👀 Another futures prop firm closes as platform access tightens

Hi everyone, another week is upon us and the markets are open, so let’s get into it.

Another one bites the dust unfortunately as futures prop firm FundedSeat has closed after two years, citing its inability to secure access to the major trading platforms needed to scale. The firm says active accounts will be refunded, with pending withdrawals and positive live balances also paid.

FundedSeat has over $2m in verified payouts on Payout Junction and maintained a very good reputation throughout, so this is an unfortunate outcome. It’s also a reminder of how much power trading platforms now hold over the industry as without access to the platforms traders expect, even firms processing significant payouts can struggle to compete. A shame for one of the good guys to go down.

📢  Firm Announcements

• FundingPips made several major changes to its CFD rules for new purchases. It removed the Risk Per Trade Idea, Striking System and Profit Concentration rules, added customisable daily-loss limits to selected plans, unlocked overnight and weekend holding, and introduced profit splits of up to 100%. PRIME accounts now use a static rather than trailing maximum loss, with a 3% soft daily-loss limit.

• Funded Trader Markets launched independently verifiable payout certificates. Each certificate can include the amount paid, transaction link, processing time, account details and lifetime payouts, with traders able to hide their name and other information.

• Top One Futures introduced Launch Pad for limited experimental accounts. Its first release, X-ULTRA, offers higher payout caps, no funded-stage consistency rule or profit buffer, and is limited to 1,500 accounts.

• E8 Markets reduced the maximum number of payouts available on new Signature Futures accounts from five to four. Payout caps were also lowered across several account sizes, with accounts purchased before 1 October retaining the previous rules.

• BluSky changed what happens when traders qualify for live brokerage. New live accounts now start at zero, with eligible simulated profits moved into a separate Bonus Vault. Traders can instead choose a one-time cash buyout worth 50% of their applicable drawdown. The standard minimum payout was also increased to $500.

Payout Junction just launched its new On-chain section, giving you a live look inside prop firms numbers: evaluations running, funded accounts, pass rates and reserves, all read straight from the blockchain. Very cool, check it out! https://payoutjunction.com/onchain

🕜 Red Folder News

Here are this week’s red folder news events. Very quiet week on the calendar. The main event is the FOMC minutes on Wednesday, which should provide more detail on the Fed’s September rate hike and whether policymakers are leaning towards another move this year.

📈 Markets

October Seasonality - The start of the Q4 melt-up

On a 20-year lookback, the next couple of weeks have historically been among the best times of the year to buy stocks. It is never as easy as the chart makes it look, but sizing down and riding out the volatility has typically been rewarded by year-end.

Mid-terms years are even better

Since 1930, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 5.6% in Q4 during midterm years, almost twice the 2.9% average across all years. October and November have historically been the strongest months of the midterm calendar.

Gotta survive October though

The path has historically been anything but smooth. In 14 of the 24 midterm years since 1930, the Q4 low was set in October. From that low, the median rally into year-end was 10%. Catch that low and you might be able to put your feet up for the rest of the year.

Concentration risk remains (very) high

The S&P 500 remains around 1% below its all-time high, but beneath the surface the picture is very different. Fewer than 25% of its stocks are currently trading above their 50-day moving average, with gains concentrated in a small group of AI-linked names. The index still looks strong, but any deterioration in these market leaders will drag it lower quickly.

Gonna be an interesting week. Have a good one!

London Prop Trading Expo

The London Prop Trading Expo returns on 23 and 24 October at Old Billingsgate, with more than 64 speakers, 39 exhibitors and up to 4,000 traders expected across the two days.

There’ll be live trading, trader education, industry panels and plenty of prop firms in attendance. If you’re heading along, use code PAYOUT for 50% off tickets.

Find out more here

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