Prop firm allow EA rules

Which prop firm allow EA use, and under what conditions? At NextGen Funding, You can run an Expert Advisor in all three evaluations and they run on MetaTrader 5. What is not allowed is any method relying on the execution mechanism or on another account, such as latency arbitrage, high frequency trading and copy trading. Three further things fall outside what a robot can see, and they are your responsibility: the leverage tiers that step down as volume rises, the two minute news window that no robot reads from an economic calendar, and the combined floating loss across several open positions, which counts together and can close the account. NextGen Funding is backed by Errante, and every figure here comes from its published terms.

Which evaluations allow an Expert Advisor

All three. Standard, Rapid and Ace place no restriction on automation. You never have to run a strategy manually to clear an evaluation. That makes choosing a prop firm challenge at this prop firm a question of risk limits, not of whether your robot is welcome.

Why an Expert Advisor only runs on MetaTrader 5

All execution runs on MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and your robot has to be written for that platform. If yours was built for an older version or a different platform, settle that before buying an evaluation.

That constraint has an advantage too. Because the whole route runs on one platform, the robot behaves the same during the evaluation and on the funded account, and you reconfigure nothing after you pass.

The exact boundary between permitted and prohibited algo trading

Speed alone is not the test. What matters is where the strategy’s profitability comes from.

Methods that rely on the execution mechanism

Arbitrage in any form, exploiting price feed latency, high frequency trading, tick scalping and gap trading all are on the prohibited activities list.

What they share is that the result comes from a technical discrepancy or a system error and not to market analysis. An algorithm deciding on an indicator or a price pattern does not fall into this category, however quickly it executes.

Methods that rely on another account

Copy trading, group or reverse hedging across several accounts, account sharing and trading on someone else’s behalf are also prohibited. Using software to gain an unfair advantage belongs in the same category.

This matters particularly to anyone running a robot on several accounts at once. Running one strategy on your own account is fine, and coordinating trades between accounts to offset risk falls under this clause.

How to tell whether a robot you bought is permitted

Ask the seller three questions. Or read the documentation. For example: does the strategy depend on latency or on a price difference between sources? Is the average holding time measured in seconds? Was it designed to run on several accounts simultaneously?

Three answers of no clear it. No documentation and no straight answer is itself a signal. Choosing the robot is your responsibility, never the seller’s.

Why an Expert Advisor does not see the leverage tiers

Leverage at NextGen Funding is not a fixed number and steps down according to total open volume. On forex it starts at 1:100 at small size and falls to 1:1 at high volume. On a $100,000 account, three lots at 1:100 needs $3,000 of margin; the same three lots at 1:30 needs $10,000.

Most robots do not factor these tiers into their calculations. They size each trade on their own formula and assume leverage is constant. Once total open volume crosses a tier, the margin required is higher than the robot expected and the next order may not execute.

Cap the simultaneous volume in the robot’s settings, which means the total of open positions never goes beyond the tier that suits you. On a $50,000 account, capping at three lots holds you at 1:100.

Expert Advisors and the risk rules

Two risk rules mean something different for automated execution than for manual trading.

Combined floating loss across several positions

Levels for the maximum drawdown and the daily loss limit come from the account balance. What triggers them is your account equity.

A robot usually keeps several positions on the account at once, and the floating loss on all of them enters the calculation together. Four trades $1,300 down each is $5,200, past a $5,000 daily limit on a $100,000 account with nothing closed. Whether you closed a trade plays no part in it, and the moment the combined paper loss reaches the level, the account closes. A robot managing each position separately never sees that total.

The daily loss limit and the nightly reset

Your daily loss limit resets every day at 5 PM Eastern time, based on the previous day’s closing balance.

Robots that run around the clock need that point built into their settings. A position opened just before that moment can land on the previous day’s allowance. That same rule continues unchanged on a simulated funded account.

The news window, which a robot does not read

On Standard, trading during high impact news stays open across both stages. On Rapid, on Ace and on every funded account it is not, and the window runs from two minutes before a release to two minutes after it.

By default a robot does not read the economic calendar and places orders in that window exactly as it does at any other hour. Watching for events is entirely your job, and not knowing is not an accepted excuse.

You have two practical options. Enable a news filter in the robot’s settings if it has one, or stop the robot during the window around important events. If neither is possible, Standard is the only evaluation that removes this risk.

Backtesting an Expert Advisor before buying an evaluation

Before paying the entry fee you can test the strategy on historical data. It costs nothing and it is the single most useful decision tool for this audience.

What to measure

Final profit is not the only criterion. Three other things matter more for clearing an evaluation.

