Compare the reference, update timing and stopping condition of a loss floor, not just the percentage printed beside it.
A percentage does not describe the whole rule
Drawdown is easier to understand as a floor in account currency. A static floor stays anchored to its contractual starting reference. A trailing floor can move upward as the specified high-water mark rises. Both may be advertised with the same percentage while allowing very different paths through an evaluation.
First find out what is measured: closed balance, live equity, an end-of-day snapshot or another reference. Then find out when the floor moves and whether it eventually stops. The word “trailing” alone does not resolve those details. The comparison directory is a starting point for checking the named product.
Work through a fixed-floor example
Imagine a $50,000 account with a hypothetical fixed overall allowance of $5,000. Its floor would be $45,000. If the account subsequently rises to $53,000, that fixed floor remains $45,000 under this simplified model. The distance from current equity to the floor has increased; the original contractual floor has not changed.
This illustration does not override a separate daily limit. An account can remain comfortably above its overall floor and still breach a tighter daily rule. Write both thresholds next to current equity and identify which leaves the smaller remaining buffer. Do not add the daily and overall allowances together.
Now move the high-water mark
Under a hypothetical trailing rule with a $5,000 distance, a high-water mark of $50,000 starts with a $45,000 floor. If the contractual high-water mark reaches $53,000, the floor may rise to $48,000. A later decline to $50,000 would leave $2,000 above that floor, not the original $5,000.
Whether an unrealised spike counts is crucial. An intraday equity model may react before a position closes; an end-of-day balance model follows another path. Also check the effect of a withdrawal. A reduced balance after a payout does not automatically imply a matching reduction in the loss floor.
Ask four questions before comparing
Ask the provider for a worked example covering a profit, an open-position reversal, a day boundary and a withdrawal. For each event, identify the reference value, floor and remaining buffer. This is more informative than comparing a static percentage with a trailing percentage in isolation.
Finally, distinguish the breach test itself: whether touching the threshold is enough, how commissions are reflected and whether the evaluation and performance account use identical calculations. Keep these details alongside our daily reset guide. Hypothetical examples explain the mechanism; use the official program terms for the actual calculation.
Sources & further reading
Educational research. Examples are hypothetical. Provider terms and regional availability can change. Suggest a correction.
Put the comparison into practice
Open the directory, choose a category and select up to three providers to compare.
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