FTM News Trading Policy Explained: No Blackout Windows, News Rules, and What Traders Need to Know in 2026

News trading is one of the areas where prop-firm rules can make a major difference to a trader's strategy.

A firm may allow trading during NFP, CPI, FOMC, central-bank decisions, and other high-impact releases. Another may allow positions to remain open but restrict new orders around the announcement. A third may allow news trading during evaluation but introduce restrictions after funding.

That is why the phrase "news trading allowed" should never be treated as the complete answer.

For traders considering Funded Trader Markets (FTM), the current policy is unusually straightforward: FTM states that there are no blackout windows, no time-based restrictions around economic announcements, and no reduction in eligible performance rewards simply because a trade was placed during news.

However, this does not mean every form of news-based trading is permitted. FTM separately restricts practices such as news scalping, high-frequency trading, arbitrage, and other strategies designed to exploit pricing or execution characteristics.

This guide explains how the FTM news trading policy works, how it compares with The5ers and FTMO, and what traders should examine before choosing an account.

FTM News Trading Policy: Are There Really No Blackout Windows?

Can you trade during NFP, CPI, FOMC, and other high-impact news events with FTM?

Yes. According to FTM's current FAQ, news trading is allowed across its available programs.

More importantly, FTM states that there are no blackout windows or time-based restrictions around economic announcements. The firm also says there are no special profit reductions tied to news events.

That means a trader does not have to automatically close a position simply because an important economic release is approaching.

This can matter for strategies that are designed around scheduled macroeconomic events. A trader following US inflation data, employment reports, Federal Reserve decisions, or other market-moving announcements can structure the trading plan around the event without a separate FTM news blackout period.

FTM also states that profits from trades placed during news events, or from previously held positions closed during news, remain eligible for performance rewards.

But there is an important distinction:

News trading is allowed. News exploitation is not automatically allowed.

FTM's general trading rules prohibit practices such as rapid news scalping designed to exploit market feeds, arbitrage, tick scalping, and certain forms of high-frequency trading.

So the practical interpretation is not "anything goes during news." It is that the calendar event itself is not prohibited.

Does FTM allow market orders, pending orders, and open positions during major news releases?

FTM's published news policy does not impose a special two-minute or five-minute execution blackout around high-impact releases.

This is different from a rule that says a trader may hold a position through news but cannot open or close it during a specified window.

For example, some prop firms distinguish between:

• ●entering before news;
• ●holding through news;
• ●placing a pending order;
• ●having a pending order triggered during news;
• ●closing during the announcement;
• ●opening a completely new position after the release.

FTM's headline policy is broader because it does not impose a dedicated news-event execution window.

Nevertheless, ordinary trading rules still apply. Margin requirements, drawdown limits, prohibited strategies, minimum holding rules, and other account-specific conditions can still affect whether a particular trade qualifies for a reward.

That distinction is important when reading FTM's rules: no news blackout does not mean no trading rules.

How FTM's News Trading Rules Work in Practice

What are the risks of trading news when spreads, slippage, and volatility increase?

The absence of a blackout window removes one restriction, but it does not remove market risk.

High-impact announcements can produce:

• ●rapid price movement;
• ●wider spreads;
• ●increased slippage;
• ●thin liquidity;
• ●sudden reversals;
• ●rejected or delayed execution;
• ●larger-than-expected stop-loss distances.

FTM itself warns traders that news-driven markets can become highly volatile and that thinner liquidity can make execution more difficult.

This is particularly relevant for prop traders because the account's drawdown limit is usually much closer to the trading balance than the headline account size suggests.

A $100,000 account, for example, does not mean a trader can comfortably absorb a $10,000 or $20,000 loss. The relevant figure is the actual daily and overall loss allowance attached to that program.

A news strategy therefore needs to be tested against drawdown capacity, not just historical win rate.

A strategy that looks attractive on a retail account may become unsuitable when a single unexpected price move consumes a meaningful portion of the permitted drawdown.

Are news scalping, high-frequency trading, arbitrage, or other strategies restricted even when news trading is allowed?

Yes.

This is one of the most important points in the FTM policy.

FTM allows news trading but prohibits several forms of trading that attempt to exploit execution or pricing characteristics rather than express a conventional trading strategy.

Its current general rules specifically identify news scalping as prohibited when it involves rapidly opening and closing multiple positions within seconds around high-impact releases to exploit market feeds.

FTM also restricts high-frequency trading, arbitrage, tick scalping, multi-account reverse trading, and other practices that can be viewed as exploiting the simulated trading environment.

