Trade The Pool offers some of the best funded trading accounts for stocks, making it a leading pool trade platform with one-time participation fees ranging from $97 to $1,240. Are they worth it?
What Is Trade The Pool?
Trade The Pool is a stock trading firm and prop trading program for stock traders. The company behind Trade The Pool is Five Percent Online Ltd, which was founded in 2016. The Trade The Pool project has been online since 2022.
Who is Behind Trade The Pool (Five Percent Online Ltd)?
Trade The Pool is a subsidiary of Five Percent Online Ltd., a UK-registered company founded in 2016. The company is led by a team of experienced traders and industry experts who have a deep understanding of the stock trading sector. Five Percent Online Ltd. is committed to providing a rewarding trading environment for its clients, and Trade The Pool is a key part of this mission. By leveraging their extensive knowledge and expertise, the team at Five Percent Online Ltd. ensures that Trade The Pool offers innovative and effective trading solutions for stock traders.
Is Trade The Pool Legit?
Trade The Pool officially discloses their company details on their website:
- Headquarters Office: 14 Haroshet st, Raanaa, Israel
- UK Office: Enstar House, 168, Praed Street, London, United Kingdom, W2 1RH
- By FIVE PERCENT ONLINE LTD.
- Company Number 12553363
- Email: help@tradethepool.com
On Trustpilot, Trade The Pool has a great reputation, with an average rating of 4.4/5 based on 46 reviews (as of October 2023).
What Assets Can You Trade with Trade The Pool?
Trade The Pool specializes in trading real shares, which includes a broad list of over 12,000 available instruments. So, while other prop firms only offer trading of stocks via contracts for difference (CFDs), Trade The Pool innovates by offering trading of real shares.
Traders can trade all types of shares, including penny stocks, but also exchange-traded funds.
Does Trade The Pool Offer Instant Funding – No Evaluation Accounts?
No, Trade The Pool does not offer any no-evaluation or instant funding accounts.
Does Trade The Pool Offer One-Phase Evaluations?
YYes, Trade The Pool (TTP) offers one-phase evaluations. But before we get into the details, I want to explain something that TTP does differently than forex prop firms.
With forex prop firms, you typically see an account size value and leverage when joining. For example, you see an account size of $10,000 and a leverage of 10:1, which means you have a buying power of $10,000 * 10 = $100,000.
Trade The Pool does not show account sizes or leverages, but the buying power value, similar to futures trading focused prop firms.
The buying power value is the maximum amount you can invest, which is similar to multiplying an account size by the leverage.
Four different buying power levels are available.
- $20,000 account for $97 (Mini Buying Power Program)
- $80,000 account for $300 (Super Buying Power Program)
- $160,000 account for $475 (Extra Buying Power Program)
- $260,000 account for $1,240 (Ultimate Buying Power Program)
All fees are one-time fees.
In general, a one-phase evaluation means that you go through one evaluation phase until you get rewarded with a funded account, where you can earn profits ready for withdrawal to your bank account by meeting specific profit targets.
Similar Rules Amongst All Trade The Pool Plans
- You have 45 days to complete the challenge and reach the profit target without hitting the maximum loss.
- The minimum number of trades you have to make is 30 trades to meet the program goals (1 executed buy order to open a position + 1 executed sell order to close a position = 1 trade).
- The profit target is always double as high as the max loss value.
- The daily/pause limit is always one-third of the max loss value.
Real-time market data (level 1 and level 2 data) is included for free in all programs.
You gain free access to one trading journal software (choose between Tradersync, Tradervue, and Stock Traders) and one stock analysis program (choose between Trade Ideas, TrendSpider and Bookmap) in the Super Buying Power program and higher.
Now, let’s talk about each program with its specifics.
Mini Buying Power
- The mini buying power program gives the trader control of a buying power of $20,000.
