Unlocking Prop Farming with CrossTrade's NT Account Manager
With CrossTrade's NT Account Manager's new Cycle Accounts feature, you can automatically cycle trade placements through multiple accounts using a single alert.
Prop farming has become a popular strategy among prop traders looking to scale their trading income through multiple funded accounts. But what exactly is prop farming, and how can you seamlessly implement this method using CrossTrade's NT Account Manager?
This guide breaks down the concept clearly and shows you exactly how to use CrossTrade's powerful new Account Cycling feature to master the art of prop farming.
What is Prop Farming?
Prop farming involves managing multiple proprietary trading accounts simultaneously to diversify risk, increase consistency, and scale trading income. Instead of relying heavily on a single large account, traders distribute their trades across several smaller accounts. By spreading risk and aggregating profits, traders reduce emotional stress, optimize risk management, and potentially increase overall returns.
Traders often replicate their trades across multiple accounts using trade-copying software, but a more efficient way is to rotate trades systematically from account to account—known as account cycling. This introduces a new approach when paired with NAM monitors as you can establish specific conditions for each account to be traded in a unique way.
Introducing Account Cycling in CrossTrade's NT Account Manager
CrossTrade has recently enhanced its NT Account Manager (NAM) with an innovative Cycle Accounts feature. This feature allows traders to automatically rotate trade placements through multiple accounts using a single alert. Instead of copying trades into all accounts, each incoming alert is cycled through the listed accounts and only executed in ACTIVE accounts in the listed order.
This method allows you to systematically place trades in one account at a time until the monitor state changes to STOPPED because a stop (or hopefully) a take profit threshold is reached.
How to Implement Prop Farming with Account Cycling
Here's a clear example of how you can set up your trade alerts using CrossTrade's powerful multi-account cycling functionality:
key=your-secret-key;
command=PLACE;
account=sim101,sim102,sim103;
instrument=ES 06-25;
action=BUY;
qty=1;
order_type=MARKET;
tif=DAY;
cycle_accounts=true;
How this works:
- Trades are placed into the accounts in the order listed, starting with sim101
- If that account is Active, placement into Sim102 and Sim103 is halted.
- If sim101 is Stopped, placement now only occurs in Sim102 if Active.
- If Sim101 and Sim102 are Stopped, placement now only occurs into Sim103
Benefits of Using Account Cycling for Prop Farming
- Risk Diversification: Rotating trades across multiple accounts reduces the impact of drawdowns on any single account.
- Enhanced Management: Simplifies monitoring and managing risk for each account individually.
- Scalability: Allows traders to systematically scale their operation by efficiently adding more accounts.
- Reduced Emotional Pressure: Smaller exposure per trade per account can lead to less emotional trading decisions.
Advanced Strategies for Maximizing Prop Farming
To further enhance your prop farming success, consider integrating advanced strategies alongside account cycling:
- Performance-Based Cycling: Adjust cycling frequency based on account performance. Accounts that outperform can temporarily receive higher trade frequencies, helping maximize profits during optimal trading periods.
- Timeframe Diversification: Use different timeframes for different accounts. For instance, cycle shorter-term trades through some accounts while using others for swing or longer-term positions.
Practical Tips for Effective Prop Farming
- Strategically select your accounts: Group accounts with similar capital or risk profiles to maintain consistent risk management.
- Monitor each account independently: Regularly assess performance to refine your cycling approach or rebalance account allocation.
- Keep risk parameters consistent: Use standardized risk per trade across all accounts to ensure predictable scaling and performance.
Ready to Level Up Your Trading?
Account farming doesn't have to be complicated. By leveraging CrossTrade's NT Account Manager and the Cycle Accounts enhancement, you can effortlessly organize, automate, and scale your prop trading operations.
Start using the Cycle Accounts feature today with CrossTrade Pro and unlock a smarter, more streamlined way to manage your prop farm!
