MichaelPatak

Predictor- We are an extremely transparent firm with TopstepTrader and Patak Trading Partners. I do not recall stating that I would be releasing any end of year figures. This is not something we plan on doing and if I did mention something of the sort I do apologize for the confusion. mp

Predictor- TST is a recruiting and scouting agency and feeds the talent to Patak Trading Partners the prop firm. PTP does not releases funded traders information. Funded traders are in the chat room from time to time if they would like to share their information they can. mp

Predictor- The Combine is a fully refundable deposit. Many recruits in our program do not end up having a cost if they are meeting the deposit refund requirements. This allows us to retain talent and help that individual develop to a point where they are meeting our Combine Objective or the Customized Objective they were approved on. For your statement on returns and percentage this is not something we have traders focus on. The account balance is not relevant during the day. We have traders focus on watching their downside with a loss limit amount not a percentage of their account. Your example above is more an investor approach. Making $30k in a year is not a living you can sustain as a fill time TRADER. We are developing traders to recognize they need to instill discipline and to do this we use risk parameters. Accounts can have a $0 balance in our Combine and then you really have nothing to go off of as far as downside % or return %. We want our recruits to learn how to manage both without looking at their total account balance. Our scout team and I have been trading on the floor and on screen for many years, traders do not talk about percentage return as they all typically withdraw from their account each month. They do not then change their trading style if they make a withdraw as their account balance is now much less. We are looking to help traders understand this. It takes time to learn and the Combine allows us the ability to see who is learning and showing an increased aptitude for trading. I hope that helps.. great questions. mp

Predicator- We will have Ninjatrader back at the first of the year. As for proof is in the pudding. We have all LIVE funded traders that are in the Squawk Radio broadcast. Other traders are free to talk to them but we do not release any information on funded trader. mp

mitsubishi- Traders may never know their strengths or weakness when they are out of the market so quickly. We help those traders find their identity by recognizing their strengths and weakness and then working to develop these daily building their talent. While they are working and developing. Our scout team is evaluating these recruits. Those that show an increased aptitude for trading and whom meet the Combine objective will be extended an offer to trade on a live funded account Basically... the Combine helps us develop and discover traders. mp

Predicator- Our program is about evaluating who can manager their downside. In the futures industry more risk does not mean more reward. There is a failure rate in this business of 95% or greater for a reason. We want traders focused on protecting their downside. Finding better trade location with patience and discipline. Our Combine helps us find those traders. We then place those traders with our Proprietary trading firm for trading on a funded account. The max drawdown that funded traders receive is posted here: Live Trading Room | Trading Program | Topstep Funded Trader If a traders hits their max drawdown they are then placed back in the Combine (at no cost) to work on what they need to work on. If that trader then works out the kinks and comes BACK onto the funded account they do NOT have to make up the loses. Their account starts back at scratch and they have a new shot to produce. Instilling discipline in a trader to avoid these big losses you talk about takes time and the only way to do this is in actively trading in the market. With the average trading account closed withing 6 months traders do not get this time. We provide this real trading environment in the Combine using a SIM environment with risk parameters were discipline has the opportunity to grow within the trader. mp

Predictor- We have currently removed NinjaTrader platform option due to data/feed and connection issues we were experiencing with the back-end. We will have this back available at the first of the year. mp

Kuokam- We do review each customized proposal. If you would like to customized your Combine evaluation to allow for holding a position when the electronic market is closed you can review our page and send your proposal. We will then look to get this approved with our equity partner. Approvals for overnight trading are case by case. mp

Hello guys- I wanted to jump in this thread and provide the opportunity to answer any of your questions. As for training traders, the market is your best teacher and the longer you are immersed in the market the more you will learn about it and yourself. With the failure so high in this business we designed the Combine, where traders can get the time, feedback, and opportunity to showcase their talent without risking any trading capital. I am open to questions you have. As for the dummy 1 and dummy 2.. Those are actual traders we have funded. mp aka "nebraska" in our Squawk Radio broadcast and interactive chat room.