Quick question: What kind of stocks do you like to trade?

Only US stocks or from another part of the world? Or maybe you prefer CFDs instead of access to a stock exchange?

I’m asking because there are several types of stock prop firms, and the best prop firm for trading stocks is not necessarily the same for everyone.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the top stock prop firms, highlighting the type, popularity, and pros and cons of each so you can choose the best one.

Ready to find the prop firm that’s right for you?

Let’s jump in and start straight to the list of the best ones!

Top Stock Prop Firms for 2024

Prop Firms Solely Focused on Stock Trading

This is the best firm out there if you exclusively want to focus on Stock trading.

With 12,000+ instruments from the US stock market, you trade real stocks, ETFs, and PennyStocks, on a real account, with real money.

Prop Firms With CFDs Stock Trading

These following companies have a good selection of stocks to trade via CFDs. They also offer other instruments rather than just stocks.

So, if you’re open to more markets at the same time, you may want to check them:

Other Prop Firms Where You Can Trade Equities

Here, it’s the rest of the list of other companies that can fund you to trade the stock market.

Now that you have seen my selection, let’s go about some concepts about prop trading stocks.

What Is A Stock Prop Firm

A stock prop firm (short form for proprietary trading firm) is a company that helps skilled traders with capital to trade stocks. In return, traders share part of their profits with the firm. Simple, right?

The main advantage for you as a trader is gaining access to a large amount of money to trade stocks. Money that you may not have yourself. The advantage for the firm is that it can grow its capital using someone skilled in the stock market.

It doesn’t end up here though.

Stock prop firms want you to succeed.

They want your talent but they also help you to grow it by:

• Helping you refine your skills
• Giving you resources to succeed

Differences Between Stock Prop Firms and Regular Brokerage Accounts

The main difference is about the owner of the cash that is used to trade.

• When you trade on a regular brokerage account, you’re putting your own money in the line.
• When you trade with a stock prop firm, the capital is from the firm.

Assuming you don’t have much capital to trade, trading equities with a proprietary firm opens doors for much bigger trades and potentially bigger returns than when trading your own capital.

On the other hand, the gains are not all yours. You’ll need to share them with the company.

But that’s good though.

It’s better to have a big percentage of a big amount than the totality of a small amount.

Nice, how do I access the cash now?

It’s relatively simple. First, keep in mind that you won’t be handed a large amount of money right away.

These firms will require you to pass an evaluation process, with some guidelines, to prove you can trade profitably.

Once you pass, you get your deserved funded account. In many cases, you also have scaling opportunities, where they can fund you with a bigger amount, as you meet performance goals.

Benefits You Get From Stock Trading With a Pro Firm

The benefits are quite clear, and that’s the reason why a lot of traders like you choose to trade equities with a firm instead of their own capital.

• Your buying power increases: Once you get funded, you instantly get a big amount of money to trade. That’s the way to scale fast without risking your own money.
• Your personal risk decreases: You won’t be risking your own money anymore. All the capital that is risked to trade the equity markets belongs to the firm. Besides that, the stock firms have risk management protocols to keep you on track.
• You get access to advanced tools and resources: Many stock prop firms offer proprietary trading tools, market research tools, and others to give you a bigger edge. You’d have to pay for most of these resources if you were on your own.
• Mentorship and training: Some firms will provide coaching, mentorship, and even communities with other fellow traders like you.
• Small upfront cost: To get into an evaluation you only need to pay a small fee. That’s the small price to gain access to a big amount of capital to trade stocks.

How To Choose A Stock Prop Firm

They are not all the same, so you need to know how they work to choose the ones that fit your needs the best.

Here’s a list of important things to evaluate:

• Profit split: The amount of profit that is shared with you varies from firm to firm. You’ll want to choose a firm that splits with you a fair value of the gains you made.
• Fees and cost: Some stock firms may charge you extra fees besides the challenge price. These can be monthly fees, platform fees, data fees, … Make sure you do your research properly so you won’t get any surprises down the road.
• Evaluation/Challenge rules: Study carefully all the rules you need to follow to pass the evaluation. Make sure your strategy handles those rules easily.
• Scaling opportunities: Some firms increase your capital as you reach certain milestones. This is a nice thing to have, although not essential.
• Stock markets available to trade: You don’t get access to the same stock markets on all stock firms. Some focus just on the US market, others have a more international approach, and others only give you access to certain stocks of a particular market.
• Support and resources: This is particularly important if you are a new trader, or switching to stock trading from another market. Look up training, communities, and mentorship if that’s something you may need.

Learn More

• PropScan – challenge filter and selector
• What is prop trading
• Prop firms comparison tool
• List of the best prop trading firms