Glossary

The maximum loss your account can take before it is closed. We use trailing drawdown that follows your highest equity.

A loss floor that follows new highs under the account’s drawdown mode until its plan-specific lock applies. Pro uses a verified second-request line that stops rising when that payout is paid; Growth and Express have a starting-balance lock when funded.

The lowest equity your account can finish at before it is closed. Same idea as max loss limit.

On Pro, Your loss line is saved when your second payout request is verified. Once that payout is paid, trading profits stop pushing that saved line higher. Withdrawals preserve your remaining loss room. On Growth and Express funded accounts the lock level is your starting capital. At Live the floor locks at your allocated capital plus $100 ($50,100 on a 100K and $25,100 on a 50K and $12,600 on a 25K), once your profit reaches your plan's drawdown. There is no lock in Evaluation.

A drawdown mode that updates the floor at the platform’s daily end-of-day boundary. Intraday spikes do not by themselves raise the floor. The account can still breach its current floor during the session.

A drawdown mode that updates the floor in real time. Used on Express.

The amount of profit required to advance from Evaluation to Funded. Growth: 12 percent. Express: 10 percent.

A trading day finished with realized profit of at least $100 on a 25K account, $150 on a 50K, and $200 on a 100K. A funded account needs 8 of them in the current payout cycle before a payout can be requested. They do not have to be consecutive, and the count resets each time a payout is paid.

Pro has no reset. Available on Growth and Express. After a drawdown breach you can buy a reset, and it restores the original starting balance and drawdown floor. A reset costs 10% less than what you pay for that account, so it is always cheaper than starting a new one. Before the first monthly renewal on that account, that is the price you paid for it at checkout; from the first renewal on, it is your monthly price. If we cannot match the account to a subscription price, it is priced off the current list price instead, at ten percentage points deeper than whatever sale is running that day. There is no deadline on a reset. Each account can have up to three paid resets, for as long as its subscription stays active. Once an account has reached its limit of three paid resets, another is not sold for it. A free reset credit can still be used on it, its next monthly renewal still resets it while the subscription is active, and a new account can be opened at any time. Resets are for evaluation accounts. If a funded account breaches, it is closed permanently and cannot be reset. To trade again, start a new evaluation.

Pro has no activation fee. For Growth and Express: A flat $129 activation cost, the same for every funded account size, charged before the funded account is activated and fully refunded on your first payout. If an account never reaches a payout, the fee is not refunded.

Growth and Express: The balance your most recent payout was requested at, less any amount your payout cap prevented you from taking, up to the size of that payout. The next payout requires balance to exceed this number by at least $1.

Pro does not use a starting-balance lock: its verified second-payout request saves the line, and the lock activates when that payout is paid. On Growth and Express funded accounts, lock balance means your starting capital ($25K, $50K, or $100K). Live has no lock balance: its floor locks at your allocated capital plus $100.

Your funded account is issued the same day you pass the evaluation and activate it, rather than on a later batch or review cycle.

An account permission that allows buying calls and puts, but not selling options to open, including short legs of spreads. New Growth and Express purchases allow buying options only. Pro allows buying and selling supported options. Existing accounts keep their purchased strategy permissions.

The phase after passing Evaluation. The firm carries the simulated capital risk. Payout caps and minimums apply.

The final stage. You trade Options Funding capital in real markets at Interactive Brokers and keep 80% of realized net profit. No payout caps; the minimum payout is $100. Payouts and the drawdown floor work under the Live Trader Agreement rather than the Funded rules.

Zero days to expiration. Options that expire on the same trading day.

A trade made up of two or more options contracts, such as a vertical spread, iron condor, butterfly, calendar, or diagonal.

A two-leg options trade with the same expiration and different strikes. Debit spreads pay to enter; credit spreads receive a credit on entry.

A four-leg options trade combining a bull put spread and a bear call spread. Profits when the underlying stays in a range.

A three-strike options trade that profits when the underlying lands at the middle strike.

A two-leg options trade with the same strike and different expirations.

A two-leg options trade with different strikes and different expirations.

A trade where the maximum loss is not capped by the structure itself, such as an uncovered short call. Only accounts with the required selling permissions may open it, using supported contracts and within their account risk limits. New Growth and Express purchases allow buying options only. Pro allows buying and selling supported options. Existing accounts keep their purchased strategy permissions.

The market forward-looking estimate of how much the underlying will move, expressed as an annualized percentage.

The obligation to deliver or buy the underlying when a short option is exercised against you.

Know Your Customer. The process of verifying a trader identity before payouts.

Anti-Money Laundering. Policies and procedures to detect and prevent illicit financial activity.

Counter-Terrorism Financing. Screening and recordkeeping designed to prevent financing of terrorism.

Politically Exposed Person. A category of individuals subject to enhanced KYC review due to public office.

US tax form used by US taxpayers to provide a taxpayer identification number.

US tax form used by non-US taxpayers to claim treaty benefits and report foreign status.

US tax form reporting non-employee compensation. Issued when a US taxpayer receives $600 or more in a year.

The rate an option loses value per day from time decay, all else equal. Long options have negative theta; short options have positive theta.

The rate of change of an option price relative to a $1 move in the underlying. A 0.50 delta call gains roughly $0.50 when the underlying gains $1.

The rate of change of delta relative to a $1 move in the underlying. Gamma is highest near the money and on shorter-dated options.

The rate of change of an option price relative to a one-point change in implied volatility. Long options have positive vega.

The rate of change of an option price relative to a one-point change in interest rates. Usually small for short-dated options.

The in-the-money portion of an option price. For calls, max of (underlying - strike, 0). For puts, max of (strike - underlying, 0).

The portion of an option price beyond intrinsic value. Includes time value and volatility premium. Decays to zero at expiration.

A normalized measure of where current implied volatility sits between the 52-week low and high, expressed 0 to 100.

The gap between the highest price a buyer will pay and the lowest price a seller will accept. Wider spreads cost more to enter and exit.

The total number of outstanding contracts for a given strike and expiration. Higher open interest typically means tighter spreads.

An order to buy or sell at a specified price or better. Will not fill at worse prices, may not fill at all.

An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Fills fast but exposes you to slippage.

An order that triggers a market or limit order when the underlying hits a specified price. Common for risk management.

The difference between the expected fill price and the price your order actually executes at. Wider on illiquid options.

Execution of an order. On RixTrade every order fills all-or-none at a single net price: either the full size trades or nothing does. There are no partial fills.

When the holder of an option uses their right to buy (call) or sell (put) the underlying at the strike. Long-option holder action.

When a short American-style option is exercised before expiration. Risk for sellers of in-the-money options, particularly near dividends.

An option that can only be exercised at expiration. SPX and most index options are European-style; no early-assignment risk.

An option that can be exercised at any time before expiration. Equity and ETF options are American-style.

The price at which an option can be exercised. A $450 call gives the holder the right to buy the underlying at $450.

The date an option contract terminates. After expiration, the contract has no value. US listed options expire on Fridays unless dated otherwise.

A call with strike above the underlying, or a put with strike below the underlying. No intrinsic value.

A call with strike below the underlying, or a put with strike above the underlying. Has intrinsic value.

An option with strike approximately equal to the current underlying price.

A butterfly variant where the wings are unequal distance from the center strike. Skews the risk profile in one direction.