse arbitrage, latency arbitrage, hedge arbitrage, tick scalping or copying trades from other traders on funded accounts. The use of any of these is considered as violating the firm’s rules, and if you do so your account will be terminated with no advance warning.
Copy Trading
You are permitted to use trade copiers to replicate your own personal trades onto your Next Step Funded account but should be aware of the possibility that you might unintentionally replicate other clients’ trades. You can either use your Next Step Funded account as a master account, or it can receive trades from your other accounts.
It’s important not to place identical orders at the same time as other traders on the prop firm’s platform, which can happen as a result of using common EAs, account management services or third-party signals. Detection by Next Step Funded’s system of identical consecutive orders from two or more users is seen as a violation of their policy, especially during the funded trading stage. You are therefore encouraged to use a unique set file or to check that no other traders are using the same EA as you on the firm’s servers.
Hedging
Hedging is allowed but the use of multiple accounts to hedge entries between them is seen as a breach of the rules.
Leverage
Traders have a leverage of 1:30 for all Next Step Funded accounts.
Trade Over the Weekend
Holding trades overnight and on the weekend is permitted.
Trade The News
Trading the news is also permitted.
Inactivity Rule
Your account will be terminated after 30 days of inactivity.
Additionally, if you fail to meet the minimum trading days rule in the first 30 days of your funded account, you will have your withdrawal declined.
Next Step Funded partners with the brokerage Eightcap, who provide industry leading spreads and commissions for traders. Eightcap’s website (www.eightcap.com) can help you to better understand their account offering.
Traders use the MT4 platform, provided by the ASIC-regulated broker EightCap. You can also trade on your mobile device using the MT4 app.
Once you start live trading with Next Step Funded, you are legally contracted to their business and a part of the team. Remote workforce management and payouts are managed by Deel.
Deel supports a range of payment methods, including Bank Wire (ACH), BACS, Brex, SEPA, PAD, and credit and debit card payments. Traders can also pay with a manual transfer from your bank, Wise or Mercury account, or send a cryptocurrency transfer through Coinbase.
The minimum withdrawal is $100, and withdrawals are usually processed within four working days.
Next Step Funded succeeds in their aim of empowering skilled traders by providing them with the capital they need to trade and thereby releasing their full potential in the Forex prop trading industry. Despite being a newcomer in the industry, we are convinced that the firm is dedicated to establishing an environment where talented traders can flourish and earn the payouts the deserve according to their abilities and commitment. If you are a trader seeking funding from a prop firm with clear-cut rules and objectives, Next Step Funded might be the perfect fit for you.