LIVE ELITE: Real Capital, Real Markets
The real-capital tier where proven traders get paid. Trade ETF's money in live markets, keep 80% with no payout cap, and withdraw daily. This is the destination the whole sim journey is built toward.
Sim is a tool to find talent. LIVE ELITE is the point of it all: ETF puts up real capital, you execute, and the upside is genuinely uncapped. You earn your way here by proving consistency. There is no checkout button for LIVE ELITE.
- Account stage
- Live (real capital)
- Profit split
- 80/20 (80% to you)
- Payout cap
- Uncapped
- Min withdrawal
- $250
- Withdrawals
- Daily (business days)
- Drawdown
- End-of-day
What LIVE ELITE is
LIVE ELITE is where traders with proven, consistent profitability get paid with real money. You execute; ETF provides the capital, daily withdrawals, and the guardrails that keep your profits yours. Scale up when your edge is working, step back when it isn't, and your downside stays defined.
All LIVE ELITE accounts run on an end-of-day drawdown. There is no consistency rule. Payouts are uncapped above your starting balance, with a $250 minimum. Advancement is performance-based, earned through risk control and results, not time served. This is the same message that runs through the Elite Sim-Funded stage: don't aim to stay in sim, aim to get here.
How you get selected
LIVE ELITE is earned, not purchased. You qualify out of the sim stage by proving you can both make profits and protect them.
Hit any one milestone
You may qualify when you reach any one of: 5 payouts, 50 active trading days, or the $25,000 payout cap, counted per trader, not per account. Reaching the cap is itself a qualification event.
ETF can move you at any time
ETF reserves the right to move any trader to LIVE ELITE whenever it sees the talent: during your evaluation, during the Elite Sim-Funded stage, or before, during, or after a payout. If they think you are ready, they make the call.
Background check + CME rules
Before going live you must pass a background check and complete the 34 core CME rules lessons (if you did not already finish them during your evaluation).
Prove discipline in sim first
Each sim account must clear its safety net (profit ≥ max drawdown + $100), and you must respect the loss limit rule: after +20% on an account you cannot give back more than 35% of those gains. Breaking it can cost you LIVE ELITE eligibility.
The transition: a fresh start with real money
When you are moved to LIVE ELITE, your active evaluation and Elite Sim-Funded subscriptions are automatically cancelled and the Risk Team sends a welcome email with next steps. The most important thing to understand: your sim balance and sim earnings do not carry over. All Elite Sim-Funded accounts are closed and no payouts are owed from them. You begin with a fixed real-capital starting balance, based on your top-performing sim account that cleared its safety net.
| Qualifying sim / DTF account | LIVE ELITE starting balance |
|---|---|
| 50K or below Elite Sim-Funded | $1,250 |
| 100K Elite Sim-Funded | $1,500 |
| 150K or above Elite Sim-Funded | $2,000 |
| 10K Mini Inferno Direct to Funded | $1,500 |
| 25K Direct to Funded | $1,500 |
| 50K Direct to Funded | $2,000 |
| 100K Direct to Funded | $2,500 |
The numbers look small next to a sim account, and that is the point. This is real money, sized so both you and the capital ETF invested are protected while you prove yourself live. For active evaluations (non-failed), passed accounts, and active Elite Sim-Funded accounts with no payout requested, the last billing payment amount is added to your LIVE ELITE starting balance.
Accepting (or declining) the offer
You get 3 business days to accept a LIVE ELITE offer. If you decline, you still get paid for the work: 5% of your earnings up to $12,500, plus 2% of any earnings above $12,500, calculated on your balance at the offer date. The accounts are then closed.
Worked example: declining the offer
Say you have $20,000 in earnings at the offer date and choose to decline. Your decline payout is 5% of the first $12,500 ($625) plus 2% of the $7,500 above $12,500 ($150), for a total of $775. The accounts are then closed.
Why this rule exists
LIVE ELITE is where ETF invests real capital, so they ask for a clear commitment in return. One serious caveat: declining a LIVE ELITE offer prohibits you from using ETF's services for two calendar years. Take the full 3-business-day window to decide, but decide deliberately.
Withdrawals & the 48-hour guarantee
This is where the sim discipline pays off in real dollars.
Daily, on business days
Requests submitted before 1:00 PM EST are prioritized and processed same day on a best-effort basis, and same day has been the norm. Other requests are generally handled within 24 hours, business days only.
$250 minimum, no maximum
Withdraw as much as you like above your starting balance, with a $250 minimum per request. Your account simply has to stay above its starting balance.
80/20 profit split
You keep 80% of profits, ETF keeps 20%. There is no payout cap in LIVE ELITE. This is where the upside is genuinely uncapped.
48-hour payout guarantee
ETF guarantees eligible payouts are approved (and eligible LIVE ELITE transitions initiated) within 48 hours, excluding weekends, US holidays, and outages. Miss it and ETF adds $1,000 to your payout or your LIVE ELITE account. Subject to completed KYC and Rise verification and accounts in good standing.
Payouts run through Rise (riseworks.io) with ACH and crypto options; you complete a one-time KYC and Rise onboarding before your first withdrawal.
Risk: no daily loss limit, real accountability
LIVE ELITE does not enforce a mandatory daily loss limit, and that is deliberate. ETF trusts you to manage risk like the professional you've proven yourself to be. But that trust comes with a clear expectation: this is real capital ETF invested in you, and you are expected to protect it.
