Sim-funded account

A sim-funded account is the model most modern futures prop firms use after a trader passes the evaluation. Your orders are filled in a simulated (demo) environment rather than routed to the live exchange, but the firm pays you real money on the profits you generate, based on the agreed profit split.

The appeal for the firm is that it never has to risk real capital on every trader; it pays out from the pool of evaluation fees and only on traders who are genuinely profitable. For the trader, the experience feels like live trading — same prices, same rules, same drawdown limits — and the payouts are real, which is what ultimately matters.

The main caveats are execution-related: because fills are simulated, slippage and order behaviour can differ from a live exchange, and a few firms have faced criticism for tweaking sim conditions. Sim-funded is distinct from a true live-funded account, where some firms route the best traders to real exchange capital after a proven track record.