An expert advisor (EA) is an automated trading program that runs inside a trading platform — most commonly MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 — and executes trades autonomously based on a defined set of rules, without requiring manual input for each order. Whether EAs are permitted in a funded evaluation, and under what conditions, varies by program and must be confirmed before use.
EA permission tiers in evaluation programs
Programs typically fall into one of three positions on EAs:
- Fully permitted: Any EA may be used, including third-party and commercially available EAs, provided it does not violate other rules (no martingale, no hedging, no news trading where those restrictions apply).
- Conditionally permitted: EAs are allowed but must be proprietary (the trader’s own) rather than commercially purchased, or must not be in use simultaneously across multiple funded accounts on the same platform.
- Prohibited: No automated execution permitted; all trades must be placed manually.
The shared-EA problem
The most common EA restriction targets commercially sold EAs being run simultaneously across many evaluation accounts. If thousands of traders are running the same EA on the same broker at the same time, trades become statistically correlated — which creates concentrated exposure for the program operator, not just for individual traders. Programs that restrict shared EAs are managing aggregate risk, not just assessing individual traders.
A proprietary EA built and used exclusively by one trader does not create this correlation problem and is permitted in most programs that otherwise restrict shared tools.
EAs and rule compliance
An EA does not exempt a trader from evaluation rules. If an EA places a trade during a restricted news window, holds a position overnight in violation of an overnight holding restriction, or implements a martingale sizing sequence, the rule violation belongs to the trader — automation is not a defence. Review every EA’s logic against the program’s full ruleset before running it on an evaluation account.
FundedProp’s position on expert advisors publishes in the rulebook before any evaluation opens for purchase. For related rule mechanics, see martingale restriction, hedging restriction, and overnight holding restriction.
FundedProp provides simulated trading evaluations. All accounts are demo accounts; no real capital is traded by participants. This is not investment advice.