Elite Trader Funding Review: The Only Prop Firm Safe for Automated Trading (EOD Guide)
2025-12-17
If you are running Pine Script strategies on a Prop Firm, you have likely faced the "Apex Killer": Intraday Trailing Drawdown.
It works like this: You are up $500 in a trade. The price wicks back $200. You are still in profit, but the firm counts that $200 pullback as a "loss" against your drawdown limit. For a manual scalper, this is manageable. For an automated swing strategy, this is a death sentence.
This is why at Codon, we have migrated our primary capital infrastructure to Elite Trader Funding (ETF). Specifically, for their EOD (End-of-Day) Drawdown evaluations.
The Math: EOD vs. Trailing Drawdown
To understand why EOD is non-negotiable for algorithmic trading, let's look at the critical differences:
1. Drawdown Type
- Most Firms (Apex): Live Trailing Drawdown. (High Risk)
- Elite Trader Funding: End of Day Drawdown. (Low Risk)
2. Impact of Wicks
- Most Firms (Apex): A wick can fail your account instantly, even if the trade ends in profit.
- Elite Trader Funding: Wicks are ignored. Only the closing balance at 5:00 PM ET matters.
3. Psychological Pressure
- Most Firms (Apex): Extreme. You panic whenever profit retraces.
- Elite Trader Funding: Low. You can let the bot run its full course.
The Verdict: If you use bots, "Live Trailing" functions as a hidden tax on your volatility. EOD is the only environment where statistical probability can play out fairly.
Why We Chose Elite Trader Funding
Aside from the EOD mechanic, ETF aligns with our Scarcity Mindset philosophy of minimizing risk:
- Fast Evaluation: 1-Step evaluations allow us to deploy capital faster than the industry standard 2-step process.
- Allowed Strategies: Unlike some firms that ban "news trading" or specific algo behaviors, ETF is relatively permissible (always check current FAQs).
- Free NinjaTrader License: Essential for bridging our TradingView signals to the futures market.
The "Slow Grind" Protocol
How do we pass these evaluations using code? We do not aim for a lucky home run. We use the "Slow Grind":
- Leverage: We configure our bots to use 1/10th of the allowed size. (e.g., 2 Micros instead of 2 Minis).
- Logic: We employ mean-reversion strategies (like our Squeeze Hunter) that thrive on the volatility that kills trailing-drawdown traders.
- Safety: We hard-code a Kill-Switch to halt trading if we hit 50% of the daily loss limit.
Conclusion: The Architect's Choice
You cannot build a skyscraper on quicksand. If your Prop Firm changes the rules of math (via Trailing Drawdown) to make you fail, your code will never work.
Elite Trader Funding offers a stable foundation. It allows your code to breathe, your trades to fluctuate, and your edge to materialize.
If you are tired of blowing accounts because of a 1-minute wick, it is time to switch venues.
(Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Read the rules of any Prop Firm carefully before purchasing.)