A funded account isn't a real opportunity for a beginner, because nobody sells you money so that you can win. When you pay a small fee for a large account, the seller is relying on most buyers losing and coming back. And a trader who has learned doesn't need one: the strict rules they'd impose on you, you can impose on yourself in your own account.
Why would anyone sell you money for less than it's worth?
Mohamad opens the episode Funded Accounts with a simple question. If a stranger offered to sell you a large sum for a small fraction of its value and split whatever it earns, what would you ask first? You'd ask: why is he doing this?
Nobody sells you money so you can win. Whoever sells you money is betting on your loss.
A funded account is a sale, even if nobody calls it that. You pay; they give you a balance on their terms. And when the business is selling new accounts, the buyer who loses and comes back is the heart of the model.
Strict rules: why not apply them to your own account?
The account comes with strict rules: loss limits, entry restrictions, things you can't do. His question: if you're able to follow those rules, why not follow them in your own account, however small? And if you can't, a funded account won't make you able.
- Rules set and interpreted by the firm.
- Can be closed with a "rule breach" message while you comply.
- You pay the fee again and again.
- Your experience stays, but the account isn't yours.
- Your rules, which you understand and keep.
- Nobody closes it but you.
- What you build stays yours.
- Every decision builds your experience and your balance together.
He says a number of his students traded funded accounts properly and then received a message that the account had been closed for breaking the rules, without ever learning which rule. Over there, the decision isn't yours.
What goes on behind a funded account?
He admits that early on he thought the same way: why not buy a funded account and save myself the stress? Someone who understood programming pointed out that these firms can study the entries of profitable traders, use them in their own strategies, and tell apart someone who profits consistently from someone who's getting lucky.
He also says firms of this kind have approached him as a content creator, offering pass certificates to display in exchange for sending them customers. That's why funded-account certificates on social media mean nothing to him.
"Better to lose a little than a lot"
That's what most buyers say: I'll lose the small fee instead of losing more on a live account. But that reasoning says something about the person: they haven't learned yet and are looking to be rescued. Mohamad calls the funded account "the weak trader's trick". Someone who has learned doesn't need it.
- Save instead of paying
Whatever you'd spend on one account fee after another, put it aside while you learn.
- Learn and practise meanwhile
Use that time to learn the method and try it on a demo account.
- Start on your own account
Once you have both a sum and experience, put it in your own account and trade it like a professional, not like someone calling for help.
- Withdraw as you go
Even your own account isn't untouchable; some brokers have failed. Don't leave more in it than you need.
Why is his position so firm?
He says that before recording the episode he went looking for a single upside to funded accounts and couldn't find one, because the principle itself isn't sound. The money you'd pay is your work and your household budget. Put it where it builds something: in your learning first, then in your own account.
See also Are Traders' Account Statements on Social Media Real? and Why Risk Management Is More Than Numbers. Start with the free awareness series, then learn at the Academy.
Common questions
Are funded trading accounts worth it?
In Mohamad Theibish's view, no. When someone sells you a large account for a small fee, their model depends on most buyers losing and coming back to buy again.
Why do funded accounts sometimes get closed for no clear reason?
Several of his students say their accounts were closed with a message about breaking the rules while they were following them. The decision sits with the firm, not with you.
What's the alternative to a funded account?
Save what you would have spent on fees while you learn and practise, then start on your own small live account and trade it with discipline.
Is passing a funded challenge proof of skill?
No. Some content creators receive those certificates in return for bringing the firm new customers. The only proof worth anything is analysis you can follow and understand.
