MyFundedFutures runs a plan-and-stage news trading policy. Every evaluation allows T1 news. Funded stage diverges: Core, Flex and Builder funded allow T1; Rapid and Pro funded prohibit T1. The 2-minute pre and post window is non-negotiable across every plan where restrictions apply, enforced via trade-timestamp monitoring on the data feed.
MyFundedFutures runs a news trading policy that varies by plan and by stage. The same strategy that runs cleanly through a CPI release on a Core eval account is a rule violation on a Rapid funded account, and fine again on a Core funded account. Getting this wrong costs funded accounts.
The plan-stage split is the thing to internalize. Every evaluation on every plan allows T1 news. The funded stage is where the policy diverges. The structural reason behind the divergence is the drawdown mechanic on each plan, which I have tested directly across Core, Pro and Rapid funded accounts over three years.
T1 Events at MFFU
Universal T1 Events (All Plans, All Instruments)
| Event | Time (ET) | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| FOMC rate decision | 2:00 PM | 8 per year |
| FOMC Meeting Minutes | 2:00 PM | About 3 weeks after each decision |
| Employment Report (NFP) | 8:30 AM | First Friday, monthly |
| CPI | 8:30 AM | Monthly |
Instrument-Specific T1 Events
| Event | Applies to | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| EIA Weekly Petroleum Status | CL and energy futures | Wednesdays, 10:30 AM |
| USDA Agricultural Reports | Corn, wheat, soybean futures | Varies by report |
The instrument-specific T1s are narrower in scope. An EIA print is a T1 event for your CL position but not for your ES position on the same account. If you hold both, the restriction applies to the CL leg only. This narrower scope is why the universal four (FOMC decision, FOMC Minutes, NFP, CPI) deserve more strategic attention than the instrument-specific releases.
The 2-Minute Window Mechanic
All open positions in the affected instrument must be closed by T-minus-2. New positions cannot be opened until T-plus-2. The window mechanic is identical across every plan where restrictions apply.
NFP Friday Timeline
- 8:26 AM ET, T-minus-2 deadline. Any open position at this mark is a violation.
- 8:30 AM ET, release time.
- 8:32 AM ET, restriction lifts. New positions allowed.
Closed by T-minus-2 means executed and confirmed, not just submitted. Resting orders still working at the mark with an open position are a compliance risk. Close manually with a market order and verify the platform shows flat before the deadline. The clock follows the published economic-calendar time precisely, not the trader's local approximation.
Non-T1 Events: Same Window, Narrower Trigger
PPI, ISM, retail sales, JOLTS, GDP and weekly claims use the same 2-minute pre and post window, but only when you hold a position in an instrument correlated to that release. An ES trader holding through an ISM print is subject to the window. An ES trader holding through a USDA crop report is not. The mechanic is identical; the trigger scope is narrower.
Check the economic calendar before every session. Know which releases hit during your trading hours and which instruments you hold.
Per-Plan, Per-Stage T1 Matrix
Every plan allows T1 during evaluation. The funded stage is where plans split.
| Plan | Eval | Funded |
|---|---|---|
| Core | T1 Allowed | T1 Allowed |
| Rapid | T1 Allowed | T1 Prohibited |
| Pro | T1 Allowed | T1 Prohibited |
| Flex | T1 Allowed | T1 Allowed |
| Builder | T1 Allowed | T1 Allowed |
The Eval-to-Funded Gap
If your edge is built around FOMC or NFP and you are trading a Rapid or Pro eval, you are operating under a rule book that disappears when you reach the funded stage. The eval pass validates your strategy under the permissive policy. The funded stage runs the restricted policy. This is the most common surprise for newly-funded Rapid and Pro traders who relied on news edge during evaluation.
Why Core Funded Allows T1
Core's EOD trailing drawdown does not update intraday. A news trade that spikes against you and recovers before close creates zero floor movement. That structural property is what makes Core funded the cleanest news-trader plan in the MFFU lineup. The firm permits T1 on Core funded because the drawdown mechanic absorbs intraday news whipsaw without ratcheting risk.
