Realized Balance vs Equity: Why Your Profit Target and Your Risk Limits Use Different Numbers
If you have ever wondered why a realized balance vs equity prop firm setup can show you "target reached" on one number while a risk floor still hangs over another, this article is for you. MyFundedPerps uses two different account numbers on purpose: your profit target is measured on realized balance, while your daily loss limit and maximum drawdown are measured on equity, including open-position profit or loss. Understanding the split is the difference between passing an evaluation cleanly and breaching a floor you thought you were clear of.
The two numbers, defined
Realized balance is the cash value of your account: closed trades, settled results, commissions paid, and swap fees debited. It only moves when something is finalized. An open position that is up $2,000 does not add a cent to your realized balance until you close it.
Equity is realized balance plus the floating profit or loss on every open position, marked to the current price. It moves tick by tick. Equity is the honest measure of what the account is worth right now, which is exactly why the risk rules use it.
Every rule percentage on MyFundedPerps is based on your starting balance, never on current equity or current balance. That part is fixed across all plans.
Realized balance vs equity prop firm rules: which rule watches which number
The split is consistent across Select, Prime, and Signature:
So a floating $4,000 gain on a $100K Signature account does not count toward the 10% target until you close the trade. But a floating $4,000 loss absolutely counts against your 3% daily loss allowance and your 6% drawdown floor while the trade is still open. The asymmetry is deliberate: targets reward finished work, and risk limits protect against unfinished risk.
A worked example on a $100K account
Take a $100,000 Signature evaluation. The profit target is $10,000 of realized profit (10% of starting balance). The daily loss allowance is $3,000 (3%), measured from start-of-day equity, and the initial max loss floor sits at $94,000 (starting balance minus 6%).
Now say you are up $11,000 floating at midday. Your realized balance is still $100,000, so the target is not met. If you close everything and settle, the realized balance becomes $111,000 and the evaluation can pass, subject to the other requirements staying clear.
Flip it: you are down $3,000 floating on the day, with start-of-day equity of $100,000. The daily loss floor for that day is $97,000. If your equity touches $97,000, the account fails, even if your realized balance is still $100,000 because you never closed anything. The rule book does not wait for you to realize the loss; equity is the trigger.
Why open profit still matters after a big win
The daily loss floor is computed from start-of-day equity, including open P/L, minus 3% of starting balance. Suppose you ended yesterday with open trades and your equity at midnight New York time reads $106,000 on the $100K account. Today's daily loss floor is $103,000, not $97,000. The dollar allowance never changes ($3,000), but the floor floats up or down with wherever equity stood at the reset.
This is where traders get caught. A big open profit at the reset raises the floor. Give back more than $3,000 from that elevated starting point and you breach, even though your realized balance never moved. Manage open positions into the midnight New York reset with that math in mind; our article on trading the New York reset walks through it in detail.
Costs that hit realized balance directly
Commissions and swap fees are not a separate bucket. Both debit your account balance directly, which means they eat into loss-rule headroom exactly like a realized loss.
- Commissions per fill: 0.03% on crypto, 0.0025% on forex, 0.005% on stocks, commodities, and indices. Entry and exit are both charged; a $10,000 crypto round trip costs $6.00 total.
- Swap fees are charged hourly on the UTC hour boundary, to both longs and shorts: crypto 0.03% per day split into 24 hourly charges, forex 0.005% per day, stocks/commodities/indices 0.015% per day.
- A liquidated position also carries a 0.1% liquidation penalty on top of the taker fee.
A swing trader holding crypto over a weekend pays swap charges every single hour, and each one shaves the balance that the equity-based floors are measured against. Factor holding costs into your risk budget, not just your P/L target. Our myfundedperps-fees-breakdown article has the full schedule.
How this plays into payouts and the drawdown lock
On the funded account, payouts are computed from realized balance and the account must be flat: all positions closed, resting orders cancelled or settled, before a request goes in. Open profit is not withdrawable until it is realized.
The first withdrawal also triggers the famous drawdown lock: the max loss floor moves up and locks permanently to your starting balance, forever. Anything you leave above the starting balance after that withdrawal becomes your drawdown buffer. Request the maximum (withdraw down to exactly the starting balance) and you leave a $0 buffer, which closes the account. This mechanic only makes sense once you internalize the balance vs equity split: the locked floor watches equity, while the money leaving the account comes from realized balance. Our myfundedperps-static-drawdown and myfundedperps-payouts-guide articles cover the lock and the buffer math step by step.
Practical takeaways
- Track both numbers. The dashboard shows balance and equity; know which rule watches which.
- Close to count. Only closed, settled profit moves you toward the target.
- Respect floating losses. Equity breaches fail accounts even when balance looks fine.
- Watch the reset. Start-of-day equity, including open P/L, sets today's floor.
- Budget for fees. Commissions and hourly swaps drain balance and therefore headroom.
For the full rule context, start with myfundedperps-rules-explained, then dig into myfundedperps-account-limits for the floors and caps in dollar terms.
Frequently asked questions
Does floating profit count toward the MyFundedPerps profit target?
No. The profit target is measured on realized balance. You must close and settle the winning trades for the profit to count. Open P/L affects equity only.
Can I fail an account on an open trade I never closed?
Yes. The daily loss limit and the static max drawdown are both measured on equity, including open-position P/L. If floating losses push equity to a floor, the account breaches even if you never closed the trade.
Are rule percentages based on my current balance?
No. Every rule percentage (target, daily loss, max drawdown) is based on the starting balance of the account. Only the daily loss floor's reference point moves, because it is anchored to start-of-day equity each day.
Do commissions and swap fees count against my loss limits?
Yes. Both debit your account balance directly, so they reduce headroom under the daily loss limit and max drawdown just like a realized trading loss would.
Which number is used for payouts?
Payouts use realized balance, and the account must be flat when you request. Open positions have to be closed and orders settled before a payout request can be submitted.