What Is Proprietary Trading?

The phrase "prop trading" covers more than one business. In our directory the split is the funding model: who puts up the capital, what you pay to get in, and what rulebook you trade under. Do not pick a firm from a list of famous names. Read the model.

Evaluation based

You pay a fee, then trade a challenge with a profit target and a floor. Pass, and you get a funded account — often still simulated — with a profit split. The product you bought is access to that rulebook. Directory fields to read first: evaluation required, the program's profit target when the tier table has one, max drawdown (type and percent), daily loss limit, and min trading days. Glossary: /glossary/evaluation, /glossary/two-step-evaluation, /glossary/one-step-evaluation.

Instant funding

You pay a fee and skip the challenge. Size is usually smaller and the rules tighter from day one. Directory flags this as instant funding available. Glossary: /glossary/instant-funding. Compare puts "Instant funding" next to "Evaluation required" so you can see which path you are actually buying.

Firm capital

A seat on the firm's own capital. No evaluation fee, no challenge. Hiring, a split, sometimes a salary. Directory labels this Firm Capital. Bank and institutional desks are a separate tag. Neither is a retail challenge with a refundable fee.

The directory also classifies leveraged trader capital (you post a first-loss buffer; the firm amplifies it). If that is the product, the buffer is your risk, not a challenge fee. Match lets you state which model you want. Compare is for two or three names you already shortlisted.

What this is not

It is not a hedge fund (outside capital, LP terms). It is not a retail broker (your cash, their platform). A funded evaluation can still be simulated; the firm's profile and the program's source link are where that is documented, not a slogan on this page.

Next

Open /directory and filter by model. Use /match if you do not have names yet. Use /compare when you have two. Then read /article/evaluation-models-explained and /article/understanding-drawdowns.

FAQ

Q: Are evaluation programs and firm-capital desks the same industry? A: They share a label. They do not share how you get in, what you pay, or whose capital is at risk. Our directory tags them separately so you do not mix the two.

Q: Where do I see a firm's model? A: On the firm profile and in Directory filters. Compare shows evaluation required and instant funding as yes/no. Match ranks from the same taxonomy.