Apiary Fund Review – A Funded Trading Program

Apiary Fund Review
  • Education
  • Funded Account Program
3.8

Summary

The potential to receive a trading account funded by someone else… Has that garnered your attention? Apiary Fund, a funded trading program and education service, is offering just that, along with a variety of other features. So, is Apiary Fund really all they say? Read our review to fund out.

Pros

  • Offers traders the ability to achieve a funded trading account
  • Three-month tiered educational program teaches traders risk management strategy
  • Top-tier funded traders keep 85% of profit with no risk to themselves
  • Clean interface makes it easy to track progress through Beeline to Funding

Cons

  • Very expensive when Trader Live upgrade is factored in
  • No way to reset account statistics after violating funded account eligibility

Review Navigation

About Apiary Fund

Apiary Fund is a platform that offers traders the potential to receive a trading account funded with Apiary Fund’s money. The service blends education and competition, guiding aspiring traders through a series of programs in which they learn to trade profitably. Traders who successfully complete this program and maintain high scores in Apiary Fund’s testing are eligible to receive funded trading accounts.

However, much like other funded trading account platforms, the catch is that very few traders can successfully achieve a funded trading account. Even those that do receive funded accounts report making very slim profits. Therefore, the majority of traders will want to approach Apiary Fund as an educational platform rather than as a route for making money.

Apiary Fund Pricing Options

Apiary Fund makes money by charging a subscription fee for all users, including traders who are still in the educational program and those who have achieved a funded account. This subscription fee is waived for the first month, then costs $97 per month.

In addition, Apiary Fund offers two optional account upgrades. Trader Live, which costs a one-time fee of $697, gives traders access to live and recorded webinars with Apiary Fund’s instructors and access to the Trader on the Street library of instructional videos. The Trader Pro upgrade costs a one-time fee of $994 and includes an additional education course on creating a trading business, in addition to all the services of Trader Live.

Apiary Fund notes that 85% of funded traders have upgraded to Trader Live. So, traders aiming to achieve a funded account should factor this upgrade into the cost of using Apiary Fund.

Beeline to Funding

At the heart of Apiary Fund is the “Beeline to Funding” educational program. This program is designed to teach traders the risk management strategy that Apiary Fund wants its funded traders to use and includes the testing that traders must pass in order to achieve a funded account.

The Beeline to Funding program is designed to take about three months, spending about one hour per day on the program. The program is divided into four levels, and at the end of each level is a trading test that gets progressively more difficult. In the first level, for example, traders need to win two consecutive trades to pass. In the fourth level, traders need to place 100 trades and not lose more than 2% on any of them. 

Apiary Fund Video Program

Beeline to Funding Interface

The interface that traders use for the educational program is relatively straightforward. The program consists of a series of videos that traders need to watch, and the platform keeps track of progress through the videos.

At the end of each program level, traders can use Apiary Fund’s Alveo trading software to get access to real-time stock data and to place practice trades. Compared to technical trading platforms such as ThinkorSwim, Alveo is relatively simplistic – there is no custom coding capability to take full advantage of unique trading strategies. However, Alveo’s charts are comprehensive and the platform is capable of most common technical analyses.

Apiary Fund Alveo

Funded Accounts

How to Get a Funded Account

Funded trading accounts are the ultimate objective of most traders using Apiary Fund, although only a small percentage of traders who go through the educational program will actually qualify for one. In addition to passing the entirety of the Beeline to Funding program, Apiary Fund has three specifications that traders must meet throughout the educational program to be eligible for a funded account:

  • Average profit over the educational period must be greater than average loss.
  • Traders must profit off more trades than they lose money on.
  • Traders must not exceed a 2% loss per trade or a 5% loss in a single day.

Note that the last requirement is extremely difficult to satisfy, since a single down day in the stock market broadly can cause a short-term loss of more than 5%.

In addition, keep in mind that the passing requirements for each level of the Beeline to Funding program alone are somewhat deceiving. Eligibility for a funded account keeps cumulative track of traders’ performance in the practice tests, so simply passing a level after trying multiple times may not be enough to achieve a funded account.

Worse for traders who have invested heavily in the program, there is no way to reset an account after failing one or more of Apiary Fund’s funded account requirements.

Funded Account Levels

For traders who do achieve funded accounts, the competition does not relax. There are four levels of funded accounts. Traders in the first level receive $2,500 to $10,000 to trade and keep only 60% of their profits. Apiary Fund advertises that in the fourth account level, traders manage up to $250,000 and keep 85% of their profits. However, Apiary Fund does not publish any specific requirements about how funded traders can progress through the funded trading account levels.

Apiary Fund Funding Levels

How Does Apiary Fund Stand Out?

Apiary Fund is similar to other competitive funded trading platforms such as TopStepTrader, but it does have a few important differences. Apiary Fund focuses much more on educating traders about the strategy that Apiary Fund prefers, rather than enabling traders to bring their own strategies to the platform. This focus on education is also important because it means that traders can use Apiary Fund to develop their own skills without necessarily needing to compete for a funded trading account. However, at the end of the day, Apiary Fund is similar to other funded trading platforms in that achieving a funded  account is extraordinarily difficult and the rules for progressing in profit after achieving a funded trading account are unclear.

Should You Try Apiary Fund?

Apiary Fund is designed for day traders who want to compete for a funded trading account. This is most likely to appeal to mid-level traders who want to increase their profitability, but are not comfortable doing so by risking their own money. More advanced day traders who are already profitable are more likely to be successful on their own than by switching to trading with Apiary Fund. In addition, beginning traders can use Apiary Fund as an educational platform, although the monthly cost and narrow strategic focus of the platform means that there are significantly better options for learning how to day trade profitably.

7 Comments

  1. John Fairbanks October 18, 2019
  2. Devon January 7, 2020
  3. Thomas Kelesides April 16, 2020
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