Why Flex and Builder Funded Allow T1
Flex uses 4 percent EOD static drawdown, the floor does not trail with profit, which removes the intraday ratcheting risk that makes news events dangerous on Rapid. Builder uses a fixed-buffer drawdown (2,000 dollar default), giving traders straightforward math: finite buffer, T1 allowed, position-size accordingly.
Why Rapid and Pro Funded Prohibit T1
Rapid's 4 percent intraday trailing floor ratchets upward on every new equity high, including unrealized gains. A whipsaw during NFP (spike up, reverse down) moves the floor up on the spike and leaves the trader with a permanently tighter buffer after the reversal, with no realized gain to show for it. That mechanic is why the firm prohibits T1 in Rapid funded. Pro follows the same prohibition by design.
Violations and Enforcement
What Triggers a Violation
- Open position at T-minus-2 on a plan where T1 is prohibited (Rapid funded, Pro funded).
- New position entered before T-plus-2 after a T1 event on those plans.
- Bracket trade (paired buy-stop and sell-stop around a release) on any plan including Core, Flex and Builder funded where T1 is otherwise allowed. Brackets are banned strategy types in MFFU's ToS regardless of plan.
Automated Systems
Not exempt. If a NinjaTrader or Quantower strategy executes inside the restricted window on Rapid or Pro funded, the violation is attributed to the account. Program a hard news-flat rule with a block at T-minus-2. Disable the system for FOMC and NFP windows or build an event-aware filter.
Enforcement is via trade timestamp monitoring on the Rithmic data feed. Verify current consequences on the MFFU help center before assuming any leniency applies. The data feed records execution time to the second, and the firm reviews any in-window executions on the prohibited plans.
Strategy by Plan
Rapid Funded and Pro Funded: Flat by T-Minus-2
Binary. No exceptions. Close the position before the window opens, even if it is in unrealized profit. The potential cost of a T1 violation (account termination) exceeds any gain from riding the news move. Build the flat-before-T1 discipline into session prep the same way you track your drawdown floor.
Core, Flex, Builder Funded: Manage the Window
Set a hard stop before the release and let the market execute it. Do not rely on mental stops during FOMC or NFP, execution speed during T1 events exceeds manual reaction time. On Core, a news move that spikes and reverses before close creates no floor movement under EOD trailing.
Eval (All Plans): Size Down
T1 is allowed but drawdown limits still apply. A 4 percent intraday trailing limit on Rapid eval does not make an exception for news volatility. Reduce size around T1 events, especially on Rapid where an intraday spike in your favor can ratchet the floor and leave less room for the reversal.
Drawdown Mechanic by Plan
The reason news policy differs by plan is the underlying drawdown calculation. Understanding the mechanic clarifies why the same news trade is benign on one plan and account-killing on another.
| Plan | Drawdown mechanic | Intraday updates? | Floor ratchets on? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | EOD trailing | No, only on EOD close | EOD balance |
| Rapid | Intraday trailing 4 percent | Yes, every tick | New equity highs including unrealized |
| Pro | Intraday trailing | Yes | New equity highs |
| Flex | EOD static 4 percent | No, fixed floor | Does not ratchet |
| Builder | Fixed buffer | No, fixed dollar buffer | Does not ratchet |
The intraday-trailing plans (Rapid, Pro) are where news whipsaws are most dangerous because the floor moves on the spike. The EOD-trailing or static-floor plans (Core, Flex, Builder) absorb the same whipsaw without floor movement. That structural difference is the reason the firm splits T1 policy by plan.
Pre-Session Workflow for T1 Days
On every T1 release day, a structured pre-session workflow reduces violation risk to near zero. The workflow takes 5 minutes and applies on every plan because even Core, Flex and Builder funded benefit from explicit planning around the release.
- Open the economic calendar 30 minutes before session start and identify every T1 and non-T1 release in your trading window.
- Mark the T-minus-2 deadline for each release on a session timeline.
- Verify your plan and stage in the dashboard: Core funded allows T1, Rapid funded prohibits T1, and so on.
