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News trading represents one of the most lucrative and controversial strategies in futures trading. Major economic releases like NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls), CPI (Consumer Price Index), and FOMC decisions can trigger explosive price movements, creating opportunities for substantial profits in minutes. But here's the reality: most prop firms restrict or ban news trading once you're funded.
Understanding which prop firms allow this strategy can save you months of wasted effort and potential account resets. This guide breaks down news trading policies across six major futures prop firms in 2025.
News trading involves opening positions immediately before, during, or after scheduled high-impact economic announcements including:
A single CPI release can move ES futures 50+ points in seconds, potentially netting thousands in profit with proper positioning. However, firms restrict news trading due to slippage risk, liquidity concerns, and sudden drawdowns that threaten firm capital.
My Funded Futures implements account-specific restrictions:
Even on unrestricted accounts, MFF enforces a 2-minute buffer: No positions or orders can be open 2 minutes before and after Tier 1 events (FOMC, NFP, CPI, FOMC Minutes).
Example: If NFP releases at 8:30 AM ET, close all positions by 8:28:00 AM and don't reopen until 8:32:00 AM.
The trap: Many traders pass evaluations using news volatility on unrestricted accounts, then get funded on a Rapid account where news trading is completely prohibited.
Bottom line: Target Core or Scale accounts if news trading is your edge. The 2-minute buffer means you're trading post-release momentum rather than the initial spike, requiring strategy adaptation.
The official policy from Tradeify: "We do not have any rules against or guidelines around trading news events."
Over 50% of trades must be longer than 10 seconds AND over 50% of profit must come from trades held longer than 10 seconds.
"You trade news AT YOUR OWN RISK." Slippage can cause orders to execute far from expected prices, and system protection may not work during extreme volatility. If slippage causes a loss exceeding your daily limit, your account ends.
Best for: Experienced news traders who understand volatility risk and can maintain the 10-second hold requirement.
News trading is allowed without restriction at Lucid Trading, covering both evaluations and funded accounts.
Slippage Risk: Orders may fill at unexpected prices far from your intended entry or exit during volatile news-driven markets.
Velocity Logic Triggers: Exchange-level protections during extreme moves can cause orders to be temporarily rejected, executed at significantly different prices, or delayed.
Trader Responsibility: You assume full responsibility for all outcomes when trading during news events.
Best for: News traders who want complete freedom and are experienced enough to manage volatility risk without firm-imposed guardrails.
Both challenge and funded accounts at FundedNext Futures permit news trading without restrictions.
Philosophy: Funded Next judges you on results, not methodology. They set risk boundaries (daily loss limits, drawdown thresholds) and let you operate within them.
Critical point: A bad NFP fill that violates your daily loss limit will still end your account. Funded Next gives you freedom, not immunity from risk parameters.
During evaluations, Take Profit Trader allows news trading but restricts it on funded accounts.
All positions must be closed and no orders can be open one minute before, during, and one minute after prohibited events:
Additional product-specific restrictions: Crude Oil Inventories for oil traders, Bond Auctions for note/bond traders.
Example: If CPI releases at 8:30 AM, close positions by 8:29:00 AM and don't reopen until 8:31:00 AM.
Strategic approach: Enter positions at 8:31+ to capture post-news momentum while complying with rules. This eliminates pure release-spike strategies but allows continuation/reversal plays.
When it comes to news events, Apex Trader Funding maintains clear policies:
Many traders pass Apex evaluations by leveraging news volatility, but once funded, the strategy becomes unusable. Trading during or around restricted events (NFP, CPI, FOMC, GDP, Jobless Claims) can result in account termination even if profitable.
Best use case: Use news trading to pass evaluations quickly, then maintain profitability through technical analysis, scalping, or swing trading.
Not suitable for: Pure news traders with no alternative edge.
If news trading is your only edge, choose firms with zero restrictions. All three allow trading the exact release moment (8:30:00 for NFP) without time buffers.
Tradeify: Requires 10-second holds, full execution risk on you Lucid: Warns about slippage/velocity logic, no microscalping concerns Funded Next: Straightforward approach, no additional requirements
If you're comfortable trading post-release momentum:
MFF Core/Scale: 2-minute buffer, 80-90% profit splits TPT: 1-minute buffer, tighter window than MFF
Use news trading to pass evaluations, then deploy technical/scalping strategies on funded accounts. Requires broader skill development but opens more opportunities.
Trade 15-60 minutes after releases rather than during them. Stay flat through initial volatility, then trade continuation/reversal patterns. Works even at restrictive firms like Apex.
Execution Quality: Permission means nothing if fills are terrible. Research data feeds (Rithmic, CQG) and trader reports about platform performance during releases.
Velocity Logic: Exchange protections can reject orders, cause unexpected fills, or delay executions during extreme moves. This affects all firms but matters most without time buffers.
Daily Loss Limits: If slippage causes a $3,000 loss on a $2,000 daily limit account, your account ends regardless of whether news trading was "allowed."
Consistency Requirements: Verify all rules, not just news policies. Tradeify's 10-second hold requirement can conflict with pure scalping strategies.
TIER 1 (Unrestricted): Tradeify, Lucid Trading, Funded Next. Best for dedicated news traders wanting to trade exact release moments.
TIER 2 (Buffered): My Funded Futures Core/Scale (2-min), Take Profit Trader (1-min). Best for traders comfortable with post-release momentum.
TIER 3 (Evaluation Only): Apex Trader Funding. Best for multi-strategy traders using news to pass evaluations.
If you're a pure news trader: Only Tradeify, Lucid, or Funded Next support your methodology long term.
If you trade news but want structure: MFF Core/Scale provides news access with established profit splits and scaling. The 2-minute buffer is manageable for most strategies.
If you're strategy-flexible: Apex offers fast evaluations via news trading, then requires adaptation on funded accounts.
If you're just starting: Consider whether news trading fits your risk tolerance. Unrestricted firms give you freedom but also full responsibility for managing extreme volatility and slippage risk.
Before purchasing any evaluation, download the official rules PDF, contact support with specific scenarios, get confirmation in writing, and check Discord/Reddit for recent trader experiences. Prop firm policies evolve constantly based on risk exposure and trader behavior.
Compare evaluation costs, profit splits, and complete trading rules at PropFirm Compare.
