TopstepTrader

Topstep is a financial technology firm based in Chicago, IL that evaluates day traders’ performance in real-time simulated accounts. The company started as TopstepTrader before merging under the name Topstep in 2020. Traders who pass the company’s evaluation, known as the Trading Combine, earn a funded trading account and trade futures contracts in the financial markets using the firm’s capital.^[1]

History

Topstep was started on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade by current CEO and former Dow futures contracts floor trader, Michael Patak, and became an LLC (Limited Liability Company) in July, 2012.^[2] According to the Omaha World Herald, the name TopstepTrader was chosen because the best traders within each trading pit stand on the top step, where they have the best view and could theoretically receive the best market prices.^[3]

Products and services

Topstep’s funding process consists of three steps. The first step measures the trader's profitability, while the second step evaluates the trader's risk management. After passing these two steps, the trader earns a "Funded Account", in which they can trade futures backed by Topstep's proprietary capital.^[4]

Topstep also offers an array of trader development resources including group coaching, digital coaching, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube live streams.

Topstep no longer offers Forex trading as of 2022. To focus more on the futures program, Topstep shut down its Forex trading program on April 12, 2022, and asked Forex traders to join their futures trading program instead.^[5]

Awards

Topstep has been awarded 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2016,^[6] 2016 Chicago Innovation Awards Finalist,^[7] and 2016 FIA (Futures Industry Association) Innovator.^[8] Founder and CEO Michael Patak was a 2015 semi-finalist and 2016 finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.^[9] In 2017, Inc. Magazine ranked Topstep No. 1,261 on its 36th annual Inc. 5000.^[10]

In the news

Topstep has appeared in news sources including Forbes,^[11] CNBC,^[12] Bloomberg,^[13] Fox Business,^[14] MarketWatch,^[15] and Built in Chicago.^[16]

References

1. Newswire, PR (2016-05-05). "EY Announces TopstepTrader LLC® CEO Michael Patak As An EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Finalist In The Midwest". TheStreet. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
2. LLC, TopstepTrader. "EY Announces TopstepTrader LLC® CEO Michael Patak as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Finalist in the Midwest". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2016-12-29.
3. columnist, Michael Kelly / World-Herald. "Kelly: Gretna native making a name for himself in world of commodities-futures trading". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
4. "Home - TopstepTrader". TopstepTrader. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
5. Jeremy, Nitta. "Topstep Stop The Support Of Forex Programs". Trading Funder. Jeremy Nitta. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
6. "Chicago's 2016 Best and Brightest Companies To Work For® - The Best and Brightest". 101bestandbrightest.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
7. Awards, Chicago Innovation. "2016 Top 100 Finalists - Chicago Innovation Awards". www.chicagoinnovationawards.com. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
8. "FIA announces 18 companies selected for Innovators Pavilion". FIA.org. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
9. "Meet the 2016 Finalists". ey.com/us/en/about-us/entrepreneurship/entrepreneur-of-the-year/mw_article_finalists. Ernst & Young. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
10. "Spread the Word: TopstepTrader Is No. 1261 on the Inc. 5000 This Year!". Inc.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
11. Hall, John. "Techweek Companies To Bet On". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
12. Holliday, Katie (2013-06-21). "It May Feel Overdone but Perhaps Sell-Off Is Justified". CNBC. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
13. "Why Weren't Markets More Bullish Over M&A Mania?", Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg.com, retrieved 2016-12-29
14. "Market headed for a pullback?". Fox Business. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
15. Orgel, Marty. "How to make a work-at-home business succeed". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
16. "How Chicago's top trading tech firms are shaping the future of finance". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 2016-12-29.