- Set platform-side reminders or alarms at T-minus-5 and T-minus-3 for each release.
- Pre-plan the action: close, hold with stop, or skip the window entirely. Do not decide at T-minus-2.
- Confirm any automated systems are configured with the appropriate news filter for the day.
Common Release-Day Mistakes
Five mistakes that account for most T1 violations on Rapid and Pro funded:
Mistake 1: Forgetting Daylight Saving Transitions
Tier-1 release times are published in ET. In the weeks around DST transitions in March and November, traders in non-US time zones may map the ET time to the wrong local hour. The release fires on the published ET time regardless of local-time confusion. Verify the local equivalent each week, do not rely on memory.
Mistake 2: Trusting Resting Stop Orders Around Release
A resting stop order does not constitute a flat position. If you are long ES with a stop and the release fires while the position is still open, you are subject to the T1 policy. Resting orders only execute when triggered; the position is live until the stop fills. Close manually with a market order before T-minus-2.
Mistake 3: Holding Through Non-T1 Releases on Correlated Instruments
A trader holding NQ during a PPI release is subject to the same 2-minute window even though PPI is non-T1, because NQ correlates with inflation data. Verify correlation before assuming the window does not apply.
Mistake 4: Re-Entry Before T-Plus-2
The lockout lifts at T-plus-2. Re-entering at T-plus-1 (one minute after the release) is a violation. The mechanic is symmetric: closed by T-minus-2, no new positions until T-plus-2 has passed.
Mistake 5: Assuming Eval Rules Carry to Funded
Eval allows T1 on every plan. Funded diverges. The most common surprise is a Rapid eval trader passing into Rapid funded and continuing to trade T1 the same way. The funded-stage policy is different and the violation triggers immediately.
Risk-Adjusted Sizing on T1 Days
Even on plans where T1 is allowed (Core, Flex, Builder funded), the post-release volatility regime carries genuinely higher tail risk than a typical session. Reduce position size by 25 to 50 percent on T1 days. The structural reasoning is that the maximum-adverse-excursion distribution widens materially during the first 60 seconds after a release, and a position sized for normal conditions can hit a much wider stop than expected.
| Normal session size | T1-day sizing | Effective stop budget |
|---|---|---|
| 3 ES contracts | 1 to 2 ES contracts | Reduced proportionally |
| 5 NQ contracts | 3 NQ contracts | Wider stop, fewer contracts |
| 10 micro contracts | 5 to 7 micros | Adjusted for vol regime |
My Take from Three Years on MFFU
Three years on MFFU across Core, Pro and Rapid (around 20,000 dollars in cumulative payouts, exceptional experience overall), the news policy is the one area where I made the most significant strategy adjustment moving from eval to funded.
On Rapid and Pro eval, T1 is open. I built meaningful P and L around FOMC and NFP on those eval accounts. The moment they funded, the T1 allowance on Rapid and Pro was gone. Every FOMC day on a Rapid funded account became a flat day by 1:58 PM ET. That shift is real and needs to be planned for, not discovered during an FOMC Wednesday.
Core funded has been the cleanest news-trading experience. The EOD trailing structure absorbs intraday news volatility without floor movement as long as the position recovers before close. If your edge has any news component, Core funded is the plan to run it on. Builder and Flex funded I have not personally tested in the funded stage, but the T1 allowance is documented and the drawdown mechanics differ enough that you should model the risk math for each before relying on them for news-driven strategies.
Practical Session Workflow
Before every session that includes a tier-1 release:
- Check the economic calendar for all T1 and relevant non-T1 events during your trading window.
- Verify which plan and stage you are on, the T1 matrix changes the entire policy.
- If on Rapid or Pro funded, set explicit flat-by reminders 5 minutes before T-minus-2.
- If on Core, Flex or Builder funded, decide pre-release whether to hold or flatten, plan stop placement explicitly.
- Avoid bracket strategies around any release on any plan.
- If running an automated system, confirm the news-flat filter is active.
