Apex Trader
Funding, a prop trading firm that has allegedly been struggling with timely
payouts to its clients in recent months, has introduced new solutions aimed at
streamlining and accelerating the entire process.
However,
voices have emerged suggesting that the prop firm has begun requiring
significant effort from clients, potentially infringing on the privacy of their
strategies and themselves.
In a video
update released this week, Apex Trader Funding addresses the issue of delayed
payouts. Darrell Martin, CEO and founder of the prop firm, states that new
security and fraud detection systems are in their “final touches,”
aiming to improve the existing process of realizing payments for profitable
traders.
“We’re
working to get payment approvals processed within 48 hours or less when those
requests come in. We aim to get those approved and out in just a few business
days for those payments to hit back to traders. We’re working on speeding that
up even more,” Martin commented in the YouTube video.
Company
clients claim that shortly after the announcement about speeding up the payout
process, they began receiving mass requests for video recordings of their
transactions.
🚨 Apex mass requests video recordings hours after releasing video about speeding up payout approval process.
10s of millions in payouts impacted over the last 3 months.
++++
Apex Updates the Process
Vows to speed up the payout process and to improve detection of rule… pic.twitter.com/Rs94ytReEX
— FundTraders (@FundTraders) August 29, 2024
Such a model may not be appealing to clients. This is especially true given that the latest PipFarm survey showed that retail traders in prop trading firms are primarily looking for clear rules (79%) and fast payouts (75%). Low prices or high-profit share percentages proved to be significantly less important.
2 Days of Screen and
Self-Recording
Comments
under FundTraders’ post on X (formerly Twitter) seem to confirm reports on a mass request for video recordings. A user named Brad Roads stated, “I just received a video proof request at 7 PM two days before when payout is supposed to happen. This video proof requires ‘Two Trading Days’ to be recorded. Bro, I don’t have time for this.”
YouTube
user comments suggested that Apex allegedly requires footage from a camera aimed at the trader in addition to recording transactions and monitor screens.
“They
want me to outline my whole trading strat and record myself for 2 days with a
webcam facing myself and monitors at the same time as well as recording my
screen, they also want me to give them a written statement about everything.
Bloody horror show!” commented a user named @muathmuath8450.
Traders are
concerned on one hand that this may infringe on their privacy, and on the
other, that it will expose their own investment strategies to the company,
giving it full insight into the decision-making process.
Finance
Magnates reached out to the company for comment on this matter but had not
received a response at the time of publication.
The Achilles’ Heel of the
Industry
Apex is not
the only company in the prop trading industry allegedly struggling with timely
payments to its traders. This is a common issue for many other prop firms, with
The Funded Trader being one of the most recent examples. The company has been
behind on payments for months, and according to the latest information, it has
managed to process 30% of outstanding payments for traders and 55% for
affiliates.
According
to Michael Bernan, a guest author at Finance Magnates, prop firms have
become victims of their own success.
“As
soon as there are not enough new traders entering the system to cover the
payouts of the winners, the firm becomes technically insolvent and unable to
pay fees,” he commented.
He adds
that the demand for cheap capital to trade with a high payout is insatiable.
Companies try to defend their liquidity by blocking profit withdrawals, citing
violations of trading rules that are often unclear, hidden, or created on the
go.
“In
essence, the business models of most businesses offering 80-90% profit share
are unsustainable, and most will eventually go bankrupt, leaving clients with
unpaid profit share. This part of the industry continues to become increasingly
dodgy,” Bernan concludes.
Apex Trader
Funding, a prop trading firm that has allegedly been struggling with timely
payouts to its clients in recent months, has introduced new solutions aimed at
streamlining and accelerating the entire process.
However,
voices have emerged suggesting that the prop firm has begun requiring
significant effort from clients, potentially infringing on the privacy of their
strategies and themselves.
In a video
update released this week, Apex Trader Funding addresses the issue of delayed
payouts. Darrell Martin, CEO and founder of the prop firm, states that new
security and fraud detection systems are in their “final touches,”
aiming to improve the existing process of realizing payments for profitable
traders.
“We’re
working to get payment approvals processed within 48 hours or less when those
requests come in. We aim to get those approved and out in just a few business
days for those payments to hit back to traders. We’re working on speeding that
up even more,” Martin commented in the YouTube video.
Company
clients claim that shortly after the announcement about speeding up the payout
process, they began receiving mass requests for video recordings of their
transactions.
🚨 Apex mass requests video recordings hours after releasing video about speeding up payout approval process.
10s of millions in payouts impacted over the last 3 months.
++++
Apex Updates the Process
Vows to speed up the payout process and to improve detection of rule… pic.twitter.com/Rs94ytReEX
— FundTraders (@FundTraders) August 29, 2024
Such a model may not be appealing to clients. This is especially true given that the latest PipFarm survey showed that retail traders in prop trading firms are primarily looking for clear rules (79%) and fast payouts (75%). Low prices or high-profit share percentages proved to be significantly less important.
2 Days of Screen and
Self-Recording
Comments
under FundTraders’ post on X (formerly Twitter) seem to confirm reports on a mass request for video recordings. A user named Brad Roads stated, “I just received a video proof request at 7 PM two days before when payout is supposed to happen. This video proof requires ‘Two Trading Days’ to be recorded. Bro, I don’t have time for this.”
YouTube
user comments suggested that Apex allegedly requires footage from a camera aimed at the trader in addition to recording transactions and monitor screens.
“They
want me to outline my whole trading strat and record myself for 2 days with a
webcam facing myself and monitors at the same time as well as recording my
screen, they also want me to give them a written statement about everything.
Bloody horror show!” commented a user named @muathmuath8450.
Traders are
concerned on one hand that this may infringe on their privacy, and on the
other, that it will expose their own investment strategies to the company,
giving it full insight into the decision-making process.
Finance
Magnates reached out to the company for comment on this matter but had not
received a response at the time of publication.
The Achilles’ Heel of the
Industry
Apex is not
the only company in the prop trading industry allegedly struggling with timely
payments to its traders. This is a common issue for many other prop firms, with
The Funded Trader being one of the most recent examples. The company has been
behind on payments for months, and according to the latest information, it has
managed to process 30% of outstanding payments for traders and 55% for
affiliates.
According
to Michael Bernan, a guest author at Finance Magnates, prop firms have
become victims of their own success.
“As
soon as there are not enough new traders entering the system to cover the
payouts of the winners, the firm becomes technically insolvent and unable to
pay fees,” he commented.
He adds
that the demand for cheap capital to trade with a high payout is insatiable.
Companies try to defend their liquidity by blocking profit withdrawals, citing
violations of trading rules that are often unclear, hidden, or created on the
go.
“In
essence, the business models of most businesses offering 80-90% profit share
are unsustainable, and most will eventually go bankrupt, leaving clients with
unpaid profit share. This part of the industry continues to become increasingly
dodgy,” Bernan concludes.