100% profit split is the main headline of Blue Guardian Futures. That perk can be enjoyed across all four different models, which include the instant-funded option. Behind the generous profit cut, does the futures prop firm offer a reasonable trading experience with its rules and features?
PipBack answers that question with our detailed Blue Guardian futures review that goes through the different evaluation and funding options available. We will also bring to light any hidden rules obscured within their knowledge base that are significant to your decision.
Blue Guardian Futures Account at a Glance
Standard
| $50,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit Target | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Max Position Size | 3 Mini’s/30 Micro’s | 6 Mini’s/ 60 Micro’s | 9 Mini’s/ 90 Micro’s |
| Daily Loss Limit | $1,250 | $2,500 | $3,750 |
| Max Drawdown | $2,500 | $3,500 | $5,000 |
| Drawdown Mode | EOD | EOD | EOD |
| Position Scaling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payouts | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly |
The Standard’s main draw is its affordable price and lenient consistency rule, which is significantly lower than the other evaluation accounts. What you will be dealing with in this account plan is the hard breach daily loss limit.
Pro
| $50,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit Target | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Max Position Size | 6 Mini’s/60 Micro’s | 8 Mini’s/ 80 Micro’s | 12 Mini’s/ 120 Micro’s |
| Daily Loss Limit | – | – | – |
| Max Drawdown | $2,000 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| Drawdown Mode | EOD | EOD | EOD |
| Micro Scaling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payouts | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly |
The Pro Plan offers more lenient policies and rules that make it easy for you to meet the payout requirements. It also offers more contracts to control.
Rapid
| $50,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit Target | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Max Position Size | 3 Mini’s/30 Micro’s | 6 Mini’s/ 60 Micro’s | 9 Mini’s/ 90 Micro’s |
| Daily Loss Limit | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Max Drawdown | $2,000 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| Drawdown Mode | EOD | EOD | EOD |
| Micro Scaling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payouts | Every 3 days | Every 3 days | Every 3 days |
This model is designed to make the payout cycle shorter than other Blue Guardian Futures accounts. The Rapid plan also has more lenient trade policies than the standard account.
Instant
| $25,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit Target | – | – | – | – |
| Max Contract Size | 1 Mini/ 10 Micro’s | 3 Mini’s/30 Micro’s | 6 Mini’s/ 60 Micro’s | 9 Mini’s/ 90 Micro’s |
| Daily Loss Limit | $500 | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Max Drawdown | $1,000 | $2,000 | $4,000 | $6,000 |
| Drawdown Mode | EOD | EOD | EOD | EOD |
| Micro Scaling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payouts | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly |
The Instant Funding lets you clear the evaluation phase to start working on making gains that can be withdrawn. In exchange for immediate access, the possible position sizes are much smaller than the evaluation-based accounts.
Blue Guardian Futures 1-Step Plans
The three 1-Step plans require you to pass the evaluation phase before you have access to funding. Passing involves reaching the profit target for your account while avoiding the drawdown limit. When taking on the evaluation, there are rules to pay attention to.
- Hard Breach Daily Loss Limit: The Standard 1-Step model has a hard breach policy with their daily loss limit. Hitting this will breach your account instead of temporarily suspending trades for the day.
- No Activation Fee: All of the 1-Step plans do not require you to pay an activation fee when you pass the evaluation.
- No Consistency Rule: There is no consistency rule to pass during the evaluation of all three 1-Step Plans
- Guardian Shield: This is a unique risk management feature in Blue Guardian Futures that automatically closes your positions when it sees a floating loss of 2%. Note that this is a soft breach policy where a 2% floating loss will not breach your account unless it hits your drawdown.
Blue Guardian Futures Funded Plans and Payout Requirement
The funded phase is where you can start working on profits that you can withdraw as actual cash. There are several policies and rules to note during this phase.
100% Profit Split
True to their marketing promise, you enjoy 100% payout for the first $15,000 of profit you make across the Standard, Rapid, and Instant Blue Guardian Futures accounts. After withdrawing a total of $15,000, the profit split becomes 90/10.
