Using Risk Controls During an FTMO Evaluation

FTMO offers different evaluation products, and their objectives are not interchangeable. TradeJournal Pro can apply the values you enter, but it cannot identify your FTMO product from trading activity, certify that a signal source is permitted, or guarantee an evaluation result.

This page was reviewed on August 10, 2026. Always start with FTMO's current Trading Objectives for your exact product and phase.

Why one-click firm presets were retired

The current official objectives illustrate the problem with generic presets:

• FTMO Challenge: 1-Step and FTMO Account: 1-Step use a daily-loss rule based on 3% of initial simulated capital, an end-of-day trailing maximum-loss calculation, and a Best Day rule.
• FTMO Challenge: 2-Step uses different objectives, including a 5% maximum daily loss, a static 10% maximum loss, and separate targets for Challenge and Verification.
• Reset time, floating P&L, swaps, commissions, open positions, and product phase all affect the calculation.

Those details can change. TradeJournal Pro therefore no longer auto-applies a dated “FTMO preset.” Enter the current values from your own agreement and review them whenever your phase or account changes.

Configure definitions, not just percentages

Daily-loss control

Record all parts of the rule:

1. The applicable percentage or amount.
2. Which balance or capital value it references.
3. The reset time and timezone.
4. Whether floating P&L, swaps, and commissions count.
5. A stricter internal buffer you choose for slippage and calculation delay.

The software's guard uses the account information available through the connected execution path. It is not FTMO's official calculation and may update at a different time.

Maximum-loss control

Confirm whether your product uses a static or trailing reference and when a trailing reference moves. A static 10% example must not be copied into an account whose official rule trails end-of-day balance.

Profit target and consistency

Treat the target display as progress against the number you entered, not an FTMO pass notification. Product-specific rules such as Best Day can require more trading even when a profit target is reached. Only FTMO can confirm completion in its own dashboard.

News, holding, FIFO, and automation

These restrictions can depend on the product, phase, platform, and account type. Enable FIFO only when it matches the broker account. Use news and time filters only after checking current terms. Execution delays and randomized comments do not make automated activity undetectable or compliant.

A safer setup sequence

1. Open the current FTMO objectives and your account agreement side by side.
2. Enter stricter internal daily-loss and drawdown limits in the account settings.
3. Confirm the timezone and reset behavior; do not assume UTC.
4. Test symbol mapping, volume, opens, modifications, partial closes, and full closes on demo.
5. Deliberately test the warning and block thresholds with non-live funds.
6. Keep broker-side emergency protection where appropriate; local hidden stops and trailing logic require a running execution client.
7. Monitor execution receipts and the FTMO dashboard independently.

What the controls can and cannot do

They can refuse a new request after a configured threshold, cap volume, filter symbols or times, and surface warnings from available account data.

They cannot prevent gaps or slippage, override broker rejections, know every FTMO calculation, determine whether a third-party strategy is allowed, or guarantee that an account remains eligible.

FTMO's own guidance on algorithmic trading also keeps responsibility for the objectives with the trader. Use automation as a configurable control layer, not as compliance certification.

Review the funded-account controls or open account settings.

Educational product documentation, not financial or legal advice. Trading and evaluation fees involve risk.