- The max loss value is $900
- The daily max loss value is one-third of the max loss value = $300
- The profit target is double the max loss value = $1,800
- The payout split once funded is 50/50 (50% of profits for you ready to withdraw)
Super Buying Power
- The super buying power program gives the trader control of a buying power of $80,000.
- The max loss value is $2,100
- The daily max loss value is one-third of the max loss value = $700
- The profit target is double the max loss value = $4,200
- The payout split once funded is 60/40 (60% of profits for you ready to withdraw)
Extra Buying Power
- The extra buying power program gives the trader control of a buying power of $160,000.
- The max loss value is $3,900
- The daily max loss value is one-third of the max loss value = $1,300
- The profit target is double the max loss value = $7,800
- The payout split once funded is 70/30 (50% of profits for you ready to withdraw)
Ultimate Buying Power
- The ultimate buying power program gives the trader control of a buying power of $260,000.
- The max loss value is $6,000
- The daily max loss value is one-third of the max loss value = $2,000
- The profit target is double the max loss value = $12,000
- The payout split once funded is 80/20 (80% of profits for you ready to withdraw)
Additional Rules
There are some additional rules when trading with Trade The Pool:
- Your best trade can not be responsible for more than 30% of the total profit target. If one of your trades is higher, you have the choice to either increase the profit target to “biggest profitable trade * 30%” or to keep the biggest profitable trade that got over 30% of the profit target out of the calculation.
- For a trade to be counted as profitable trade, the minimum profit per share needs to be above 10 cents in profit.
- Overnight holdings are allowed, but the maximum allowed exposure is 1/10 of the account’s buying power.
- If there is an earnings announcement scheduled and you hold a position in that stock, TTP will close that position automatically before the market closes.
- The daily/pause limit is always 1/3 of the max loss value. If you hit the daily loss limit, only the trading for the day is over. You can continue trading the next day if you do not hit the maximum loss level.
- You can short stocks, and there is no extra fee for hard-to-borrow shares.
- You can trade pre-market and after-market with 1/10 of the original buying power of the account.
- The commission for any trade is $0.005 per share, with a $0.75 minimum commission per trade.
These rules are designed to ensure proper risk management and help traders maintain control over their trading activities.
TTP Pump Logic
Good traders can increase the daily loss value and maximal exposure every time they have 5 consecutive winning days, where the cumulated profits over those 5 days are 3 times higher than the initial daily loss.
TTP Dump Logic
The TTP Dump Logic only applies if you had a previous pump since the risk allowance won’t go below the initial. If you had a previous pump, the daily loss allowance gets decreased every time a trader has 5 consecutive losing days where he makes 2 times the initial daily loss over the time span of those 5 days.
Daily Loss Bypass
If you hit the daily loss level but not the max loss level yet, you can reset your account to continue trading on the same day, even with the daily loss level hit. The costs are $25 for the Mini BP, $50 for the Super BP, $100 for the Extra BP and $250 for the Ultimate BP. If you don’t use the reset, you can continue trading the next day as long the max loss level is not hit.
Does Trade The Pool Offer Two-Phase Evaluations?
No, Trade The Pool does not offer any two-step evaluations or challenges.
How to Get Funded
Once you pass the evaluation phase by reaching a profit two times your maximum drawdown, the Trade The Pool risk department will verify your trades by analyzing your account activity. Once done, you will see a link in your trader dashboard to set up an interview with Trade The Pool’s CEO, Michael Katz. After the interview, your funded account will be open.
My Opinion
Trade The Pool goes an innovative prop firm route by enabling traders to trade real shares instead of forex, futures and CFDs.
The fact that the maximum loss level is a fixed value and not a trailing level gives the trader more room to achieve the goal. However, the maximum period of 45 days puts some pressure on the trader to reach the goal faster, while most other funded trader programs offer unlimited time to achieve the goals (but then most of the time with trailing loss levels). Still, traders who want to continue with the same challenge after 45 days can continue by buying an extra 45 days for the same price, which can be helpful if a trader is close to the profit target.
