Risk rules compared: Blue Guardian Futures vs FTMO Futures

Algaroud Center, 2nd Floor, Office 101-05, Dubai, UAE

Praga 1, Calle Purkynova 2121/3, 110 00, Czech Republic

Sean Bainton

Otakar Suffner

United Arab Emirates

Czech Republic

2021

2015

2% processing fee on all withdrawals (Riseworks).

After completing the evaluation and trading consistently on a Simulated Funded Account, the Risk Management team may invite traders to Live. There is no fixed timeline; each trader is evaluated individually. From 28/09/2026, all eligible funded accounts merge into one Live Account at transition. Their starting Live drawdowns add together: five $50K accounts provide $10,000 of combined drawdown. The $15,000 cap applies to new purchases after 28/09/2026. Contract limits scale with the combined drawdown, up to 10 minis / 100 micros. At each live profit milestone of 0.5x, 1x and 1.5x the starting drawdown, 25% of that drawdown is deposited into the Live balance as a bonus. The bonus becomes withdrawable after five winning days with the account in profit. Instead of trading Live, the trader may choose a one-time Live Buyout of 50% of the combined starting drawdown at transition. It is available once per trader, with a 28-day cooldown afterward. Live accounts use end-of-day drawdown with no daily loss limit. CME professional data, trade commissions and platform fees are deducted from the balance. Contract limits may increase with consistent performance.

A small group of consistently profitable traders may be invited to a Live Funded Account at FTMO's discretion. It cannot be requested and additional country restrictions apply.

• Standard: every 3 days, from 3 days after the first trade
• Reserve: instant payout once eligible (5 winning days)
• Express: daily payouts
• Direct: instant payout from day one

Withdrawal eligibility is confirmed by the end-of-day (EOD) dashboard update. Once the withdrawal button is enabled, a request can be submitted at any time without waiting for the next EOD update.

On demand once the qualifying-day requirements for the current payout cycle are met.

Payouts processed within 24 business hours. If Blue Guardian misses that window through a delay on their end, you receive an extra 10% profit share on that payout. Does not apply on weekends or bank holidays, nor to delays from compliance or risk reviews, Rise onboarding or a pending trader response.

$500 across all account types.

$20

Growth — per payout

• $50K: up to 50% of available profit, capped at $2,500
• $100K: up to 50% of available profit, capped at $3,000
• $150K: up to 50% of available profit, capped at $4,000

Pro — per payout

• $50K: up to 100% of available profit, capped at $5,000
• $100K: up to 100% of available profit, capped at $6,000
• $150K: up to 100% of available profit, capped at $8,000

At least 50% of every requested payout must come from new profit generated during the current payout cycle. US clients must submit Form W-9 and proof of ownership of an eligible US bank account before their first payout.

Evaluation accounts can be reset at 30% off the original price. After failing the evaluation, the trader has 7 days to decide whether to reset. Funded accounts cannot be reset.

Evaluation accounts can be reset to their original conditions without changing the monthly billing date. There is no limit on purchased resets.

Reserve challenges are configurable at checkout. Traders can choose a Daily Loss Limit or no Daily Loss Limit, combined with a 40% consistency rule (3-day pass) or a 50% consistency rule (2-day pass). The price varies depending on the selected combination.

Express challenges offer an optional 50% evaluation consistency add-on instead of the standard 40% rule, allowing traders to qualify after as few as 2 green days.

Scaling applies to funded Reserve and Express accounts only. Standard and Direct keep flat contract limits from start to finish.

On Reserve and Express you get full contract size during the evaluation, and funded limits start lower and grow with the account balance. Updated at end of day (EOD) on the closing balance; if the EOD balance drops below a trigger, the tier can go back down.

