Prop firm playbook
Apex Trader Funding + HuntersAlgo
What automated trading actually looks like on Apex evaluations and PA accounts. Configuration, drawdown sizing, news windows, and what changes when you go funded.
Apex Trader Funding runs the most popular futures eval program in the US retail space, and a meaningful share of HuntersAlgo subscribers run their first deployments through an Apex account. The fixed account size, defined trailing drawdown, and published news-blackout list suit a session-windowed automated strategy well. The rules are mechanical. HuntersAlgo enforces them.
Two caveats. Apex updates its rules quarterly. The configuration on this page reflects the published policy at the time of writing. Always confirm against apextraderfunding.com before relying on the eval. And passing an Apex evaluation is not the same as making money on a PA account. PA rules are tighter on consistency, payouts, and position-size scaling.
Apex account rules at a glance
Standard plan parameters published by Apex. Verify current numbers before subscribing.
| Account size | $50K | $100K | $150K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit target | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Trailing drawdown | $2,500 | $3,000 | $5,000 |
| Daily loss limit | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| Eval cost (monthly) | $167 | $207 | $297 |
HuntersAlgo configuration for Apex
Daily loss limit
Set the strategy daily-loss parameter to roughly 60% of the Apex daily limit. On a $50K account that is $900, not $1,500. The buffer covers the gap between strategy flat and the broker P&L update lag.
Daily trade cap
Cap the strategy at 3 to 5 trades per day. This bounds the worst-case sequence inside the trailing drawdown and prevents revenge-trading streaks on choppy days.
News blackout windows
Configure session blackouts for CPI (8:30 AM ET), NFP (8:30 AM first Friday), FOMC (2:00 PM rate-decision Wednesdays), retail sales, and ISM. Apex bans trading from two minutes before to two minutes after these on PA accounts.
Force-close time
Most HuntersAlgo deployments on Apex use a 3:55 PM ET force-close to flatten before the equity-cash close at 4:00 PM. Holding through the close is allowed but adds gap-risk that the strategy is not designed for.
Drawdown sizing math
The trailing drawdown is the binding constraint on every Apex account. Work backwards from it to a safe contract count.
Worked example: $50K, NQ, 1 contract
- Trailing drawdown: $2,500
- HunterBreakOut default stop: 12 ticks ($240/contract)
- Three consecutive max-loss trades: $720 — 29% of the DD
- Five consecutive: $1,200 — 48% of the DD (safe upper bound)
- Conclusion: 1 NQ contract is comfortable; 2 is borderline; 3+ is wrong
Use the futures position size calculator to compute the contract count that keeps a six-trade losing sequence inside 60% of the trailing drawdown for any account size and stop distance.
Apex + HuntersAlgo FAQ
Is automated trading allowed on Apex Trader Funding?
Apex permits automated and copy-trading on evaluation and PA (Performance Account) accounts as long as the strategy runs locally on your machine and orders are submitted through your own connection rather than a master account or third-party broker API. HuntersAlgo runs locally on NinjaTrader 8 against your Tradovate or Rithmic feed, so from Apex's perspective the orders look identical to manual fills. Verify the current published policy on apextraderfunding.com before relying on this — Apex updates rules quarterly.
Which Apex account size works best with HuntersAlgo?
The $50K and $100K accounts are the most common starting points. The $50K eval has a $2,500 trailing drawdown and a $1,500 daily loss limit, which forces tight position sizing on NQ (smaller stops, fewer contracts, or micro-NQ). The $100K and $150K accounts have wider drawdown windows and let HuntersAlgo strategies trade their default contract counts on NQ and ES without bumping into the trailing limit on a tail loss.
How do I size HuntersAlgo for the Apex trailing drawdown?
Work backwards from the trailing drawdown to a safe contract count. On a $50K account with a $2,500 trailing DD, a single losing trade of 1 NQ contract with a 12-tick stop is $240 ($20/tick × 12). Two consecutive max-loss trades is $480, well within the buffer. Three is $720. Compute your worst-case sequence with the position calculator and stay below 60% of the drawdown limit on any rolling-week window. The strategy daily-loss limit and daily trade cap should both be set well below the firm threshold.
Can I trade through Apex news windows?
Apex's published news policy (as of writing) bans trading two minutes before through two minutes after high-impact economic releases on PA accounts. HuntersAlgo session filters use New York time and let you blackout specific windows. Configure a daily blackout for the firm's news list (CPI, NFP, FOMC, retail sales, ISM) so the strategy doesn't fire during prohibited windows. Confirm the current news list on Apex's site before each PA day.
Sim vs PA — what changes when I move to a funded account?
The eval runs on Tradovate sim with simulated fills. Once you pass and move to PA, you connect to the live data feed but still trade through Apex on Tradovate or Rithmic. Fills will be slightly different. Slippage is real; partial fills are real; the queue at session-open is real. Paper-trade for 5 to 7 days on the PA connection profile before scaling up. Most subscribers see a 5 to 15% gap between eval and PA on the first month as fills settle in.
Related reading
Try HuntersAlgo on your Apex eval
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