FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that prop trading firm The Funded Trader has halted payouts to its clients.
Miami based The Funded Trader is one of a number of leading prop trading firms serving retail clients which has been forced to stop using MetaTrader trading platforms (MT4 and MT5) amid a crackdown by MetaTrader developer MetaQuotes on brokers (and introducers) who take on US retail clients, without being duly licensed to do so.
However the transition to new platforms (and often new executing brokers) has not gone smoothly for all prop firms.
Prop firm comparison service Propfirmmatch.com posted earlier that The Funded Trader has been suspended its site. Propfirmmatch.com stated that the suspension is due to a significant number of complaints and instances of payout denials reported on Trustpilot, through social media, and directly to Propfirmmatch.
The Funded Trader then posted that it has enabled a ‘self imposed internal audit’ of all payouts. The prop trading firm said that it will be ‘ensuring all payouts are in line with our terms of service’, and do not violate the gambling policies that the company has in place.
The company said that due to the [trading platform] migration, in which mistakes were made, it has created a large backlog of tickets for the company to resolve, payouts included. The Funded Trader stated that they are working actively to resolve everything, and will focus on attention to detail at this time to ensure that customers are getting the experience they deserve now and in the future. The company claims to have sent $150 million in payouts to date, and expects to send many more.
Regarding its suspension from Propfirmmatch.com, The Funded Trader posted: “We’ll be back. Quick decisions don’t promote long term success. Our story will be told. ”
And regarding the trading platform migration issues, The Funded Trader separately reported that it ‘made mistakes’ during the migration to DXtrade which cost its traders time and virtual money. The company said it is ‘revisiting the issues’ and there will be additional compensations. If you [i.e. clients] do not wish to support TFT any longer, then the company said it will ‘accept that decision from you’ and will continue to focus on improving the experience of our traders.
Belgium’s FSMA recently became the first major EU regulator to warn against the prop trading firms, warning retail traders that prop firms are there to make money by selling Challenges to retail traders, with the possible ‘reward’ of a profit-share from a funded trading account not always materializing.