- Reduce size by 25 to 50 percent on T1 days even if T1 is allowed on your plan, the post-release volatility regime is genuinely riskier.
Common Misconceptions
Five misconceptions worth correcting:
- All MFFU plans prohibit news trading. False, only Rapid and Pro funded prohibit T1; eval is open on every plan.
- The 2-minute window only applies to FOMC and NFP. False, it applies to the universal four plus instrument-specific releases on the relevant instruments.
- Bracket strategies are fine on plans where T1 is allowed. False, brackets are banned on every plan regardless of T1 policy.
- Automated systems are exempt because they execute without human intent. False, the violation is attributed to the account regardless of execution path.
- Eval news policy carries to funded automatically. False, the funded stage runs its own per-plan policy.
Bottom Line
MFFU allows T1 in Core, Flex and Builder funded. It prohibits T1 in Rapid and Pro funded. Every evaluation allows T1 regardless of plan. The 2-minute window is non-negotiable and enforced via trade timestamps.
If your edge has a news component, route it through Core funded. The EOD trailing drawdown and T1 allowance together make news trading viable without intraday floor risk. If you run Rapid or Pro funded, build the flat-before-T1 discipline into session prep the same way you track your drawdown floor.
Plan-by-Plan Strategy Profiles
Each MFFU plan attracts a different trader profile because of the drawdown and news-policy combination. Knowing which plan fits your edge profile is the single most important decision when entering MFFU.
Core: Steady News-Tolerant Trader
3 percent EOD trailing drawdown plus T1 allowed on funded. Best for traders with directional news edge who want the EOD structure to absorb intraday whipsaw. Personal experience confirms Core funded is the cleanest news plan in the MFFU lineup.
Rapid: Fast Scalper Without News
4 percent intraday trailing drawdown, T1 prohibited on funded. Best for scalpers who can avoid news windows entirely. The intraday trailing floor rewards fast, consistent profit but punishes hold-through whipsaw.
Pro: Larger Account Without News
Similar to Rapid but scaled larger. T1 prohibited on funded. Best for established traders with scaling profit profiles.
Flex: Static EOD With News
4 percent EOD static drawdown, T1 allowed on funded. Floor does not trail, so the buffer stays consistent regardless of profit growth. Good for traders who like a stable floor and news exposure.
Builder: Fixed Buffer With News
Fixed-buffer drawdown (2,000 dollar default), T1 allowed on funded. Straightforward math: known buffer, news allowed, position-size against the static dollar limit.
Migrating Strategy Between Plans
Traders moving from Rapid eval to Rapid funded need to restructure any news component of their strategy. The eval-to-funded migration on Rapid and Pro is where most strategy adjustments are needed. Three migration patterns work in practice:
- Strip news entirely from the strategy and rely on non-news edge for funded.
- Run the strategy on Core funded instead, where T1 is allowed, accepting the different drawdown mechanic.
- Split the strategy across two accounts (Core funded for news, Rapid funded for non-news), if the trader can manage two parallel approaches.
The first option is simplest. The second adapts the strategy to the right drawdown mechanic. The third doubles the operational complexity but maximizes capture across plan strengths.
Verification: Always Check the Help Center
MFFU updates the help center when policies change. This article reflects published rules at the time of writing, but the firm has shipped plan changes (Rapid 90/10 split addition, plan-specific rule tweaks) on multiple occasions. Verify any news-policy detail on help.myfundedfutures.com before acting on it for an active funded account.
Critical items to verify on the help center each quarter:
- T1 event list (the four universal events are stable; instrument-specific events occasionally update).
- Window duration (the 2-minute pre and post is currently standard but could change).
- Plan-by-plan funded policy (Core, Flex, Builder allow T1; Rapid, Pro prohibit).
- Enforcement consequences for in-window violations.
- Bracket-strategy ban scope and definition.
Practical Trader FAQs Beyond the Rule Book
Beyond the published rules, traders working through the news trading policy typically have a recurring set of practical questions that the help center does not directly address. Most of them resolve to a small handful of principles.