Starting funded limits

• $25,000: 1 mini / 10 micros
• $50,000: 2 minis / 20 micros
• $100,000: 3 minis / 30 micros
• $150,000: 3 minis / 30 micros

Scaling triggers ($25K / $50K / $100K / $150K)

• +$1,500: 2/20 · 3/30 · 4/40 · 4/40
• +$2,000: — · 4/40 · 5/50 · 5/50
• +$3,000: — · — · 8/80 · 8/80
• +$4,500: — · — · — · 12/120

Flat limits (Standard and Direct)

• $25,000: 1 mini / 10 micros
• $50,000: 4 minis / 40 micros
• $100,000: 8 minis / 80 micros
• $150,000: 12 minis / 120 micros

1 mini = 10 micros; contracts can be mixed within the limit.

Trailing end-of-day (EOD) on all plans. Values per plan and size:

• Standard $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,500 / $2,000 / $3,500 / $5,000
• Reserve $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500
• Express $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $2,000 / $2,500 / $3,500
• Direct $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,500 / $2,000 / $3,500 / $4,500

Once the trailing drawdown reaches the starting balance, it locks and stops trailing.

On Direct the drawdown becomes static after the account exceeds the initial trail balance or after the first payout request. After any approved payout the drawdown floor locks at starting balance + $100 on every plan.

End-of-day trailing drawdown based on the highest closing balance. It can only move upward and locks permanently once it reaches the initial account balance.

90% on all funded accounts and plans.

A payout delayed beyond the 24-business-hour guarantee adds an extra 10% profit share on that payout.

90%

Soft breach on every plan: open trades are closed automatically and the account is disabled for the rest of the day, then reinstated the next trading day.

• Standard $25K: none. $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000
• Reserve: configurable at checkout. Traders can choose no daily loss limit or a soft DLL of $600 / $1,200 / $1,700 / $3,000 on $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K. The price varies depending on the selected option
• Express challenge $25K: none. $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $1,250 / $1,750
• Express funded $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $500 / $1,000 / $1,250 / $1,750
• Direct $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K: $1,000 / $1,250 / $2,500 / $3,000

• Growth Evaluation: none
• Growth Sim-Funded: soft limit of $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 on 50K / 100K / 150K; positions close and trading pauses until the next day
• Pro Evaluation and Sim-Funded: hard limit of $1,000 / $1,500 / $2,000 on 50K / 100K / 150K; breach terminates the account

Standard — Funded Buffer

• $25,000 → $1,600
• $50,000 → $2,100
• $100,000 → $3,600
• $150,000 → $5,100

Payouts are only available from profits earned above the buffer, and the buffer must stay intact when submitting a request.

Express

• $25,000 → $1,100
• $50,000 → $2,100
• $100,000 → $3,600
• $150,000 → $5,100

Payouts are only available from profits earned above the buffer.

Reserve

• No buffer to reach before a payout, but after any withdrawal the drawdown floor locks at starting balance + $100.

Direct

• No profit buffer requirement.

Growth allows withdrawing up to 50% of available profit per cycle, leaving the remainder in the account. Pro allows up to 100%, subject to its payout cap.

• No minimum trading days on evaluation. Standard can be passed in as little as one trading day
• Express with the optional 50% consistency add-on can qualify after 2 green days
• Funded: one trade every 7 days to keep the account active

No fixed minimum. The Evaluation must satisfy its consistency rule, which can require multiple trading days.

No activation

No activation fee and no recurring charge on Sim-Funded or Live Funded Accounts.

• Standard: no minimum. First payout 3 days after the first trade
• Reserve: 5 winning days before each payout, with a minimum of $100 / $150 / $200 / $250 profit per day on $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K. Winning days reset after every payout
• Express: no minimum
• Direct: no minimum

Growth payout eligibility

• $50K: 4 days with at least $150 closed profit per day
• $100K: 4 days with at least $250 closed profit per day
• $150K: 4 days with at least $300 closed profit per day

Pro payout eligibility

• $50K: 5 days with at least $200 closed profit per day
• $100K: 5 days with at least $300 closed profit per day
• $150K: 5 days with at least $500 closed profit per day

Sim-Funded Accounts start with 2, 4 or 6 mini contracts on the 50K, 100K and 150K sizes. The limit scales with end-of-day profit up to 5, 10 or 15 minis respectively. Ten micros count as one mini.

