Scaling Plan
A scaling plan is a structured mechanism offered by some proprietary trading firms in which a funded trader's account size is increased in steps upon meeting specified performance milestones, such as profitability over a review period or a number of qualifying payouts, giving the trader access to progressively larger simulated capital; some futures firms use the term instead for a position-size limit that rises with the account balance.
Some published plans review performance over a fixed period: one firm adds 25% to the account every four months after at least 10% net profit over the prior four months and at least two processed payouts, and its plan also raises the profit share to 90% on one account type. Others count qualifying payout cycles: another firm adds 25% after four payouts from cycles that each grew the account by at least 4%, and raises the trader's profit share to 90%. Its earlier plan, which still applies to older accounts and to one product, adds 40% every four months after a 10% gain over four consecutive months, two payouts and a profitable final cycle. Some futures firms use the term for a contract limit that rises with the account balance, with no capital added. Step sizes, conditions and caps vary by firm.
This page covers the mechanic; it is not trading advice.
Prop firm rules vary between firms and change frequently. Always verify specific rules directly with your firm before making any decision.
How scaling progresses a funded trader's capital
A path to trading larger amounts of capital. Meet a series of performance targets and the firm increases the size of your funded account over time (at some futures firms, the number of contracts you may hold instead), automatically at some firms and after a review at others. The qualifying criterion is the performance already shown on the funded account.
A scaling plan ties extra simulated capital to results the trader has already produced. The effect is in dollars, not percentages: on a larger account the same percentage return is a larger dollar profit, and so a larger payout at the same split.
Scaling a $100,000 account by 25% per milestone
Starting funded account: $100,000. Assumed plan: a review every 4 months, and a review that finds at least 10% net profit over those 4 months adds 25% to the current account size. Each period's profit is withdrawn as payouts before the review, so the balance is back at the account size when the step applies. Profit split: 80%, the same at every step.
Months 1–4: $2,500 net profit per month, $10,000 over the period, which meets the 10% condition. At an 80% split the trader's share is $10,000 × 80% = $8,000.
The Month 4 review scales the account to $100,000 × 1.25 = $125,000. The same 10% over Months 5–8 is $12,500 of simulated profit, and the trader's share is $12,500 × 80% = $10,000: 25% more at the same percentage return.
The Month 8 review takes the account to $125,000 × 1.25 = $156,250, and the Month 12 review to $156,250 × 1.25 = $195,312.50. Whether a step adds 25% of the current account size, as here, or of the starting size ($125,000, $150,000, $175,000), how large the account can grow and the conditions under which the profit split rises all differ by firm.
Related terms
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Common questions
What happens to the scaling plan if the trader has a losing month?
It depends on the firm's rules. A plan that measures net profit over the whole period, such as at least 10% over four months, absorbs a loss-making month only if the period still ends above the threshold and the plan's other conditions also hold: one published plan also requires the last trading cycle of the period to end in profit, and another requires two processed payouts within the period. Under a plan that counts qualifying payout cycles, such as four cycles of at least 4% growth each, a loss-making cycle does not count towards the step but does not disqualify the account either. The firm's scaling rules state which method applies.
Is there a maximum funded account size after multiple scaling cycles?
Yes, on the published plans: one firm's plan stops at $2,000,000 across all of a trader's accounts, so opening a second account at that firm does not lift the limit, and another firm's plans run up to $4,000,000 of simulated capital. Once the cap is reached, the plan adds no further capital.