Overall, the Trade The Pool offering is a good one. The free access to trading journals and tools in Super BP and higher is unique across the industry. The payout methods are good. The company confirmed to let their funded traders trade real money, and including real-time market data is another plus.
Another positive thing to note is that TTP closes your trades automatically if there is an upcoming earnings release or if your position exceeds the allowance without penalty, while other prop firms mark up the accounts as failed if traders hold such positions without closing them.
On the negative to a neutral level, the payout split in the Mini BP (50/50) and Super BP (60/40) is not that good compared to forex and futures funded programs, yet across prop firms in the stock trading segment, it is not uncommon to have such a profit split.
In addition, with a higher one-time fee commitment, it’s possible to get to a reasonable payout split of 70/30 and 80/20.
Payout Options
As of October 2023, you can process payouts through Wise (for fiat money like USD) and Confirmo (for crypto).
Profit Target and Profit Split
Trade The Pool offers a competitive profit target and profit split structure to its clients. The profit target is set at six times the daily loss limit, providing a clear and achievable goal for traders. The profit split varies depending on the account type: 50/50 for the Mini Buying Power account, 60/40 for the Super Buying Power account, and 70/30 for the Extra Buying Power account. This means that clients can earn up to 70% of the profits generated by their trading activities, making Trade The Pool an attractive option for traders looking to maximize their earnings.
Trade The Pool Safety and Regulation
Trade The Pool is not a regulated broker in the traditional sense as we don’t invest client funds in the markets. Instead we provide funded trading accounts using our own company funds. However our parent company Five Percent Online Ltd is a UK registered company and has been operating legally since 2016. This means we operate within a framework of accountability and transparency. We also use Interactive Brokers as our liquidity provider, a well established and reputable broker known for their reliability and security in the trading industry.
Customer Support and Education
Trade The Pool offers its clients a range of customer support and education resources. These include a full FAQ section on the website, phone, email and online chat support to help with any questions or issues you may have. We also provide a range of education resources including eBooks, podcasts and video tutorials to help you improve your trading skills and knowledge. We also have a community forum where you can connect with other clients, share your experiences and get insights from other traders, a supportive trading community.
Does Trade The Pool offer Evaluation Fee Refunds?
No, Trade The Pool does not offer refunds. However, there is a 14-day free trial available to test the platform before starting a trading challenge.
What is Trade The Pool’s Partner Broker?
Trade The Pool partner brokers for funded traders are Interactive Brokers and Saxo Bank.
What Trading Platforms Does Trade The Pool Offer?
Trade The Pool lets you trade with Trader Evolution’s proprietary trading platform, which includes a scalper window, super dome, stock scanners and market depth.
Do I Trade with Simulated Funds or Real Money at Trade The Pool?
With Trade The Pool, you trade under simulated live conditions during evaluation. Once you get funded, you trade with real money in a real account.
When Can I Start Withdrawing Money from Trade The Pool?
Upon passing the Trade The Pool evaluation stage, you gain access to the funded account, where you can withdraw real funds based on the profit split conditions to your bank account every 14 days once you reach a minimum profit of $300.
What Payment Methods Does Trade The Pool Offer?
When signing up, Trade The Pool offers payments via credit card.
In What Currency Will My Account Balance Be?
All Trade The Pool accounts are held in USD as base currency.
Am I allowed to use Expert Advisors (EA), Bots and Algos with Trade The Pool?
There is no specific statement about the use of bots, algos and expert advisors. Since the provided trading platforms do not have any of those features, it’s unlikely that you can use EAs, bots and algorithmic trading anyway.
Pros
- Over 12,000 stocks and ETFs tradeable
- Excellent review ratings
- Innovator in the segment of stocks
Cons
- Only stocks and ETFs are available for trading
- Profit Split of 50/50 and 60/40 for smaller accounts
Rating: ★★★★
