Insider Intelligence for Prop Traders
Prop firm intelligence, from someone who’s actually run one.
News and analysis for prop traders, founder-led rather than affiliate-led. We check firm terms, payouts and offers on a regular cadence, and explain what’s actually worth watching. Built by a founder who has run the P&L on both sides of the challenge model, not an affiliate storefront ranking firms by commission.
They review from outside. We report from inside.
Most prop firm coverage is written by traders who have sat a challenge, not by someone who has run one. Prop Firm Briefing is built by Michael Cogswell, one of three co-founders of Funded Trading Plus, sold to Instant Funding in 2026. Every major call, drawdown policy, pricing, payout structure, the acquisition itself, was made jointly by the founding team. That is the vantage point behind everything here: we know why a rule exists, what it costs a firm to be generous, and what a pricing change really signals about the business behind it.
Michael Cogswell, Founder
What we cover
CFD firms
Rule changes, payout timing and trust signals across FTMO, FundedNext, FundingPips and the rest of the CFD challenge market.
Futures firms
Coverage of Topstep, Apex, My Funded Futures and the wider futures funding space, kept strictly separate from CFD analysis.
Crypto & emerging
Early signal on crypto-funded trading models as the space develops, tracked with the same operator scrutiny.
Explore Prop Firm Briefing
Every section, in one place.
Reviews
Scored, disclosure-first firm reviews
Rule fairness, payout reliability and transparency, scored the way an operator would judge them.
Trust & Safety
Will this firm actually pay you
Payout risk, firm collapses and the operational stress signals most traders miss until it’s too late.
The Briefing
What’s actually moving, week to week
Rule changes, acquisitions and trust signals, reported by someone who used to be inside the room.
Firm Offers
Current evaluation pricing, tracked
Offers and evaluation pricing across the firms we track, checked on a regular cadence.
Glossary
Coming soon
A full glossary of prop trading terms, written from the operator’s side. In progress.
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