What leverage should a prop firm offer?
Quick answer
CFD prop firms commonly offer leverage between about 1:30 and 1:100 on forex, often lower on indices, metals and crypto. Higher leverage lets traders take larger positions relative to equity and increases the chance of large swings. Many firms set leverage by asset class.
Detailed answer
How to decide:
- Your loss limits: with a 5% daily limit, very high leverage mostly enables faster breaches.
- Asset volatility: crypto and indices usually get lower leverage.
- Regulatory signals: some regulators cap retail leverage for real CFD trading, which shapes trader expectations.
- Competition: compare with firms targeting the same traders.
PropExecutor offers two leverage controls: a maximum effective leverage rule (total open notional divided by equity) and a leverage-by-asset-class rule that caps forex, metals, indices, energies and crypto separately. Both refuse orders that would exceed the limit.
Worked example
On a $10,000 account at 1:100, a trader could open around 9 lots of EUR/USD. A 50-pip move against them would be about $4,500, enough to breach most daily limits several times over. At 1:30, the maximum is about 2.7 lots and the same move costs about $1,350.
Communicating leverage
Publish leverage per asset class on your rules page.
PropExecutor team · Updated
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