One-time fee

Monthly subscription. Market data is included and there is no activation fee. After a hard breach, the trader can buy a reset or wait for the next renewal to receive a fresh Evaluation.

Unlimited concurrent Evaluations. Maximum 3 concurrent Sim-Funded Accounts across Growth and Pro.

Unlimited while the monthly subscription remains active.

Algorithmic trading and EAs are allowed, but manipulative automation, high-frequency strategies and latency arbitrage are prohibited. Third-party EAs can cause duplicated-strategy issues.

VPN and VPS use is allowed if the trader remains the sole controller of the account and does not reside in a restricted country.

Opposing positions may be used within one account. Hedging or offsetting directional risk across different accounts, providers or people is prohibited.

Microscalping (trades held seconds with minimal profit margins) is prohibited. Automated scalping systems that exceed 200 trades per day are not allowed. Exploiting tight brackets or the simulated market's absence of slippage is forbidden.

Scalping is allowed when it reflects legitimate market trading. High-frequency and latency-arbitrage strategies are prohibited.

Max risk-to-reward ratio: 5:1. For every $100 of profit target, your initial stop loss cannot exceed $500. Mental stops are accepted but excessive risk-taking can lead to warnings or payout disqualification. Adjusting stops to add risk goes against policy; only move stops forward to trail and protect profits.

Additional risk guardrails:

• Trade within 2% of any CME price limit is prohibited.
• Trading without clear risk management, excessive sizing, inconsistent contract sizes or "all-in" strategies may be considered gambling and lead to account review.
• Holding a position into the daily 16:10 EST auto-close is fine; the auto-close itself doesn't breach the account.

No fixed percentage is published, but overleveraging, one-sided bets and materially inconsistent position sizing can lead to account action or termination.

Copying between accounts owned by the same trader is allowed. Copying signals or decisions from another trader or third party is prohibited.

Allowed on both challenge and funded accounts, on every plan. Traders can open, manage and close positions during high-impact news. Blue Guardian warns that slippage and spread widening may occur.

At least one trade every 7 days on funded accounts.

Sim-Funded Accounts receive a warning after 30 consecutive inactive days and close after a further 30 inactive days. Live Funded Accounts have no inactivity rule.

A single trading day cannot equal or exceed:

• Standard: 40%, on the funded account only
• Reserve: configurable as 40% (3-day pass) or 50% (2-day pass), on the evaluation only
• Express: 40% on the evaluation by default; an optional 50% evaluation consistency add-on allows qualification after as few as 2 green days
• Direct: 20% on the first payout, 25% on the second, 30% from the third onwards

Calculation: Highest Net Profit Day / Total Account PnL. On evaluation accounts, passing is delayed until the ratio complies with the selected threshold. On funded accounts, payouts are blocked until the ratio drops below the applicable threshold. Violating the rule does NOT terminate the account.

• Growth Evaluation: the best day cannot exceed 40% of total profit
• Pro Evaluation: the best day cannot exceed 50% of total profit
• Sim-Funded: no consistency rule

• Automated scalping systems exceeding 200 trades per day.
• AI, bots and fully automated trading mechanisms (all account types).
• Hands-off, continuous day-and-night trading or complete automation.
• Placing multiple limit orders at the same price to manipulate fills.
• Strategies aimed at exploiting isolated fills in low-liquidity or gapped markets.
• Using tight brackets or absence of slippage in the simulated market for favorable fills.
• Trading during tier 1 economic data releases.
• Coordinated trading across unconnected accounts (identical or opposing strategies).
• Microscalping (trades held seconds with minimal margins).
• Trading within 2% of a CME price limit.
• Trading without a stop loss, relying on the trailing threshold to close trades.

Exploiting platform or data-feed errors; relying on drawdown protection as the sole exit; offsetting risk across accounts; copying third-party trades; manipulative automation, HFT or latency arbitrage; opening positions within 2% of a CME price limit; holding positions or resting orders after market close; overleveraging, account rolling, spoofing, layering, wash trading or other behaviour that cannot be replicated in a live futures market.