Funded Futures Family separates advancement into its Professional Stage from migration to its Rithmic Live Market Execution Environment. Reaching a payout milestone starts a review; it does not guarantee an immediate move. Treat each transition as a separate decision with its own documents, risk limits and costs.
Prop Firm Audit records COMPARE: 80% off Velocity, 40% off Premier+ for the first five uses then 30%, and 30% off Prime. Those are entry-plan offers, not payments for automatic Professional or Live access. Official pages checked September 18, 2026. This article covers futures accounts.
Two transitions, not one automatic upgrade
| Transition | Published benchmark for consideration | What still has to happen |
|---|---|---|
| Simulated Funded to Professional | Three approved simulated payouts or $10,000 in total approved simulated payouts | Final risk review and advancement decision |
| Professional to Rithmic Live environment | $5,000 in approved Professional payouts, or an initial Professional payout with sustained performance and meaningful progression | Individual review, documents and broker setup |
The Professional Stage structure describes the first transition. The separate Live Stage structure describes the second.
A crucial wording difference appears in the sources: the homepage mentions recognized Professional profit, while the more recently updated Live article specifies approved Professional payouts for its $5,000 benchmark. Use the detailed policy and obtain account-specific confirmation; do not assume unrealized profit or an unapproved request satisfies it.
Build a milestone ledger
Separate requested, approved and paid amounts in your records. A request that is still under review should not be silently added to an approved-payout total.
| Hypothetical record | Approved payout count | Total approved amount | What the numbers demonstrate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two approved payouts of $1,000 | 2 | $2,000 | Neither standard Professional benchmark met |
| Three approved payouts of $600 | 3 | $1,800 | Count benchmark met; review still required |
| Two approved payouts of $5,000 | 2 | $10,000 | Amount benchmark met; review still required |
These examples illustrate the two alternative Professional benchmarks. They are not forecasts, payout caps or a promise that the risk team will approve advancement.
When checking the later Live benchmark, start a separate Professional-payout ledger. Do not combine earlier simulated payouts with Professional payouts just because both were paid by the same firm.
Professional rules replace assumptions from the evaluation
The Professional policy specifies an 80/20 profit split and an end-of-position drawdown model, with the threshold updating when a position is fully closed. Contract limits are assigned individually, and the account operates under risk-team oversight. Source: Professional structure.
This means the evaluation's advertised contract ceiling should not be copied into a new Professional trading plan. Request the assigned limits before placing the first trade.
Professional withdrawals also have separate rules. The policy distinguishes fewer than 20 qualifying days from 20 or more, with a qualifying day defined as at least $200 realized profit. It changes the fraction available above the buffer and the permanent buffer requirement. Source: Professional payout policy.
Live migration adds a practical cost check
The Live policy says migration preserves account continuity and performance metrics. It also says market data is not included: traders must arrange a subscription. Documentation and broker processing determine activation timing. Source: Live Stage policy.
Before migration, ask for the actual data package, billing cadence and activation instructions. No verified dollar quote for that subscription is included here. Keep a blank budget line until the provider supplies the amount.
Calculate the entry discount without extending its scope
The site-recorded COMPARE offers differ by plan. The table uses the same hypothetical $200 covered base for every row so the discount mechanics are easy to compare; it is not a current plan-price table.
| Entry plan and offer stage | Hypothetical base | COMPARE reduction | Saving | Calculated fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velocity | $200 | 80% | $160 | $40 |
| Premier+, first five uses | $200 | 40% | $80 | $120 |
| Premier+, afterward | $200 | 30% | $60 | $140 |
| Prime | $200 | 30% | $60 | $140 |
Apply COMPARE only to the selected supported purchase and inspect the checkout result. We have not tested an authenticated checkout for this article. No discount is asserted here for Professional market data, Live charges, Prestige or S2F.
Review the re-entry consequence before accepting progression
The Live documentation says traders who exit or fail Professional or Live cannot return through traditional Evaluation or Simulated Funded accounts; it describes Prestige Evaluation as the re-entry route. Confirm the policy attached to the account before planning another discounted evaluation purchase.
A sensible transition checklist therefore has four parts: approved-payout records, written advancement approval, new risk parameters and a complete operating-cost budget. Coupon savings belong in the entry-cost section, not in the evidence that a trader is ready for Live.