For long-term investors who want to use a funded trader program with a lot of versatility, TopStep Trader may be a top choice.
TopStep Trader is an example of a trading platform that has a lot of promise for day traders, and futures traders who are trying to identify the future price of an equity or other asset. The program allows for an easier on-ramp into this type of trading, with tools to help along the way.
TopStep Trader is open to users around the world, in the US, and in over 100 other countries, serving millions of potential investors.
Futures trading is popular with long-term investors around the globe. TopStep Trader provides this sort of opportunity for investors to participate in a range of markets. They do so by predicting price activity and using structured derivatives to invest accordingly. Here’s a TopStep Trader Review of the services and offers that this platform holds for users.
First of all, the TopStep Trader brokerage ecosystem operates a no-fee trading platform option, with basic charts and more. Investors can look at resources like candlestick charts, bar charts, and line graphs to understand market activity over time and how an asset performs. Advanced services generate their own low fees, with the understanding that the new trader needs an affordable way to get started.
Having the ability to choose their levels of participation is important to a lot of new traders who are cost-conscious, but also want real, significant market exposure. By tackling a learning curve, these intrepid traders are wading into equities and other markets with the confidence of the right kind of brokerage backing.
Through TopStep Trader, users can also get access to coaching and financial education opportunities.
Daily live trading classes inform new investors about the nuts and bolts of trading assets on brokerage platforms.
Trading psychology lessons are important, too. There's a reason that Burton Malkiel called it a “random walk on Wall Street.” This type of coaching is part of what allows traders to function well in volatile markets.
Then there's a sort of apprenticeship component of the TopStep Trader platform. Here newer investors can watch professionals operate in real-time. A performance coaching plan at around $400 a month provides various components including a 30-minute kickoff session, personalized advice, and group chat access to get input directly from professional established traders.
After a 14-day free trial of the TopStep Trader platform and tools, investors have the opportunity to choose membership options. Each option has different amounts of buying power and different maximum positions.
They can get $50,000 worth of buying power for $165 a month. Or, $100,000 for $325 a month. Top-tier members get the ability to leverage $150,000 for $375 per month.
By utilizing virtual funds, investors learn how the process works. Thus, can start to fine-tune their investment strategies as they go. When they are ready, they work with real money to make real gains.
Then they become funded traders who will actively make money using available capital.
It's a vehicle for professional day trading that works for some active investors. Especially, those who want to start out without much capital, but who need to utilize resources that help them to essentially “learn on the job” and start to manage money actively.
This kind of introductory service may be the way that new investors get experience and start to become more involved in the markets of their choice.
One of the advantages of trading over the TopStep Trader system is that you can do more, without an upfront capital investment or minimum buy-in required.
The flip side of this is that it can be more difficult to get approved to operate this way. Which essentially ends up being a kind of margin trading.
It’s helpful to think about the difference between leveraged funds and margin trading.
Leveraged trading is when you can take existing collateral, and make bigger investments with it than what your collateral would cover. Sometimes traders want to be able to leverage existing capital to make bigger transactions for more capital gains.
Margin trading is somewhat different. In a margin trading scenario, you’re trading with borrowed money.
The TopStep Trader program essentially starts with something that constitutes this type of trading – with money that is being supplied. Thus, you can get started, make the big trades, and make money work for you. But the other resources on the platform prepare the trader for this work.
So that's one thing to be aware of as you are evaluating the TopStep Trader platform.
With that in mind, futures traders can rely on TopStep Trader for a good brokerage platform. It offers plenty of resources to look at historic chart activity and more. Futures trading can be easy with the right brokerage support (browse the site for more info).
Take a look at all of the brokerage options available to you as you put together your long-term investing plan, make sure to do your research first. Consider this Tradovate review as part of your research.