There is also a minimum holding-time rule. FTM states that profits from trades closed in less than one minute can be voided in the simulated funded phase. In challenge phases, excessive profit generated through trades held for less than one minute can trigger a requirement to redo the challenge.

The lesson is simple:

FTM permits the economic event, but not every possible way of trading the economic event.

That distinction should be part of any buying decision.

FTM News Trading vs Other Prop Firm Policies

How does FTM's news policy compare with The5ers, FTMO, and other major prop firms?

The5ers is particularly useful for comparison because its treatment of news depends on the specific program.

The5ers Futures currently allows news trading without special restrictions around economic releases, provided the trader follows the other account rules.

Its Futures program also has a 40% consistency rule, meaning one trade cannot represent more than 40% of total profits. The program currently lists a $25,000 evaluation, a 6% evaluation target, a 4% funded-stage target, a 4% EOD maximum loss, and maximum contract limits of two Minis or 20 Micros. The Futures program can scale to $500,000.

For traders interested in combining scheduled-news opportunities with a longer-term account-growth plan, those additional rules matter just as much as the news policy itself.

The5ers' CFD programs work differently.

Its High Stakes program allows traders to hold existing positions over high-impact news, but new orders executed from two minutes before until two minutes after a high-impact announcement are prohibited. The rule applies to orders that actually execute during the restricted window, including pending orders that trigger during it.

The5ers also states that its Instant Funding and Bootcamp programs allow news trading but prohibit bracket strategies around news.

This creates an important comparison point:

The5ers does not have one universal "news rule." The applicable rule depends on the program.

FTMO follows a similar program-specific approach. Its Standard FTMO Account restricts opening or closing trades on targeted instruments from two minutes before through two minutes after selected news releases. Its Evaluation Process does not apply that restriction, while its Swing account has no such news restriction. FTMO Futures also permits news trading without special news restrictions.

Therefore, traders should compare program against program, rather than simply comparing firm against firm.

Why can "news trading allowed" mean different things across evaluation and funded accounts?

Because prop firms can change the rules between stages.

An evaluation might allow unrestricted news trading because the trader is demonstrating strategy execution. The funded stage may then introduce additional conditions concerning execution, holding periods, risk, or consistency.

This is why traders should ask five questions before buying:

1. ●Can I open trades during high-impact news?
2. ●Can pending orders trigger during news?
3. ●Can I close positions during news?
4. ●Does the rule change after funding?
5. ●Are profits made during news fully eligible for payout?

The fifth question is particularly important.

A strategy can be technically permitted but still affected by a firm's reward calculation, consistency rule, drawdown structure, or payout conditions.

Related Read: The5ers vs FTM: Scaling, Evaluation or Instant Funding — Which Funding Model Fits New Traders?

The5ers News Trading Rules: What Traders Should Check Before Choosing a Program

How do The5ers Futures, High Stakes, Bootcamp, and other programs differ around news events?

For traders comparing FTM with The5ers, the program structure deserves close attention.

The5ers Futures is the clearest fit for traders specifically looking for a Futures environment where news trading is permitted without a special event blackout.

Its current Futures rules include a 6% evaluation target, 4% funded target, 4% EOD maximum loss, and 40% per-position consistency requirement. The program allows news trading, while its broader rules prohibit arbitrage and very short high-frequency trades.

The account-growth structure is also important.

The5ers Futures scales accounts at 10% profit milestones. Its published example shows a $50,000 account reaching a $5,000 profit milestone, after which buying power increases by 5% and the contract allowance increases.

That makes the program relevant beyond the initial evaluation. A trader can evaluate the account in terms of how the rules behave after passing, not simply whether the challenge can be completed.

The5ers High Stakes is different. It permits holding through news but restricts order execution around high-impact releases.

Bootcamp and Instant Funding also have their own news conditions, including restrictions around bracket strategies.

This is why traders who value rule clarity should read the exact program terms rather than relying on a firm's general marketing description.

How do The5ers drawdown rules, consistency requirements, and trading restrictions affect news-based strategies?

News strategies often produce concentrated gains. That can create a second problem after the trade itself: consistency.

The5ers Futures currently uses a 40% consistency requirement. If one trade accounts for more than 40% of total profits, the trader needs to continue trading until that trade represents 40% or less of the total.

For example, if the largest winning trade is $1,600, the trader needs at least $4,000 in total profit for that trade to equal 40%.

That changes how a news trader should think about position sizing.

