Guidelines
General Rules
The First Law of Trading at IQ Capital:
We trade fair and we expect the same in return
Your strategy must reflect real-market behavior and honest execution. Any attempt to manipulate, exploit, or abuse the system violates this core rule and ends the relationship.
Beyond this core principle, IQ Capital maintains a concise set of quantitative limits that act as guard-rails for every trader. Respect them and you stay in the game; ignore them and the account closes fast.
Profit Target (Goal)
8%
EVALUATION
Evaluation & Funding
WHY?
Shows that you can generate profits sustainably with the given risk.
Max Drawdown (Trailing EoD)
6% / 5%
TRAILING LINE
Evaluation & Funding
WHY?
Protects against large, creeping losses.
HOW?
At each New York close, a trailing line is set 6% (challenges $10K–$100K) or 5% ($200K & instant funding) below your previous day's highest equity. If end-of-day equity falls below it, the account closes. The line only moves upward — never down.
Max Position Loss
<1% / 0.5%
RISK PER TRADE
WHY?
Ensures no single position can blow up your account. The maximum risk per trade differs by phase:
Important: Trading fees, commissions, spreads, and slippage are included in the loss calculation. Your risk must stay below the limit after all trading-related costs — reaching the limit exactly already counts as a breach.
Consistency Rule
≤30%
BEST DAY
WHY?
Ensures your funded account grows through steady, repeatable performance — not one lucky day.
HOW?
Your single highest-profit day may never make up more than 30% of your total profits. As you add profit on more days, that 30% cap grows in absolute dollars along with your total. It applies only to Funded and Instant Funding accounts — never to the Challenge.
Scalping-Rule
15s
HOLD THRESHOLD
WHY?
Ensures activity looks like real trading (no HFT/tick-scalping abuse).
No Minimum Trading Days
0
MIN DAYS
WHY?
There are no required minimum trading days in the Challenge. If you hit the profit target and stay within the rules, you can pass in a single day.
(Payouts on funded accounts do have a minimum — see Payout & Profit Split.)