How to Build Confidence in the Mechanic
Confidence comes from explicit testing. Run a small position through the mechanic in question, verify the dashboard behavior matches the published rule, and only scale up once the mechanic is confirmed. Most traders skip this validation step and discover edge cases on a serious account, which is the expensive way to learn.
How to Document Edge Cases
When a rule produces an unexpected outcome, screenshot the dashboard immediately, note the timestamp and the exact trade or event that triggered it, and submit a clarifying question to support. Building a personal edge-case log saves time on subsequent accounts and creates a record useful for support escalation if needed.
How to Handle Ambiguity
Some rule language is intentionally flexible to allow the firm's risk team discretion. When in doubt, ask support before taking the action, not after. Pre-clearance through support is cheap insurance; post-violation review is much more expensive.
Long-Term Account Health
Treating the account as a long-term asset rather than a short-term lottery ticket changes the optimization function. Long-term traders win by minimizing rule-violation risk, maintaining clean compliance history, and compounding payouts across many cycles.
Five long-term habits that pay off:
- Pre-session checklist that runs through the rule set every morning.
- Post-session journal that logs decisions, outcomes and rule-impact for each trade.
- Monthly review of account performance against the rule profile.
- Quarterly check of the firm's help center for policy updates.
- Annual reassessment of whether the firm is still the right fit for the current strategy.
How to Read the Help Center Effectively
The help center is the source of truth for current rules. Reading it effectively requires distinguishing between the headline summary (which is often simplified) and the detailed rule text (which contains the edge cases). Always click through to the underlying article rather than relying on a summary or a FAQ-style snippet.
When the help center is updated, the date of the most recent edit is usually visible. Compare against the date when you last reviewed the rules. Material changes typically warrant a session-level review of how the change affects your strategy.
Building a Personal News Calendar
Most violations on Rapid and Pro funded come from missed or mis-timed releases, not deliberate rule-breaking. Building a personal news calendar is the single highest-leverage operational change. The calendar should track every T1 release for the month, every relevant non-T1 release for your instruments, and the local-time conversion for each window.
Five-step calendar build:
- Subscribe to a published economic calendar feed (Investing dot com, ForexFactory, BabyPips all work).
- Filter to high-impact releases relevant to your instrument mix.
- Convert release times to your local time once for the entire month.
- Mark T-minus-2 deadlines on each release.
- Review the calendar at the start of every trading week and adjust the trading plan accordingly.
The calendar is also useful for non-violation reasons: knowing release schedules helps with position-size planning and entry-timing discipline even on plans where T1 is allowed.
How the Lockout Mechanic Actually Triggers
The MFFU lockout mechanic on Rapid and Pro funded operates on trade timestamps recorded in the Rithmic data feed. When the firm's risk system reviews a position, it checks the open and close timestamps against the published T1 release schedule. If any portion of the position overlapped the 4-minute window, the violation is recorded.
Critical timing details:
- Open timestamp is the moment the order is filled, not the moment it is placed.
- Close timestamp is the moment the closing order fills, not the moment of submission.
- Partial fills are evaluated per fill, not at the aggregate order level.
- Resting orders that never trigger do not contribute to the position state.
- Time zones are normalized to UTC at the data-feed level then displayed in the dashboard.
Verifying Your Plan Status in the Dashboard
Before every T1 day, verify your plan and stage in the dashboard. The combination of plan (Core, Rapid, Pro, Flex, Builder) and stage (Eval, Funded Sim, Funded Live) determines the news policy for that day. Switching between plans (which the firm offers via account swaps) changes the policy mid-stream.
Dashboard Locations to Check
The plan name typically appears at the top of the account-detail page. The stage indicator (Eval, Funded Sim, Funded Live) appears next to it. The current drawdown floor and the current daily loss limit are usually accessible from the same page. Confirm all three match your assumption before placing any T1-window position.
What to Do When the Plan Changes
If you swap plans mid-account-life, immediately re-review the news policy for the new plan. The same trading style may be compliant under one plan and non-compliant under another. The plan swap typically takes effect at the start of the next session, not immediately, so plan ahead.