Proprietary trading giant FundedNext has officially updated its operational framework, implementing a strict “News Reward Share Rule” that alters how payouts are calculated during high-impact economic releases.
The policy shift, which applies specifically to active funded accounts rather than evaluation challenges, marks a growing industry-wide push to limit a firm’s exposure to toxic, high-slippage market volatility during key data drops.
The Logistics: The 10-Minute Volatility Window
According to updated compliance documentation from FundedNext, the rule institutes a definitive 10-minute restricted window surrounding listed high-impact news events—specifically 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the release.
Under the new restrictions, traders who execute or close positions within this time frame will face heavy structural limitations on their earnings:
- Profit Capping: If a trade executed within the window resolves in profit, only 40% of that profit will be credited toward the trader’s account balance and final payout allocation.
- Asymmetrical Loss Responsibility: Conversely, if a news-window trade results in a loss, the trader remains 100% responsible for the full drawdown. The loss will not be adjusted or subsidized by the firm.
- Order Closures Affected: The rule applies to all execution types within the window, meaning automated Pending Orders, Take Profits (TP), Stop Losses (SL), and partial position liquidations will trigger the 40% profit-sharing split.
The policy specifically targets account types under the Stellar 1-Step, Stellar 2-Step, and Stellar Lite banners. FundedNext clarified that standard evaluation/challenge phases are not subject to these profit-cap penalties.
Direct Correlation Metrics Only
To prevent widespread confusion over minor economic indicators, the firm noted that the rule only activates when a high-impact news event directly correlates with the specific asset class being traded.
An Example from the Desk: Opening a position on EUR/USD during a high-impact U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) release will trigger the 40% cap. However, trading EUR/USD during a high-impact Chinese Yuan (CNY) data print will carry zero restrictions, as there is no direct architectural correlation to the asset.
The MarketGrid Takeaway: Managing the “Funded-Stage Cliff”
For the trading community at MarketGrid, this latest move by FundedNext is a clear warning sign that the gap between passing an evaluation and keeping a funded account is widening.
Many retail traders rely heavily on high-impact news momentum to pass evaluation challenges quickly. FundedNext’s new rule essentially neutralizes this aggressive style once capital becomes live, forcing traders to shift toward swing trading or risk losing 60% of their upside while absorbing 100% of their downside.
As prop firms navigate tighter liquidity conditions in mid-2026, expect competing firms to roll out similar asymmetric risk models to protect their backend capital infrastructure from slippage.
To monitor live prop firm rule changes, compare payout execution speeds, or evaluate raw spreads across different platform infrastructures, keep your dashboard synced with MarketGrid.