EOD and Trailing Maximum Drawdown
Minimum Trading Days
The Pro and Instant accounts have a 5-day minimum trading day requirement. You need to achieve a minimum profit for the following account sizes when meeting the trading day requirement:
- 25K/50K-$100
- 100K-$200
- 150K-$300
You do not need to make profits across several days when qualifying for a payout with the Standard and Rapid accounts. The lack of a minimum trading day requirement helps you avoid risking your hard-earned gains for a payout, which is a good compromise for the strict hard-breach DLL.
Consistency Rule
All account plans must follow the consistency rule during the funding phase to qualify for a payout. The rule requires that a single day does not make up a specific percentage of your total gains. Below are the consistency rates you are required to follow for each account:
- Standard: 40%
- Pro: 35%
- Rapid: 40%
- Instant: 20%
Note that you do not breach your account if you go beyond the consistency rule. Should you go over the consistency rating, you just need to make gains across other trading sessions until your account goes below the required rate.
Daily Loss Limit
The Standard, Rapid, and Instant plans have a daily loss limit rule, which is the maximum loss you can get in one day. Both the Rapid and Instant plans have a soft breach DLL rule. A soft breach would mean a pause on all trades until the next trading session, should you hit the DLL. Unfortunately, the Standard still follows a hard breach policy. Hitting the DLL of a Standard account results in a breach.
Payout Targets
The Standard, Rapid, and Instant plans have a payout profit target you needed to reach when qualifying for a payout. The profit target for the first payout request is 6% of your initial balance. All succeeding payouts require at least a profit amount equal to 4% of your initial balance.
Pro Buffer Amount
The unique payout requirement for the Pro plan is the buffer amount, which is the profit amount you need to obtain. This is the compromise for the lack of a payout target for Pro account holders. All profit above the buffer amount can be withdrawn. Below are the buffer requirements for your specific account size:
| Account Size | Funded buffer |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,100 |
| $100,000 | $4,100 |
| $150,000 | $6,100 |
Rapid Payout Cap
There is a maximum cap you are allowed to take out for each payout request. Below are the max payouts for each account size for the Rapid Plan:
- 25K-$750
- 50K-$1,000
- 100K-$2,000
- 150K-$3,000
News Trading
News trading is allowed on Blue Guardian Futures during the evaluation. However, they are strict with the practice. You cannot open or close trades five minutes before and after “red folder news” or economic releases. The firm prohibits trades during “red folder news” or economic data releases that have a significant impact on the futures market. Examples of “red folder news” include FOMC Meetings, EIA reports, Unemployment Claims, and Agricultural Reports.
While you can do news trading during the evaluation, Blue Guardian Futures states that it should not be the main method of passing the 1-step challenge. You need to have made gains in other trading days outside of the news release to pass the evaluation.
Automated Trading
Bot or automated trading is another practice that is allowed to a certain extent. Semi-automated trading is allowed as long as you are manually doing the trades. What is not allowed is a fully automated software that makes all the trades by itself. This includes HFT practices that execute hundreds of trades within a second.
Scalping
While scalping is allowed at Blue Guardian Futures, microscalping is restricted. Microscalped positions are trades with a short duration or are closed for just a few seconds. There are no specifics as to what trades are considered microscalped positions, such as the length of the trade or the price movement measurements. The firm also does not specify what happens if you make microscalping trades.
Forbidden Trading Practices
Blue Guardian Futures is highly restrictive of trades that appear to be gambling-like behaviour and do not follow a sound strategy. Those who are caught doing the following trades run the risk of an account review and potential breach:
- All-In Trades: This involves utilizing all available contracts for a trade in an attempt at a high payout early in the funding and evaluation phase.
- Fill Manipulation: The practice involves placing multiple orders both above and below the current market price. This creates the illusion of demand for the market.
Blue Guardian Futures Live Account
Those who pass the evaluation and meet specific requirements are selected by BGF’s risk management team for their Live Funded Account. This account lets you trade in the live market instead of a simulated one. Live traders can expect the following perks:
- Static Drawdown: The maximum loss limit threshold stays in place no matter how much profit you make. This rule gives you more room to be risky with your positions.