The objective is not simply to find one major market move. The account has to remain within its drawdown rules while producing a profit distribution that satisfies the program's conditions.

This can encourage a more structured approach:

event selection → controlled position size → predefined risk → repeatable execution → consistency → payout → scaling.

That framework is useful for traders who view prop funding as a longer-term development process rather than a single evaluation attempt.

Is News Trading Actually Suitable for a Prop Firm Evaluation?

What should traders consider before using CPI, NFP, FOMC, or central-bank events in a prop challenge?

The first question should not be "Does the firm allow news?"

It should be:

"Does my strategy remain viable under the firm's risk rules when news volatility is at its highest?"

Consider:

• ●historical slippage around the specific release;
• ●typical spread expansion;
• ●stop-loss distance;
• ●maximum position size;
• ●daily drawdown;
• ●overall drawdown;
• ●consistency requirements;
• ●minimum holding times;
• ●payout conditions.

A trader who depends entirely on one major announcement each month may also face a different psychological challenge from an intraday trader who takes several controlled setups each week.

News trading can produce large short-term moves, but the same volatility can make risk difficult to control.

How should position size, stop loss, drawdown, and execution risk be managed around major news?

Position size should start with the amount of account drawdown the trader is prepared to risk, not with the maximum lot size the platform permits.

A useful framework is:

Risk per trade → expected slippage → stop distance → position size → remaining daily drawdown.

For example, if an account has a $4,000 daily loss allowance, risking the entire amount on an NFP setup leaves no room for an unexpected execution problem or a second trade.

A smaller predefined risk amount gives the strategy more room to absorb volatility.

The same principle applies to scaling. A trader who consistently reaches profit milestones without approaching the drawdown boundary has a different account-growth profile from someone who repeatedly depends on large news trades.

Related Read: The5ers EA and Copy Trading Rules in 2026: What's Allowed and What Can Get Your Account Banned?

How to Read an FTM News Trading Policy Before Buying an Account

Which FTM rules matter most beyond the headline "news trading is allowed"?

Before buying an FTM account, review the complete rule set rather than focusing only on the news policy.

The important questions include:

Evaluation model: Is it one step, two steps, or instant funding?

Profit target: How much must be made before the next stage?

Drawdown: Is it daily, overall, static, or trailing?

Consistency: Is there a best-day or best-trade limit?

Minimum trading time: Are trades closed within a certain period excluded from rewards?

Holding rules: Can trades remain open overnight and through weekends?

Trading style: Are high-frequency, arbitrage, reverse trading, or news-scalping strategies restricted?

Payout: When can the first reward be requested, and what conditions must be satisfied?

Scaling: Does the account grow after defined profit milestones?

These questions reveal whether the account actually fits the trader's strategy.

FTM currently offers 1-Step, 2-Step, and Instant programs, with different drawdown, consistency, and payout structures. Its published rules also allow overnight and weekend holding across available programs, while placing restrictions on certain execution practices.

That makes the buying decision broader than "Does FTM allow news?"

What should traders check for blackout windows, prohibited strategies, drawdown, consistency, holding periods, and payouts?

A useful comparison checklist is:

This checklist also creates a better way to compare FTM with The5ers and other firms.

For traders focused on long-term development, the account should be assessed as a complete operating framework:

evaluation → funded stage → risk management → consistency → payout → scaling.

That is where The5ers deserves particular attention. Its Futures program combines news access with a defined consistency rule, explicit drawdown parameters, and a published scaling pathway toward $500,000. Its other programs provide different combinations of news conditions, holding rules, drawdown structures, and payout arrangements.

The right choice therefore depends less on the headline "news trading allowed" and more on whether the complete rule set matches the trader's method.

Final Takeaway

FTM's current policy is clear on one point: there are no dedicated news blackout windows across its programs.

But traders should not interpret that as unlimited freedom to exploit news volatility. FTM still applies rules covering execution practices, minimum holding periods, arbitrage, high-frequency trading, news scalping, consistency, and risk management.

The same principle applies when comparing firms.

The5ers Futures currently offers news trading alongside defined drawdown, consistency, and scaling rules, while its CFD programs use different news conditions. FTMO also applies different rules depending on whether the trader is in evaluation, Standard, Swing, or Futures.

For a trader choosing a prop account, the better question is therefore not simply "Who allows news trading?"

It is:

"Which complete rule structure allows my strategy to operate consistently from evaluation through payouts and account growth?"

For more prop firm comparisons, scaling guides, and trader education, explore Prop Firm Insider.