Is News Trading Allowed in Equity Edge?

Yes, you can trade news in Equity Edge, but you can’t just open and close positions around every high impact news release. The exact restriction will depend on the account model.

Equity Edge Instant Accounts Traders can hold positions through high impact news but cannot open or close a trade 8 minutes before, until 8 minutes after a restricted event. The rule also applies to stop losses, take profits, and pending orders. Published restriction for Legacy and Swift challenges is 2 minutes before and after high-impact news. Flagship evaluation accounts have no news-trading restriction during the evaluation phase.

This article is for traders who use economic releases as part of an intraday strategy, or who regularly hold positions through the news. This isn’t the kind of profile that traders who thrive on getting in just before an announcement and out in the first few seconds of volatility have.

“News trading allowed” does not mean “trade the news without any restrictions”, that is the key point. 

Quick Verdict on News Trading in Equity Edge

Equity Edge permits traders to hold positions during high-impact news, but it restricts opening and closing trades around specified releases.

For Instant Accounts, the restricted window is particularly important. A trader cannot open or close a position 8 minutes before or 8 minutes after a high-impact news event. If a trade is opened or closed inside that period, the resulting profit can be deducted at payout. If profits from restricted news trades exceed 25% of the trader’s profit share, the payout can be rejected and the profit share forfeited. Repeat violations can also lead to account termination.

That makes Equity Edge different from a firm where news trading is completely prohibited. You can still have exposure to a news event. The problem arises when your strategy depends on executing around the release itself.

Equity Edge News Trading Rules by Account

Equity Edge’s published rules explain that the restriction applies to all forms of execution, not just clicking the buy or sell button manually. That includes pending orders, stop losses and take profits.

This is one of the areas where traders can misunderstand the rule.

You might open EUR/USD 30 minutes before an important CPI release and believe you are compliant. But if your stop loss is triggered inside the restricted period, the closing of that position can still fall under the news-trading restriction.

The same applies to a take-profit order.

What Counts as Restricted News?

Equity Edge states that it uses Forex Factory as its news-calendar source. USD high-impact news restricts trading across all trading pairs. For non-USD high-impact events, the restriction applies to the relevant currency pairs and associated indices.

For example, an important CHF announcement can affect CHF pairs. An EUR announcement can also affect certain European indices such as GER30, FRA40 and ITA40.

USD events are broader.

If a high-impact USD announcement is scheduled, traders should not assume that they can simply switch from EUR/USD to another USD-related instrument to avoid the restriction.

Speeches require additional caution. Equity Edge states that the restricted period around a speech begins before the speech and continues for 8 minutes after the speech ends on Instant Accounts.

That is different from a single economic release with a clearly defined publication time.

A Practical News Trading Example

Imagine an Instant Account trader normally trades the U.S. CPI release.

The trader sees CPI scheduled for 12:30 UTC.

Under the Instant Account rule, the trader should not open or close the relevant trade between 12:22 and 12:38.

Suppose the trader opens EUR/USD at 12:15.

That entry is outside the restricted period.

At 12:31, volatility spikes and the trader’s take profit is triggered.

The trade was not manually closed, but the take-profit order executed during the restricted window.

That can still create a problem because Equity Edge explicitly includes take-profit and stop-loss orders within the news restriction.

This is why traders should think about execution timing, not just entry timing.

A news strategy that relies on stops, limits or automated exits can behave very differently under these rules.

How Traders Actually Get Caught by the News Rule

The most common mistake is assuming that holding a position through news means everything about the trade is permitted.

It does not.

A trader may be allowed to keep the position open while the announcement occurs, but the position cannot necessarily be closed during the restricted window.

This creates a practical problem for strategies using tight stop losses.

Consider a trader who enters five minutes before CPI because the entry itself happened outside the relevant restricted period for a particular account model. The market then moves sharply against the position when CPI is released. The stop loss is triggered.

The trader may think:

“I didn’t manually trade the news.”

But Equity Edge’s rule does not make that distinction. Stop-loss and take-profit executions are included.

That is the kind of detail traders need to understand before choosing an account.

