Frequently asked questions about futures & prop firm trading.

Trailing drawdown is a loss limit that moves up following your highest balance but never moves down. If a $50,000 account has a $2,000 trailing limit and you climb to $52,000, the limit rises to $50,000; if you then fall back, the account is blown when you touch that $50,000. It is the rule that blows the most evaluations, because it punishes giving back unrealized profit. At many firms the trailing is calculated on intraday equity (including open positions), so a floating winner you don't close can move your limit. TraderPilot tracks it live and blocks the entry before a trade can violate it.

An ATM (Advanced Trade Management) is a NinjaTrader order-management strategy that automatically attaches a stop loss and a profit target to your entry. You set it up in the order panel (SuperDOM, Chart Trader or Order Entry): you build an ATM template with the contract count, stop distance, target distance and breakeven or trailing-stop rules. When you enter the market, the ATM places the exit orders for you. For prop firm evaluations, a solid ATM is the difference between a disciplined exit and an emotional decision. TraderPilot Pro extends this with dynamic TGT, STP and breakeven management, DUAL/offset controls and scheduled execution — without writing NinjaScript.

TraderPilot is execution and risk-management software for futures traders. It copies trades between accounts, executes across several accounts at once, and enforces risk controls — daily loss, trailing drawdown, contract limits, schedules — so you don't break your prop firm's rules. There are two products: TraderPilot for TopStep (desktop app) and TraderPilot Pro for NinjaTrader (an NT8 add-on). Everything runs locally on your Windows PC.