We sat down with our Chairman, Mr. Joe Li to discuss the upcoming launch of the ATFunded Prop Firm. In this insightful conversation, Mr. Li shares the vision behind the firm’s creation, how it stands out from other prop trading firms, and the exciting opportunities it will offer within the global trading community.
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Can you share the vision behind starting ATFunded and how it differs from other prop trading firms in the market?
We are excited to bring ATFunded into the corporate group as it will complement our brokerage services well. As the general retail FOREX industry is disrupted by this new product, we are looking at complementing our existing ecosystem to provide more value and opportunities to our user base as a whole.
Using ATFunded, we will work together with successful traders to bring them forward in their careers and under the ATFX global brand. We are looking to bring cohesion between the Prop/Trader relationship and work together to benefit in the long term. This is evident from our ATFunded+ program, which is the first stage of our plans for the future. We will continue to enhance our products and develop new ones to service the traders both in the Prop and the brokerage market.
What unique value proposition does ATFunded offer to traders that they won’t find elsewhere? How do you intend to carve out your niche in the competitive landscape of proprietary trading?
ATFunded’s value lies in the synergy of our global reach, expert resources, and innovative programs designed to empower traders. With over 750 professionals across 23 global offices, we combine localized support with access to a vast network of industry participants, traders, and investors.
Our flagship initiative, the ATFunded+ Program, is redefining the relationship between prop firms and traders. Unlike traditional scaling systems that prioritize unattainable metrics, ATFunded+ emphasizes sustainable growth. We enable talented traders to scale their careers through performance-based incentives that reward consistency and sound risk strategies.
Technology also sets us apart. Our proprietary dashboard is engineered to deliver real-time analytics, personalized insights, and first-class support, ensuring that traders have the resources they need to excel. This in-house innovation allows us to adapt quickly to industry demands, maintaining our position at the forefront of the prop trading landscape.
Ultimately, ATFunded is more than a prop firm—it’s a community where traders can thrive, supported by a global ecosystem that prioritizes trust, opportunity, and long-term success.
In what ways has ATFunded invested in technology to ensure traders have the best tools at their disposal? Are there any proprietary technologies or partnerships you’ve developed?
We have an in-house team working on the ATFunded product. Our in-house tech is unique in that it’s only us who use it and developing and enhancing the product only requires ideas and not approvals. With this at our disposal, we are capable of changing on a whim or pivoting where necessary to maintain value for the trader. Our Dashboard is extremely fast and has all the necessary features for our Prop Traders.
Previously, I mentioned ATFunded+ being stage one. We will be looking to further develop additional products inside our dashboard to build an ecosystem that is unique and a one-stop shop for any trader. Providing valuable insights into trading behavior that possibly will help a trader’s journey to profitability.
Given the evolving regulatory environment around prop trading, how is ATFunded structured to comply with current regulations, and what steps are being taken for future regulatory changes?
ATFX is licensed in 8 jurisdictions currently, so regulation matters to us. We are in constant discussions with our compliance teams, and legal representatives and have made contact with some regulators to discuss the prop firm space. Currently, the regulatory environment is grey, with it being considered an unregulated product in most jurisdictions.
We have our ears to the ground and when regulation appears we will be ready to go through the application process in the hope of being licensed. Until then we maintain internal compliance procedures making sure we are not violating any laws and regularly doing checks to ensure safety.
Can you elaborate on ATFunded’s approach to risk management? How do you balance encouraging aggressive trading with the need for capital preservation?
We have a large risk team inside the ATFX umbrella who are experts in handling large volumes of trading order flow. Prop traders who deploy aggressive or gambling-like behavior are similar to some brokerage customers. However, the difference is that brokerage customers use their own money to trade, and this poses increased difficulty in risk management.
We have deployed our program with this in mind. We want profitable traders to go through ATFunded’s challenge and our main goal is to get as many good traders as possible into our ATFunded+ Program. Traders who are not in it for the long term but are looking for a quick smash-and-grab will likely not last inside our program.
With our mild consistency rule and our 5 trades rule for funded, we hope that this deters the groups who are known to gamify the Prop trading space. Additionally, traders who are constantly entering funded and failing will give them some time off after 3 failures of funded to re-gather and come back later with a cooler mind having perfected their strategy.
With our Risk team and our rules, we hope to bring clear order flow to our book and to the ATFX Copy trading system so that everyone can benefit long term.
Could you explain how profit is shared between ATFunded and its traders? Are there any unique incentives or compensation structures in place?
We took the industry standard 80% profit split on a balance-based drawdown challenge and looked in depth at how we could add additional value. Rather than the traditional unattainable scaling programs we figured that performance-based scaling using goals that were not related to talent wouldn’t benefit the trader or ourselves.
We brought in the ATFunded+ Program to scale with the trader using our existing infrastructure and networks. If a trader is performing well which doesn’t always mean the trader with the highest return, they will be entitled to 20% of any profit earned from their trading strategy outside of the prop system. All they have to do is keep consistently trading their Prop account.
What we hope to encourage is sensible risk strategies that are attractive to outside capital and successful over the long term. Our program encourages that.
Where do you see ATFunded in the next 5 years? Are there any specific goals or milestones you’re aiming for?
What we want to be known for is quality. We are looking to be a high-quality prop trading opportunity with a large successful trader base that we can retain in our ecosystem. If we hold this trader base inside our ecosystem the opportunities are endless and both traders and the AT group of companies can benefit together.
In 5 years, we hope to have revolutionized the existing base level of Prop trading into something more elaborate with many more value propositions for traders with skill-seeking more capital.
What do you perceive as the biggest challenges in running a prop trading firm today, and how will ATFunded address these challenges? Conversely, what opportunities are you most excited about?
One of the core issues in the Prop trading market right now is trust. The user base has lost its faith in the model and is looking for additional players to lean on. We have seen companies like FTMO and the5ers hold tight and help the industry survive. We hope to be another pillar in the community that traders can rely on. We have identified various issues that exist in the market right now that are creating these trust issues, and we have developed around them.
One of these is being careful who you partner with. If you look at companies like DEIFunded their growth was pushed by influencers who may or may not have had the customer in mind when promoting the company. As such, we will be heavily filtering who it is we work with and making sure that professional behavior is important to them.
We are most excited about discovering new markets with the ATFunded product and providing options for people in as many countries as possible. The community is vibrant and diverse and we hope to learn from our customers whilst providing them an S-class service.
How do you plan to foster a community or culture within ATFunded? What kind of environment are you aiming to create for traders?
Community building is something that Prop firms have done very well over the last few years. We will take note of what they have done and try to maintain professionalism whilst doing it. One of the issues with some communities is that they get a bit toxic and out of hand. We want our community to be professional, productive, and constructive, and will try to lead by example.
Are there plans for ATFunded to expand internationally? If so, how will you adapt your model to different regulatory environments?
Prop trading is an international business, and with all of our regional offices, there may be further opportunities to expand and offer additional value once we get started. For regulations, we will always comply with regulatory authorities and work with them when the opportunity arises.
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