If an account suffers a 20% or greater drawdown from its high-water mark, ETF will review it and may reduce contract limits, pause it, or close it. Knowing when to size down or step back is exactly what separates funded traders from everyone else.
Drawdown from your high-water mark that triggers a risk review.
High-water mark on a $2,000 account.
Dropping to $1,600 is a 20% giveback and triggers a review.
Build your own safety net: custom loss limits
You can also request custom loss limits. ETF sets a soft-liquidation level above your starting balance to lock in part of your gains while you keep trading the cushion. How the loss limit rule works
What LIVE ELITE costs
Pricing is transparent and front-loaded, with meaningful rewards for traders who treat LIVE ELITE like a business.
Market data: $197/mo per exchange
A flat $197 per month per exchange on your first account covers Level 1 + Level 2 data and the FCM fees. Each additional account adds $197. Deducted from your balance on the 1st. Exchanges: CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, EUREX. Pick only the ones you need.
ETF covers fees after 3 months
Show consistent, genuine performance in LIVE ELITE for 3 months and ETF covers your exchange fees (you cover only the FCM fees) and your EdgeProX subscription. Real backing for traders who manage risk well.
Commissions (per contract)
Minis $2.00, micros $0.62, Eurex $0.69 (commissions only; Eurex exchange fees vary by instrument).
EdgeProX platform subscription
EdgeProX is an optional $34.99/mo platform, covered by ETF after 3 months of genuine trading.
Auto-liquidation fee
A $5-per-contract fee applies on any auto-liquidation event: hitting a daily loss limit, breaching your end-of-day liquidation value, or leaving a position open through the close without swing approval. This is passed through from the broker and is not reversible.
Fees may change based on the data broker. LIVE ELITE trades on Rithmic-compatible platforms only, including Rithmic, R | Trader, ATAS, Bookmap, EdgeProX, eSignal, Finamark, Investor/RT, MotiveWave, Quantower, and Sierra Chart. Tradovate and NinjaTrader are not supported in LIVE ELITE.
Scaling, contract limits & staying active
Your initial contract limit on a LIVE ELITE account.
If your starting balance is $2,000 or more.
Then email the Risk Team to request an increase.
Requesting a contract increase
After 20 trading days you can email the Risk Team to request an increase, and they review your style, consistency, and risk management first. Trade copying unlocks once you have built a realized profit buffer above your starting balance and split your account (Risk-approved), and accounts can be merged or split as you grow.
Risk Team reviews style, consistency, and risk management first.
How maximum positions workGenuine weekly activity
LIVE ELITE traders are treated as independent contractors, so genuine weekly trading activity is expected, and scratch trades to "check the box" do not count. If you go 7 calendar days without genuine activity and haven't been in touch, the account is closed. Email support if life gets in the way; communicating beats going silent.
7 calendar days of genuine inactivity closes the account.
Login & activity policyWhat you'll like, and what to watch out for
Pros
- Real capital: ETF funds you, you keep 80% with no payout cap
- Daily withdrawals on business days, $250 minimum, 48-hour approval guarantee
- No consistency rule and no mandatory daily loss limit, so you manage risk like a pro
- Custom loss limits let you lock in profits on your own terms
- ETF covers your exchange fees and EdgeProX after 3 months of genuine trading
Cons
- Earned, not bought: you have to qualify out of the sim stage
- Sim balance and sim earnings do not carry over; you start at a fixed real-capital balance
- A liquidated live account cannot be reset; you restart through the SIM / DTF route
- Flat $197/mo per exchange in market-data fees until ETF covers them after 3 months
- Decline the offer and you are barred from ETF for 2 years; 7 days of genuine inactivity closes the account
Elite Sim-Funded vs LIVE ELITE
Where the sim stage is a proving ground, LIVE ELITE is the destination. Here is how the two tiers line up.
| Rule | Elite Sim-Funded | LIVE ELITE |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Simulated funded environment with real payouts from sim gains. | Real capital in live markets, on Rithmic-compatible platforms. |
| Profit split | Up to 100% of simulated profits. | 80% to you, 20% to ETF. |
| Payout cap | Up to $25,000 in total sim payouts per trader, the cap that triggers transition to Live. Per-cycle maximums are smaller and depend on plan. $150,000 lifetime sim cap across re-entries. | Uncapped above your starting balance. |
| Payout timing | Per payout cycle once you are eligible. | Daily on business days, with a 48-hour payout approval guarantee. |
| Loss rules | Loss limit rule kicks in after +20% profit. | No mandatory daily loss limit, but a 20% drawdown from your high-water mark triggers a review. |
| How you get there | Pass an evaluation, or buy Direct to Funded. | Get selected: 5 payouts, 50 active trading days, or $25,000 in total payouts. ETF may also move you at any time. |
New to all of this? Start with the Elite Sim-Funded account to see the stage that leads here, or browse the evaluations that start the journey.
Frequently asked questions
LIVE ELITE is earned, not bought.
There is no checkout for LIVE ELITE. You earn it by proving consistency in an evaluation and the Elite Sim-Funded stage. Pick the evaluation that fits how you trade and start the climb to real capital.
Browse evaluationsAccount sizes and risk parameters are subject to change.
Ready to Start Your Trading Journey?
Trading doesn't have to be complicated. We're here to guide you on every step of your journey. Choose your evaluation and start trading today. Grow your capital. Get paid.
