Maverick Trading - Prop Firm Review
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- Not a challenge firm: a US prop firm (founded 1997) that trains and funds traders with its own real capital
- You apply, interview and complete a paid qualification program before real capital is allocated
- Real firm money, not a simulator — a 1099 contractor role starting ~$25k, scaling with performance
- 65–90% split (60–90% on currencies), paid monthly by ACH with bonuses
- A $199 desk fee plus a trading bond and tuition — but the exact figures are not published; you apply to learn them
Table of contents
TL;DR: Maverick Trading in 30 seconds
- What it is: not a challenge firm. A US proprietary trading firm founded in 1997 that trains and funds traders with its own real capital. Two divisions: Maverick Trading (stocks and options) and Maverick Currencies (forex, metals, crypto and select futures).
- How you get in: you apply, interview, and complete a paid qualification program (1,000+ hours of training, tests, and a coach-monitored demo) before real firm capital is allocated. There is no pass-a-challenge-for-a-fee shortcut.
- The capital: real firm money, not a simulator - you become a 1099 independent-contractor trader inside one of Maverick’s trading LLCs, starting around $25,000 and scaling with performance, with no cap on the levels.
- The split: 65-90% (stocks/options) or 60-90% (currencies), rising with consistency and retained profits. Paid monthly by ACH, with milestone bonuses.
- The cost: a $199 desk fee plus a required trading bond and the qualification-program tuition - and the exact tuition and bond figures are not published; you apply to learn them.
- Best for: committed traders who want real capital, genuine mentorship and a 25-year-old firm - and who accept a long, effort-heavy path and opaque upfront pricing.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026. Checked against Maverick Trading’s and Maverick Currencies’ official websites. Figures below reflect the programme at the time of review; terms change, so always confirm on the firm’s own pages before you apply.
Pricing snapshot
Stocks/Options pricing
Associate
| Account size | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4K starting capital | USD 1000 | Membership fee | Official Maverick Trading membership fee. Also requires a USD 1,000 performance bond and lists a USD 199 monthly fee with USD 100 credit; profit split is 60%. |
Professional
| Account size | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10K starting capital | USD 4000 | Membership fee | Official Maverick Trading membership fee. Also requires a USD 2,000 performance bond and lists a USD 199 monthly fee with USD 199 credit; profit split is 80%. |
Partner
| Account size | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20K starting capital | USD 8000 | Membership fee | Official Maverick Trading membership fee. Also requires a USD 2,000 performance bond and lists a USD 199 monthly fee with USD 199 credit; profit split is 90%. |
Pricing last verified: 2026-08-11
Why Maverick is not like the rest of this list
Almost every firm reviewed on this site sells a challenge: pay a fee, hit a target on a simulated account, get a simulated funded account, keep a share of the payouts. Maverick Trading works nothing like that, and it is important to say so up front so you judge it on its own terms.
Maverick is a proprietary trading firm founded in 1997 that recruits, trains and funds traders as independent contractors of its own trading LLCs. In its own words, it is “a private equity trading firm which trains and allows a team of professional traders to manage and trade its own brokerage account.” There is no instant challenge. The path is apply → interview → qualification program → tests → coach-monitored demo → real-capital allocation, and the firm states that “without exception, all Maverick traders are required to complete Maverick’s qualification program.”
Its longevity is genuine and rare in this space: a 25-plus-year track record, a McGraw-Hill-published book, in-person summits, and live trading rooms with human coaching. If you are comparing Maverick to a $50 instant-funding account, you are comparing two completely different things.
How it actually works
The onboarding is a real, multi-stage apprenticeship:
- Apply and interview. You submit an application covering your background and experience, then schedule a phone interview with a recruiter.
- Qualification program. Over 1,000 hours of on-demand training, with unlimited access and unlimited attempts to pass the verification tests on position sizing, risk management, order entry and profit targets.
- Monitored demo. You trade a demo account that is “analyzed and monitored by the trader/coach assigned to them,” proving a written trading plan before any real money is allocated.
- Real capital. Once you qualify, you are “offered a position as a trader from one of our trading LLCs” and trade the firm’s own brokerage capital through a partner broker (Interactive Brokers).
You are an independent contractor, paid via 1099 - not an employee with a salary. There is no numeric profit target to “pass”; advancement is judged qualitatively on whether you follow your written plan with proper risk control, consistency and low drawdowns.
