Capital Allocation Cap
Also known as: allocation cap, maximum funded capital, capital limit per trader, total allocation limit
What is it?
A capital allocation cap is the maximum total funded capital a prop firm will place with one trader across every account they hold, no matter how many evaluations they pass. The cap is on capital, not on attempts. A firm that sells $200,000 accounts and caps allocation at $600,000 will fund three of them and no more. A trader who passes a fourth evaluation has paid a fourth fee and receives no fourth account - some firms refund it, others simply do not allocate.
Caps are usually stated per trader rather than per account, and firms match on identity documents, so opening a second profile to get around one is normally a terms breach rather than a workaround. It exists because the firm carries the risk of every dollar it allocates, and one trader's correlated positions across four accounts are a single concentrated bet from the firm's side. For you it sets a ceiling on how much capital the strategy can ever be given at that firm. Past the cap, growth has to come from a scaling plan that raises the cap itself, or from a second firm - and it is worth knowing which of the two is on offer before you buy the third evaluation.
Your capital is at risk on every one of those accounts. See /risk-warning.
Why it matters: It sets the hard ceiling on how much capital your strategy can ever be given at one firm, so past that point extra passes add nothing.
Remaining allocation = firm cap - total funded capital already held
It caps the strategy's total capacity at one firm, so growth past the cap has to come from a scaling plan or a second firm rather than from more accounts.
Real-world example
A firm caps allocation at $600,000 per trader. A trader already holding three funded $200,000 accounts is at the cap, so passing a fourth evaluation adds no new capital.
How SignalBots handles it
SignalBots signals publish entry, stop and target as fixed levels, so the same setup can be sized to the capital a firm has actually allocated you rather than to the account size you hoped to reach. See /risk-warning.
Pro tip
Check the cap before buying a third or fourth evaluation - most firms count capital across accounts, so an extra pass can leave you funded for nothing.
Common pitfalls
Assuming each passed challenge stacks. Firms cap total allocation per trader, so a pass beyond the cap can mean a fee paid for capital that never arrives.
Frequently asked questions
Does the cap count accounts or dollars?
Dollars. Most firms state a maximum total funded capital per trader, then let you split it across however many accounts they allow. Three $200,000 accounts and six $100,000 accounts hit a $600,000 cap identically.
Can I open a second profile to get more capital?
Firms match traders on identity documents and payment details, and a second profile is normally a terms breach that voids both accounts and any pending payout. The intended route past a cap is the firm's scaling plan.
Does a scaling plan raise the cap?
At most firms yes - hitting the scaling milestones raises your personal allocation ceiling rather than just your account size. Read whether the plan lifts the cap or only redistributes capital inside it.
What happens to the fee if I pass past the cap?
It varies. Some firms refund the evaluation fee, some credit it toward a future account, and some keep it because the terms already stated the cap. Check that clause before you buy the evaluation, not after you pass it.
Can I hold accounts at several firms instead?
Usually yes - caps are per firm, not industry-wide. The trade-off is that each firm has its own rules, engines and payout cycles, so you are running several different rule sets at once rather than one larger account.
Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Historical and backtested results do not guarantee future performance. Read the full risk warning.