• The largest drawdown across the test period, and whether it stays under the ceiling on the evaluation you have chosen.
• The worst day by loss, compared with the daily loss limit. A $2,800 day breaks a $2,500 limit on a $50,000 account.
• The largest simultaneous open volume, and which leverage tier it falls into.

How the test result differs from live execution

A backtest result is an optimistic ceiling, not a forecast. In live execution the spread at entry differs, slippage happens, and commission of $3 per lot in each direction comes out of the profit. For example, on 200 lots a month that is $1,200 the backtest never charged you.

Read the test result with a margin of safety for that reason. If the test lands exactly on the profit target, live execution probably will not.

Which evaluation suits algo trading

Two things decide it: whether your robot has a news filter, and how large its worst drawdown was in testing.

With no news filter on your robot, Standard, a 2-step challenge, is the safest option. A worst drawdown near 6% in testing rules out Ace, a 1-step challenge, does not give you enough room. Once you clear the evaluation, account size grows through the scaling plan on the basis of consistent performance, which means the same robot running on a larger volume. NextGen Funding is backed by Errante, a broker operating under CySEC and the FSA Seychelles, and an approved withdrawal request is processed within 24 to 48 hours.

Frequently asked questions

Does NextGen Funding allow EA trading?

Yes, in all three evaluations. Standard, Rapid and Ace place no restriction on automation, and you do not have to run your strategy manually.

Which platform does my robot have to be written for?

MetaTrader 5, since all execution runs there. Nothing else is supported. If yours was built for an older version or a different platform, settle that before buying an evaluation.

Do I have to reconfigure the robot after passing?

No. Everything runs on one platform, so the robot behaves the same during the evaluation and on the funded account.

Which automated methods are prohibited?

Arbitrage in any form, exploiting price feed latency, high frequency trading, tick scalping and gap trading, along with copy trading, group or reverse hedging, account sharing and trading on someone else’s behalf.

Is a fast algorithm automatically prohibited?

No. Speed alone is not the test. An algorithm deciding on an indicator or a price pattern passes however quickly it executes, which means speed by itself is never the problem. What is prohibited is profitability tied to a technical discrepancy or a system error.

Can I run the same robot on several accounts?

Running one strategy on your own account is permitted, but coordinating trades between accounts to offset risk falls under the prohibited clause on group or reverse hedging.

How do I check whether a robot I bought is permitted?

Three questions: does the strategy depend on latency or a price difference between sources, is the average holding time measured in seconds, and was it designed to run on several accounts at once. If all three answers are no, it is inside the permitted range.

What if the seller cannot answer clearly?

That ambiguity is itself a signal. The responsibility for choosing the robot is yours, not the seller’s.

Why does my robot’s order fail to execute sometimes?

Often because total open volume crossed a leverage tier. Leverage steps down as volume rises, so the margin required becomes higher than the robot expected.

What are the forex leverage tiers?

1:100 for up to 3 lots, 1:50 from 3.01 to 5, 1:30 from 5.01 to 10, 1:25 from 10.01 to 20, 1:20 from 20.01 to 25, 1:15 from 25.01 to 30, and 1:1 above 30 lots.

How do I stop the tiers breaking my robot’s sizing?

Cap the simultaneous volume in the robot’s settings so the total of open positions never goes beyond the tier that suits you.

Does the floating loss on several open positions count together?

Yes. The limits are set from the balance but triggered by your account equity, and the paper loss on all open positions counts together. A robot managing each position separately does not see that total.

When does the daily loss limit reset?

At 5 PM Eastern time, based on the previous day’s closing balance. If your robot runs around the clock, build that point into its settings.

Does my robot know about the news window?

No. By default it does not read the economic calendar and will place orders in the window exactly as at any other hour. Watching for events is entirely your responsibility.

How long is the news window?

From two minutes before a high impact release to two minutes after it. It applies on Rapid, on Ace and on every funded account. Standard allows news trading across both of its evaluation stages.

What can I do if my robot has no news filter?

Stop the robot around important events, or choose Standard, which is the only evaluation that removes this risk during the evaluation stages.

Can I backtest before buying?

Yes, on historical data, and it costs nothing. Measure the largest drawdown in the test, the worst day by loss, and the largest simultaneous open volume.

Why is my backtest result not what I get live?

Because a backtest is an optimistic ceiling and not a forecast. Live execution has a different spread at entry, slippage, and commission of $3 per lot per direction coming out of the profit.

Which evaluation suits an algo trader?

Standard if your robot has no news filter. If your worst backtest drawdown was near 6%, Ace does not give you enough room.

Am I trading real money?

No. Every account, evaluation and funded alike, is a demo account with fictitious funds and all trading takes place in a simulated environment. Only the profit you withdraw is real.

All accounts we provide to our clients are demo accounts with fictitious funds and any trading is in a simulated environment only.