- Customizable Daily Loss Limit: You can set the DLL to fit your trading strategy. It can be set to protect you from large losses or removed when you need to be flexible with your positions.
- Scaling Opportunities: Live accounts can see higher contract sizes than sim accounts. This allows for maximized gains.
Who Are The Accounts For
With three different 1-Step plans and an Instant model, finding the right funding path should be based on your risk tolerance and budget. Below is a discussion on the recommended plans for specific traders.
1-Step Standard
The Standard has the harshest daily loss limit of a hard breach instead of a soft breach, which most futures prop firms have. This DLL discourages risks with high payouts. In exchange, the Standard plan is the cheapest available option on Blue Guardian Futures. If you can handle the tough DLL rule, it is a feasible choice if you plan on controlling multiple accounts on a budget.
1-Step Pro
The Pro plan’s advantage is its higher number of contracts you can control and the lack of a daily loss limit during the funded phase. It also uses a buffer amount requirement instead of a profit target. Drawbacks of this plan include a higher price than other 1-Step plans. In addition, you can only withdraw 50% of your profit on top of the buffer amount requirements.
Given the drawbacks, the Pro is recommended for any trader. Even with a consistency requirement of 35%, going over it will not breach your account, as would the daily loss limit from the Standard 1-Step. You can also achieve higher-sized positions to reach the buffer amount requirements.
1-Step Rapid
The Rapid plan’s main benefit is its shorter payout cycle of 3 days and 40% consistency percentage. Both make it faster for you to pass the challenge in 1 day and take your profits in the shortest possible time. While the drawback is the inclusion of a DLL, it is a soft breach policy that does not close your account upon hitting it. With a higher consistency percentage of 40%, the Rapid plan lets you be flexible with the risk of your trades for a higher payout.
Instant Plan
Blue Guardian Future has one of the easiest instant-funded plans when meeting the payout requirement. This comes from the soft breach policy of its daily loss limit and EOD drawdown policy. Some prop firms are strict with their DLL, where hitting it will breach your accounts. There are also others that utilize an intraday drawdown policy that counts your losses in real time.
However, the Instant Plan is not the best account option to have in Blue Guardian Futures. Not only does it have the lowest consistency percentage of 20%, but you are also required to meet the profit target when requesting a payout. The 1-Step Pro is the best plan in terms of price and payout requirement.
Conclusion
The 100% profit split is backed by many shared features that make the trading experience easy. This includes an EOD policy on all the plans instead of an intraday one, and the lack of a consistency requirement during all of the 1-Step plans. There are also four different paths to funding. If the hard-breach daily loss limit seems too harsh, you can choose either the Rapid plan for an easier DLL rule or the Pro plan to not deal with a DLL.
Unfortunately for scalpers, there is no clear description of what trades are considered microscalped positions. The firm also does not specify what happens to your gains if it identifies microscalped trades. Algorithm traders are also limited to what they can do with their bot trading software. They are required to still manually monitor the trades or are not allowed to use software that does hands-off trading on their behalf.
Despite the limitations, the various Blue Guardian Futures account options are suitable for different risk tolerances and budgets. In addition, there are many traders who are reporting a smooth payout process after completing the withdrawal requirement.
FAQ
Is the Blue Guardian Futures Standard plan too restrictive for aggressive traders?
The Pro and Rapid plans are suitable for aggressive traders since they have a less restrictive policy, such as a 35%/40% consistency percentage. Neither the Standard 1-Step nor the Instant plans are suitable. The former has a hard breach daily loss limit, while the latter has a low consistency percentage of 20%.
What is Guardian Shield in Blue Guardian Futures intended for?
Guardian Shield is Blue Guardian Futures’ built-in risk management feature that automatically closes positions when floating losses reach 2%. It is designed to stop losses before they get worse.
Are there additional fees with the live account?
Expect to pay for various subscription and platform fees with the live account. This includes the CME Professional Data Subscription cost for real-time market data from the platform.