The 25% Payout Rule Matters

The biggest risk is not necessarily an immediate account breach.

For funded and Instant accounts, Equity Edge states that profits generated from trades opened or closed during the restricted news window can be deducted during the payout review. If profits generated from news trades exceed 25% of the trader’s profit share, the payout can be rejected and the profit share forfeited. The account can also be reset to its initial balance, with repeat offences potentially leading to termination.

This changes the way a trader should evaluate a news strategy.

A strategy can be profitable and still be unsuitable for the account.

For example, imagine a trader makes $5,000 in total eligible profit but $1,500 came from trades affected by the restricted news window.

The trader should not simply calculate the headline profit and assume a payout is guaranteed.

The firm’s payout review can examine how those profits were generated.

News Trading and Equity Edge’s Other Risk Rules

News restrictions are only one part of the risk structure.

Instant Accounts currently have a 3% maximum daily loss and a 5% maximum trailing total loss. Equity Edge also applies a 1% maximum risk rule to open and closed trades.

That combination matters for news traders.

High-impact releases can produce unusually large price movements within seconds. Spreads can change, execution can become less predictable and a stop can be filled at a materially different level from the price the trader expected.

A trader risking close to the maximum permitted amount on a normal setup may therefore have very little room for an unexpected news move.

The 1% risk rule is especially important. Equity Edge states that the biggest loss on an individual trade cannot exceed 1% of the initial account balance, including relevant commission and swap costs. Breaching this rule results in immediate account closure.

So even if a trader understands the news window perfectly, oversized positions can still create a separate problem.

News Trading Is Not the Same as News Scalping

There is an important distinction between these two approaches.

News trading can mean holding a position through an announcement because the trader expects the fundamental event to support an existing setup.

News scalping usually means entering immediately before or after a release to capture the initial volatility.

Equity Edge’s rules are much more difficult for the second approach.

An Instant Account trader can hold through news, but cannot freely execute around the release itself. That removes much of the flexibility needed by a strategy based on immediate reaction.

A trader who enters well before the release and manages the position after the restricted period may have a more workable approach.

The strategy has to fit the rule.

What Competitors Often Do Not Explain

Many articles answer the question with a simple “yes” or “no.”

That is not enough.

The more useful question is:

Can your specific news strategy operate without depending on restricted executions?

That distinction is important, as two traders can call themselves news traders and have completely different strategies.

Trader A arrives 30 minutes before an interest-rate decision, sticks around for the release and leaves 20 minutes later.

Trader B waits for the first 5-sec spike after release and jumps in on momentum.

They are both news vendors.

Trader A might be able to comply with the rules of Equity Edge.

The restriction impacts Trader B far more directly.

So this is also why you can’t just look for a “news trading allowed” label and compare Equity Edge to another firm. 

Our FundingPips review and The5ers scaling analysis show the broader point: the trading strategy needs to match the firm’s complete rule structure, not one headline rule.

Common Equity Edge News Trading Mistakes

Ignoring stop-loss execution

A trader may think the news restriction only applies to manually opening or closing a position.

It does not. Equity Edge explicitly includes stop loss and take profit executions.

Checking the wrong news event

Not all announcements restrict all instruments in the same way. Currency-specific events influence related pairs and indices, however high-impact USD events have broader implications. 

Forgetting about speeches

A speech can have a different practical timing structure because the restriction extends beyond the end of the speech.

Assuming a profitable news trade is automatically eligible for payout

This is perhaps the most expensive misunderstanding.

A profitable trade can still be subject to review and deduction if it was opened or closed inside the restricted window.

Trading too large because the setup looks obvious

News does not make market direction predictable.

A CPI number can beat expectations and still produce an initial move in one direction before reversing sharply. Rate decisions can create similar whipsaws.

The trader who risks too much can run into the drawdown or 1% risk rule before the broader market direction becomes clear.

Who Should Avoid Equity Edge for News Trading?

Equity Edge may be a poor fit for traders whose entire strategy depends on opening or closing positions immediately around high-impact releases.

It is also less suitable for traders who routinely use tight stops that are likely to be triggered during restricted windows.

