Elite Trader Funding 50K Direct to Funded Account for $347

Copier trading indicators have one purpose, to copy trades from one account to multiple accounts! They either work or they don’t, what is there to approve? I like to use Simple Copier from the Ninja Echo System, works great with little to no slippage and it’s free but of course it’s not the “approved” list. Too many prop firms out there to deal with ETF’s onerous rules. I still have 3 accounts that I’ll keep trading until either blown or payout but not too hopeful of the latter judging by the reviews here

If you look at Elite Trader Funding’s low ratings across review platforms, take them seriously. They are completely justified. As a loyal client who has spent four years of time, hard work, and thousands of dollars with ETF since their founding year, I am watching my long-term investment go down the drain due to arbitrary, predatory practices.
When prop firm competition tightened, ETF began using unilateral backend moves to protect their balance sheet at the expense of serious traders.
Here is the factual timeline of how they operate:
Gutting Leverage to Block Payouts:
I held three $150,000 Elite Accounts, each offering a $5,000 drawdown buffer and allowance for up to 140 micro contracts. As I began accumulating small, steady gains and showing a disciplined trajectory toward a major payout, ETF stepped in. They invoked a unilateral clause to force me onto a "LIVE ELITE" account—slashing my position limits from 140 micro contracts down to just 5 micro contracts and capping my drawdown buffer at a mere $1,674.
Preemptive Cover-Up:
ETF claimed their Risk Team moved me because I was "ready" for live execution. In reality, this was a calculated move to reduce their financial exposure. By forcing a trader who was approaching a payout onto severely restricted rules, they ensured they wouldn't be on the hook for a substantial payout on a $150K account model.
Destroying the Prop Firm Model:
Traders pay thousands of dollars in evaluation fees for capital leverage. Capping a drawdown at $1,674 and restricting position size to 5 micros destroys the entire reason to use a prop firm. Anyone can put $1,700 into a personal micro-brokerage account, trade 5 micros, and keep 100% of their profits without giving up a 20% profit split to ETF.
Arbitrary 2-Year Ban:
After taking a minor $300 drawdown under these forced, restricted live parameters, ETF shut my account down. When I asked for transparent metrics explaining how their Risk Team justified this forced move, they refused to answer. Instead, they placed me on a 2-year probationary ban, barring me even from their rebuild program.
Misleading Retorts:
Support attempted to deflect by bringing up small historical payouts from years ago under an old rule structure, completely ignoring that they unilaterally altered the core product deliverables I paid for this year.
Four years of loyalty and thousands of dollars spent mean nothing to ETF. Every dollar spent on their evaluation fees would have been infinitely better off in a personal micro-brokerage account where rules, leverage, and drawdown parameters cannot be changed mid-game to save the firm money.
To my fellow traders: Trust the negative reviews. The moment ETF senses you are managing risk well and heading toward a significant payout, they will use hidden clauses to strip your leverage, shift the risk onto you, and ban you when you demand transparency. Avoid this firm at all costs.

$10K FORFEITED - BAD FIRM FOR PROFITABLE TRADERS
If you are actually profitable and expect to take meaningful payouts, I would not recommend Elite Trader Funding based on my experience.
The DTF structure was already extremely difficult to get payouts from, including a 20-winning-day requirement. I managed to take one payout, but still had more than $10,000 in accumulated profit sitting in the account.
I then missed one week of trading while traveling for work. I did not breach drawdown, violate a risk rule, or lose the account trading. Because I had not submitted a Trading Break Notification in advance, ETF terminated the account and refused to restore the balance.
There was no warning, no grace period, and no notification that I was approaching the inactivity threshold.
In my opinion, this type of account may be fine for traders who are mainly cycling through evaluations and never expect to build or withdraw meaningful profits. But if you are consistently profitable and actually taking payouts, I think this is a terrible choice.
The payout requirements are already restrictive, and technical rules like this can wipe out months of progress for reasons completely unrelated to trading performance or risk.
I cannot speak to ETF’s intent, but the practical result in my case was simple: I generated more than $10,000 in profit, received only about $1,500 in payouts, missed one week of trading while traveling, and lost the account.
Based on that experience, I would not use ETF again.

Reliable payments!
Consistent and helpful customer service!

I have for about 5 years now traded with almost every mainstream Prop firm out there. Because, I have exp with almost all, I'm qualified to say this is the worst off all. I would never recommend to any of my friends or family. Here's why.
The rules are not clear enough for a reasonable trader. Ex. Their. EOD account. Fail you if you hit the DLL (most traders understand the DLL as a soft breach lock-out until next day...Not with ETF...Your accoutn will fail if you hit the DLL)
No payout security. If you invest your time. And trade well for a period of time to build profit in your funded account.
Payout scheduled is not consistent. Ex. Is it 5 days, 8 days of 10days ETF what is it?
20 max account, this is a marketing ploy, gimmick, deceptive scam... Although you can trade multiple accounts. They will not pay your payout from 20 accounts. If it comes to that point. They will deny your payout and force you live.
There is no payout security... Unlike most prop firms. If you invest time, and are successful at making profits. You are typically going to get your payout, once you are within the rules and profit target. However with ETF, should you make profit and request a payout. They can deny your payout and push you live..
The live program is an unserious joke. First, In order get to live they must deny your prior payout. 2nd they close all of your accounts. 3rd. If you had 20k in profits in your funded accounts. It will not matter to the fact of how much money you will receive to go live with.
For example, I had 15k in profits and I received a $1700 live account that trails EOD....4th thing they took so long to deny my payout and take me live that I was still purchasing and pay activation fee on new accounts.(All of which were for waste because when you go live you lose all your investments). 5th the communications and support for the live accounts are lacking immensely. My live account from email about live to being able to trade the live account was almost 2 weeks wait.. Similarly, most of the time I had the live account. I wasn't able to actually trade. I had on 6 separate occasions emailed support about my inability to trade. Furthermore, you won't get a proper data dashboard to figure out your drawdown. And support won't help you with this. My live account was eventually closed. Not because I blew it up but because of a risk management audit or something. I had a -$600 lost day.. Imagine that I went from 15k in profits. To having my live account closed for losing $600 in a day...
PLEASE STAY AWAY, THE PRICES ARE LOW FOR A REASON..