Capital, split and payouts
Funded traders typically start around $25,000 and scale up a capital ladder - the firm cites a progression toward “millions” with “no cap on the levels.” Increases are “granted based on each trader’s performance, profits retained in their account, and the size of their risk deposit,” so leaving earnings in the account and trading with low drawdowns is how you grow.
The profit split is 65-90% on the equities and options side and 60-90% on currencies, rising with proven consistency. Payouts are monthly: on the equities side, profits are calculated per options-expiration period and disbursed on the first of the following month; on the currencies side, monthly by ACH to your bank. There are also performance and milestone bonuses.
Two commercial points genuinely stand in Maverick’s favour, and set it apart from fee-driven challenge firms: it charges no commission mark-up and no spread fees (“we strictly profit from the profits our traders generate”), and it imposes no volume requirement and actively “discourage[s] high frequency trading.” Its incentives are aligned with your P&L, not with churning fees or spreads.
What to weigh before applying
The honest limitations are about cost transparency and effort, not gimmicks.
- Opaque upfront pricing. There is a $199 desk fee and a required trading bond, plus the qualification-program tuition - but the exact tuition and bond amounts are not published (“details in the application videos”). You have to apply to learn the true cost, which is a real friction and worth knowing before you invest time.
- A long path to funding. Weeks of coursework, tests and monitored demo trading, versus a same-week challenge elsewhere.
- Modest starting capital. A ~$25,000 funded start is smaller than the six-figure headline accounts challenge firms advertise (though Maverick’s is real and theirs is simulated).
- Discretionary risk control. There is no published hard drawdown or daily-loss number; risk is managed by your coach and the firm’s guidelines, which cuts both ways.
- No regulator backstop. Maverick trades its own capital and is not a brokerage, so there is no regulatory protection scheme - expected for this model, but worth stating.
Verdict
Maverick Trading is one of the few firms in this space offering something modern challenge shops do not: real firm capital, genuine long-form mentorship, a 25-year track record, a high 65-90% split, monthly ACH payouts with bonuses, and a business model aligned with your trading rather than your fees. For a serious trader willing to be trained, that is a materially different - and in many ways better - proposition than passing a demo challenge.
The trade-offs are effort and transparency. You must apply to discover the full cost (the tuition and trading bond are not published), commit to a long qualification path, and start with modest real capital rather than a large simulated number. If you want funding this week, or want to see every fee before engaging, Maverick is not that. If you want to be genuinely trained and funded with real money at a firm that has done this since 1997, it is one of the most substantial options available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Maverick Trading a challenge-based prop firm?
No. Maverick Trading is a proprietary trading firm founded in 1997 that trains and funds traders with its own real capital. Instead of paying a fee to pass a simulated challenge, you apply, interview, complete a paid qualification program with tests and a coach-monitored demo, and then are allocated real firm capital as an independent contractor of one of its trading LLCs.
Does Maverick Trading use real or simulated capital?
Real capital, after you qualify. The evaluation stage is a monitored demo account, but once you complete the qualification program you trade the firm’s own brokerage capital through its partner broker, Interactive Brokers. This is a key difference from the simulated funded accounts most modern prop firms offer.
What does it cost to join Maverick Trading?
There is a $199 desk fee and a required trading bond (a risk deposit), plus the cost of the qualification program. Importantly, the exact tuition and bond amounts are not published on the site - the firm says the full details are in the application videos, so you have to apply to learn the true cost.
What is the Maverick Trading profit split?
It is 65% to 90% on the stocks and options side and 60% to 90% on the currencies side, and it rises with proven consistency, retained profits and the size of your risk deposit. Payouts are made monthly by ACH, with additional performance and milestone bonuses, and there is no cap on the capital levels you can reach.
How much capital does Maverick Trading give you?
Funded traders typically start around $25,000 and scale up a capital ladder based on performance, profits retained in the account, and risk-deposit size, with the firm citing progression toward millions and no cap on the levels. The starting figure is smaller than the headline simulated accounts of challenge firms, but it is real firm capital.
Is Maverick Trading regulated?
Maverick trades its own capital rather than client funds, and states it is not a brokerage, so it makes no claim to be regulated by a securities body and there is no regulator backstop. It partners with Interactive Brokers for execution. This is normal for a firm trading its own money, but it means no compensation scheme protects you.
What can you trade at Maverick Trading?
Through the Maverick Trading division you trade stocks and options, and through the Maverick Currencies division you trade forex, metals, crypto and select futures. The firm imposes no volume requirement, actively discourages high-frequency trading, and notably charges no commission mark-up or spread fees, profiting only from a share of the profits its traders generate.