Instant Accounts deserve additional caution because the 8-minute restriction on either side of high-impact news is wider than the restriction on Legacy and Swift evaluation accounts.

Traders should also be comfortable with the other Instant Account conditions. These include a 15% consistency requirement, a two-minute average trade-duration rule and the account’s drawdown structure.

If your strategy regularly produces most of its profits from one large news event, the payout rules deserve particular attention.

Equity Edge vs Alternatives for News Traders

There is no universal “best” prop firm for news trading.

FTMO, for example, currently allows news trading during its evaluation process. On its standard FTMO Account, selected news releases have a 2-minute restriction before and after the release, while the Swing account has no news-trading restriction.

The5ers High Stakes currently allows traders to hold positions through high-impact news but restricts opening new positions around relevant high-impact events.

Our The5ers vs FTMO comparison is useful if news flexibility is only one of several factors you are comparing.

A Better Way to Trade News Under Equity Edge

If you decide that Equity Edge fits your strategy, treat the news calendar as part of your risk-management process.

Before entering a trade, check whether a high-impact event is approaching.

Then ask:

Is my planned entry outside the restricted period?

Could my stop loss execute inside the restricted period?

Could my profit execute inside it?

Is the relevant event affecting this particular currency or index?

Would the position still make sense if spreads and volatility increase?

The final question is important.

A rule-compliant trade can still be a bad trade.

Compliance only means you are operating within the firm’s conditions. It does not make the underlying strategy profitable.

TradeThePool for Stock Traders

Traders who primarily trade equities may also want to consider a stock-focused prop model rather than comparing only forex and CFD firms.

TradeThePool publishes detailed rules covering stock trading, risk management, position volume and market conditions. Its program documentation also makes clear that the trading environment is simulated and that the company is not a broker-dealer or financial institution.

For accuracy, TradeThePool should not be described as a regulated stock prop firm. Its own website states that the online prop-trading industry is not regulated and that Five Percent Online Ltd operates the TradeThePool brand.

What makes it worth considering is its stock-focused structure and published risk framework, not a claim of regulatory status.

Readers can get up to 10% discount when purchasing through our TradeThePool link.

Final Verdict

News trading is allowed at Equity Edge, but the answer needs an account-specific qualification.

Instant Account traders can hold positions through high-impact news, but they cannot open or close trades within 8 minutes before or after a restricted event. Stop losses, take profits and pending orders are included. Profits from restricted news trades can be deducted, and excessive reliance on those trades can lead to payout rejection.

Legacy and Swift accounts have shorter restricted windows. Flagship evaluation accounts are now permitted to trade the news during evaluation without the news restriction.

The conclusion is simple: Equity Edge allows you to have news exposure but not to do news without restrictions.

If your strategy is based on the assumption that you can predict the first move after CPI, NFP, central bank decisions or similar releases, then these rules should be considered before buying an account.

Equity Edge could be better if your strategy gets in well ahead of news, holds through volatility and you manage exits outside the restricted window.

The difference is not if you call yourself a news trader. It is whether the rules fit your real process of execution. 

FAQs

Is news trading allowed in Equity Edge? 

Yes. Equity Edge allows traders to hold positions through high impact news, but there are some restrictions on trading during some events. The specific window will differ by account model.

Can I hold a trade through news at Equity Edge? 

Yes. It’s okay to hold through high-impact news. But if you close the position in the restricted window, for example by stop loss or take profit, the news trading rule can be triggered.

What is the Equity Edge Instant Account news window?

High-impact news releases prohibit traders with Instant Accounts to open or close deals within 8 minutes before and after a high-impact news release. The rule is valid for manual deals, pending orders, stop loss and take profit.

Can I deduct news-trading profits at Equity Edge?

Yes. Equity Edge states that profits from trades opened or closed within the restricted news window are eligible to be deducted at payout review. If the qualified profits from news-trading exceed 25% of the trader’s share of profit, the payout may be denied and the share of profit lost.

Is equity edge a good system for news scalping?

It is contingent upon the strategy but there is a big restriction for traders that open/close positions immediately around high impact releases. A strategy that has to be carried out fast in a small window is unlikely to meet the rules.