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Live-funded account

A prop firm account whose orders reach a real venue, so fills, slippage and fees are genuine and the firm carries actual market risk on the trader's positions.

Live funding is the older model and the more demanding one. Because the firm's own capital is exposed, allocation is slower, position limits are tighter, and risk desks intervene. Traders in turn get real fills, real depth and results that transfer to trading their own money.

Many firms run a hybrid: evaluation and early funded stages in simulation, with a small number of consistent traders copied into live accounts through a trade-copier.

Example: a trader passes an evaluation and is allocated a live 2-lot limit. Their simulated results showed $0.5 average slippage per side; live, in the first minute after data releases, it is 2.5 ticks. Monthly net falls from $6,000 simulated to $3,400 live — the same strategy, honestly measured.

Related: sim-funded-account, trade-copier, funded-account, slippage

See it drawn

Original diagrams for the ideas on this page. Illustrative, not real market data.

Slippage on a market orderA buy order clears four price levels, so the average price paid is worse than the price first quoted.Buy 1,000 shares at marketpricesell orders resting (bar length = size)20.04300 shares20.03200 shares20.01200 shares20.00300 sharesnothing resting at 20.02order sweeps up the bookaverage fill 20.02SLIPPAGE0.02 a share$20.00 in totalintended 20.00Each level fills at its own price; the average is what you really paid.
Slippage on a market order. You click at 20.00, but only 300 shares are resting there, so the rest of the order fills at 20.01, 20.03 and 20.04. The average price paid is 20.02, and that two-cent gap is slippage.

Educational only, not advice. Spotted an error? Post in Site Feedback.