Trailing Drawdown vs End of Day vs Static: What Each Type Costs You

Trailing drawdown vs end of day comes down to when the floor moves. An intraday trailing drawdown moves up with every new high in your open profit. An end-of-day drawdown only moves up at the daily close. A static drawdown never moves. On the same $50K plan, an average attempt passes 39% of the time with static, 29% with end of day and 27% with intraday trailing.

How does each type move? One example week

The chart follows one $50K account with a $2,000 max loss through four invented days, with all three drawdowns drawn under the same balance.

No single trade in that week was bad, and both of the first two days closed green. The intraday account ended because it was charged for open profit that was never banked.

How much harder is a trailing drawdown?

We ran the same plan ($3,000 target, $2,000 max loss) 3,000 times for each type, from a scalper whose balance swings 15% of the max loss a day to a swing trader at 60%.

Static wins at every swing size. Between end of day and intraday the gap is small for a scalper, about 1 point, but grows to 6 points for someone whose day swings 60% of the max loss.

Which type do firms sell?

End of day dominates futures and static dominates forex. 74% of forex plans are static, against 7% in futures.

Same firm, two versions: which to buy?

8 futures firms sell the same $50K account with either drawdown. The intraday version is cheaper to get funded at 5 of them, and its pass rate is typically 1 point lower. If you scalp, take the cheaper one; if you let winners run, pay for end of day.

Can the drawdown change after you pass?

Yes. Some firms sell an end-of-day test and switch the funded account to intraday trailing. It is in their terms, not on the plan card.

Which type fits how you trade

• The lock. Most trailing drawdowns stop rising at or just above the starting balance. After that they behave like a static one.
• Open profit counts. On intraday trailing, an unrealised gain you never closed still lifts the floor. Moving your stop to break even does not protect you from that.
• The close is a snapshot. End of day uses the balance at the firm's daily cut-off, which is not always the exchange close. Check the time in the firm's rules.