FFUNDED News Trading Rules, Plan by Plan
The FFUNDED news trading rule comes down to one line: during the challenge phase it is allowed, and the restricted accounts are Instant Funding accounts and funded accounts. Getting it wrong on a restricted account brings a formal warning first and ends the account on a repeat, so it is worth being precise about which side of that line your account sits on.
Where it is allowed
| Plan | During evaluation | Once funded |
|---|---|---|
| Instant | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| 1 Step | Allowed | Not allowed |
| 2 Step Standard | Allowed | Not allowed |
| 2 Step Pro | Allowed | Not allowed |
| 3 Step | Allowed | Allowed |
Two things fall out of that table. Instant accounts never permit news trading at any point, because an Instant account is funded from its first day and there is no evaluation phase to be lenient during. And 3 Step is the only plan where news trading survives the transition to funded, which is a genuine differentiator if trading releases is central to your edge.
The windows
A high impact release opens a window of 15 minutes on each side of it.
A tier one macro release opens a wider window of 30 minutes on each side. Tier one means an interest rate decision, non farm payrolls, CPI, GDP or PCE.
The Economic Calendar in your dashboard marks every high impact release with its exact restricted window, so you can see when to be flat rather than having to track a calendar yourself.
What the rule actually caps during an evaluation
During the challenge phase, news trading is allowed on every evaluation account. The only figure to keep in mind is a profit quality one: no more than 20% of your total profit should come from high impact windows. This is a profit quality rule, not an account ending one, and it never stops you from trading a release.
The distinction matters. Exceeding the 20% figure on an evaluation account does not breach it. The profit above the cap is recorded against the account and taken into account when a payout is decided. The rule exists so that a pass reflects repeatable skill rather than one lucky reaction to a data print.
Once funded, the framing changes completely. On Instant, 1 Step, 2 Step Standard and 2 Step Pro, you may not open or add to a position inside a high impact window, or hold one through the release itself. The first confirmed violation brings a formal warning; a further one ends the account. There is no percentage cap to stay inside at that point, because the activity is simply not permitted. Closing or reducing a position before the release is always allowed, and is exactly what the rule wants you to do.
Straddling is banned everywhere
Placing opposing or hedged positions on the same or a correlated instrument inside a news window, to catch the move in either direction rather than to trade a view, is straddling. It is prohibited on every plan, in evaluation and when funded, without exception.
This one catches traders who think of it as a neutral strategy. From the firm's side it is not a directional view expressed with risk; it is an attempt to harvest a guaranteed move from the environment, and it is treated the same way as any other execution exploit.
Practical handling
If you hold a plan where news trading is not allowed in your current phase, the workable rule is simple: be flat before the window opens, and do not re enter until it has closed on the other side. A position opened before the window and still running through it is exposure you did not choose to have at a moment you are not permitted to act.
If you hold 3 Step and intend to keep trading releases when funded, size for the spread rather than the price. Spreads widen materially into tier one releases, stops are filled well past their level, and the daily loss limit counts every cent of that overshoot. A trader who normally risks 0.5% can find a single release costs them multiples of that through slippage alone.
The full rule text sits in the trading rules, and per plan figures are on compare plans.
Frequently asked questions
Can I trade the news on FFUNDED?
During the challenge phase, yes. News trading is allowed on every evaluation account, on 1 Step, 2 Step Standard, 2 Step Pro and 3 Step alike, with one profit quality note: no more than 20% of total profit should come from news windows. The restricted accounts are Instant Funding accounts and funded accounts. Once funded, only 3 Step keeps news trading allowed.
How long is an FFUNDED news window?
A high impact release opens a window of 15 minutes on each side of it. A tier one macro release, meaning an interest rate decision, non farm payrolls, CPI, GDP or PCE, opens a wider window of 30 minutes on each side. Every enforced window is marked on the Economic Calendar in your dashboard.
What happens if more than 20% of my profit comes from news?
On an evaluation account, nothing ends. The profit above the cap is recorded against the account and considered when a payout is decided, because this is a profit quality rule rather than a hard limit. On a funded account outside 3 Step there is no cap to think about, because news trading is not permitted there at all: a first violation brings a formal warning and a repeat breaches the account.
Is hedging around a news release allowed?
No. Placing opposing or hedged positions on the same or a correlated instrument inside a news window is straddling, and it is prohibited on every plan, both during the evaluation and once funded.
Every rule above is published before you pay
Five plans, from $5,000 to $400,000 in simulated capital. No time limit on any evaluation, an 85% profit split from your first payout, and every drawdown figure stated on the plan card rather than buried in a PDF.
Accounts trade simulated capital in a demo environment. Payouts are real money based on simulated performance. Trading involves substantial risk.