At all levels of the Topstep program, there are some behaviors that traders are prohibited from doing and others that traders need to notify Topstep about. This is to maintain the integrity of our program as well as the integrity of the Simulated Environment.
Prohibited Conduct exists to deter gambling behaviors, prevent circumvention of the rules, and get unrealistic fills on their orders. The Trading Combine® emulates live-market trading, and we would not be doing the right thing for traders if we allowed them to pass in a manner that would not be successful in a live market.
There are two main categories of Prohibited Conduct; behaviors that traders are prohibited from doing or behaviors that traders need to notify Topstep about.
Rules and Prohibited Conduct refer to actions that may not be taken in your Topstep account. However, Prohibited Conduct is handled differently from Rules. Rules have a set outcome if they are violated. However, Prohibited Conduct is handled on a case-by-case basis.
Potential actions taken in response to a violation include:
Prohibited Conduct violations will NOT result in a fee to reset your account. Ultimately, the action Topstep takes will depend on the infraction’s severity and your prior history (or lack thereof).
Products may be traded during normal electronic trading hours unless otherwise indicated. The Daily Loss Limit is an objective for your account and, if broken, does not count as a rule violation. If the Net P&L should hit or exceed the Daily Loss Limit during the trading day (5:00 PM CT-3:10 PM CT), the account will hit a soft breach and will be auto-liquidated for the remainder of the then current trading session. This means any open trading positions will be flattened, any pending orders will be canceled, and your account will be prevented from placing any new trades until the start of the next trading day (5:00 PM CT).