Same strategy at two prop firms: where duplicate trading rules bite

[Fairman]

Same strategy at two prop firms: where duplicate trading rules bite

People run the same strategy on accounts at two different firms all the time, often to spread the risk of one firm changing its rules or having problems. Generally that's allowed. But the details can trip you up.

Within one firm, most have rules against identical trading across multiple accounts held by different people, because it looks like account sharing or group gambling on opposite sides. Some also limit how many accounts one person can have, or how much total funded capital.

Across firms, each firm sees only its own accounts. But several firms use the same technology providers or brokers, and some providers can spot identical trades across firms. A few firms have clauses about using trade copiers or third party signals, and running a copier from one account to another might count.

The other risk is hedging across firms. Long at firm A, short at firm B, so one passes whatever happens. That's banned pretty much everywhere I've seen, and firms do catch it.

So, same strategy at two firms, placed independently, is normally fine. Copier between them, check the rules. Opposite trades, don't.

When in doubt I ask support and keep the reply. Rules on this change, and a written answer is worth having if there's ever a dispute.

[Fairman]

Trade copiers are the grey area. Some firms allow copying from your own personal account into theirs, some ban it entirely, and some allow it only with certain tools. The rule is usually in the FAQ rather than the main terms. A copier also adds its own delay and slippage, so the accounts won't be identical anyway, which can matter if a firm has a consistency rule and the two accounts drift apart in results. Consistency rules often compare your best day to your total, so a gap between the two accounts can mean one passes and one doesn't, even on the same trades. Something to keep in mind before assuming they'll behave the same.

[Fairman]

Something people forget is that running two accounts doubles the effect of a bad day on your head, even if the money's separate. If both accounts hit a daily limit on the same trade, that's two breaches from one mistake. Some traders deliberately run slightly different risk settings on each account, so one bad trade doesn't knock both out. Lower risk on the second account, or a slightly later session, would do it. Either keeps the strategy the same while stopping one mistake from hitting both accounts at full size. It's a small cost against a fairly ugly scenario.