Abdelaziz Fathi
Senior Reporter, Brokers and Prop Firms
Abdelaziz Fathi covers the intersection of forex/CFD brokerage, regulation, liquidity, fintech, and digital assets. With a B.A. in Finance and hands-on industry exposure, Aziz blends analytical rigor with clear storytelling to make complex market structure understandable for traders, brokers, and fintech professionals.
August 2026
Leeloo Trading review: the drawdown that tracks money you never made
Leeloo Trading charges $250-$850 a month and its trailing drawdown tracks unrealised open equity - but it does not publish its profit split at all.
US 2-year yield to 3.75% by year-end: the payrolls case
The US 2-year Treasury yield sits at 4.19%, pricing Fed hikes. July payrolls fell 23,000. Base case: 3.75% by December 31, 2026 as the hike premium unwinds.
Lark Funding review: the margin rule that is not in the contract
Lark Funding pays out in about six hours, but a 20% margin-utilisation rule that sits outside the signed contract has been used to deny a $5,900 payout.
Funded Futures Network review: two funded states, one unpublished gate
FFN splits funded into Sim Funded Pro at 80% and Live Funded Pro at 90%. What every rival calls funded is FFN's lower tier — and the conversion rate is unpublished.
OFP Funding review: payout rules traders cannot verify upfront
OFP Funding skips the evaluation, then gates payouts on an Inconsistency Score it never defines. Trustpilot has also pulled its rating. Instant funding moves the filter.
Iron ore to $85 by Q4 2026: the Simandou guidance gap
Iron ore is at $94.45 and consensus already says $95 for the year. Simandou is shipping three times faster than Rio Tinto guided. Base case $85 by Q4.
Trade The Pool review: real stock fills, the cluster’s worst split
Trade The Pool funds US stocks through Interactive Brokers, not a simulated feed. That is why its rules are microstructure rules — and why 70% is not the whole story.
FTMO review: the only prop firm that owns a regulated broker
FTMO now owns OANDA and its licences in eight markets. But the challenge you buy is still unregulated simulated trading — and the split starts at 80%.
SabioTrade review: weekly payouts, a 6% trailing floor
SabioTrade pays weekly with a $1 crypto minimum, but its 6% drawdown trails from peak closed balance and never stops. The capital is simulated, not real.
TopTier Trader review: the TX3 rebrand reset every term
TopTier Trader is now TX3 Funding, and the rebrand halved the drawdown allowance. Most reviews still quote terms the firm no longer offers.
Topstep funded account review: 30 winning days to real capital
Topstep review: the Combine and Express accounts are simulated, the 50% best-day rule delays payouts, and only the Live account risks the firm's capital.
EUR/GBP to 0.8450: the divergence trade that isn’t coming
EUR/GBP sits at 0.8570 with the BoE and ECB tightening into the same energy shock. Base case 0.8450 by year-end, and the September vote splits decide it.
Nordic Funder review: a Swedish brand, a Forest Park FX contract
Nordic Funder brands itself Scandinavian, but its own terms name Forest Park FX LTD as counterparty — and Trustpilot carries unresolved Tradiac complaints.
Cocoa to $6,300 by year-end 2026: the shrinking-surplus case
StoneX cut its 2026/27 cocoa surplus forecast 94% to 25,000 tonnes while ICE stocks hit a two-year high. Base case $6,300, bull $7,400, bear $4,860.
Quant Tekel review: an FSCA broker, an SVG prop desk
QT Funded pays: $16m to 105,000 traders. But the FSCA licence belongs to the brokerage, not the St Vincent entity that owns your challenge.
AUD/NZD path to 1.16 runs through the RBNZ September hike
AUD/NZD sits on a 185bp RBA-RBNZ policy gap that has already peaked. Base case is 1.16 by December 31, 2026 as the RBNZ hikes toward its 3.00% neutral rate.
Breakout Prop review: Kraken-owned, no published funding policy
Breakout Prop is Kraken's crypto-native funded-trader arm, offering static drawdowns and on-demand USDC payouts on perpetual futures.
Also filing this week: Rick Steves and Karthik Subramanian.