Max drawdown represents the account balance you cannot go beyond before the account closes and you lose the evaluation or funded sim account. It's the maximum you can lose in the account. Think of it as a line in the sand that you cannot cross.
You can see the Maximum Drawdown Limit in your Frontline dashboard
How is the limit calculated?
The way your drawdown limit is calculated depends on which program you are on.
One Step Classic & One-Step Rapid — Static Drawdown
On our One Step Classic and One-Step Rapid programs the drawdown is a static number that does not move. It is calculated as a % of the starting account balance and stays fixed for the life of the account.
For example: a $50k account with a 5% Maximum Drawdown Limit (MDL) is $50,000 * 5% = $2,500. So the MDL limit on the 50k account is $47,500.
Your drawdown is fixed from your starting balance — it doesn't trail up with profits. Simple and predictable.
If you hit the maximum drawdown limit on an open position with unrealized losses, the position will be auto-liquidated, and the account will be closed; the evaluation or funded account will be lost.
Here is an example of the static drawdowns available across the different tiers on our Classic program:
Account Size | Static Max DD |
$10,000 | $500 |
$25,000 | $1,250 |
$50,000 | $2,500 |
$100,000 | $5,000 |
Frontline Instant — End-of-Day (EOD) Trailing Drawdown
On the Frontline Instant program, the 6% drawdown is trailing, calculated at the end of each trading day (EOD).
This means your drawdown limit starts at 6% below your starting balance, and as your account grows it trails up with your highest end-of-day balance. The limit is recalculated once per day at the daily close based on that day's closing balance — it does not move on intraday spikes or with unrealized profit during the day.
For example, on a $50,000 Instant account, the drawdown is 6% ($3,000), so the limit starts at $47,000:
If you close the day at $52,000, your new EOD trailing limit moves up to $52,000 − $3,000 = $49,000.
The limit only ever moves up with new end-of-day highs — it never trails back down if you lose money on later days.
When the trailing max drawdown (sometimes known as a TMD) reaches the starting account balance it freezes(for example, in the 50k account, when the TMD reaches $50k, it stops trailing and freezes there); it does not continue to trail your profits as you grow your account from there.
When you make your first payout request, if your drawdown is below the starting account balance it moves up to the starting account balance and locks there.
What happens if I breach it?
If you have an open position and your unrealized losses touch the drawdown limit, the position will be autoliquidated, and trading will be shut down. The evaluation or funded sim account will be closed and you will have to purchase a new one if you wish to continue with Frontline.