A trailing drawdown has one frustrating habit: the better you trade, the higher your loss limit climbs. On a funded account, that means you’re always trading with the same amount of room, however much profit you’ve built.
The Buffer is how Vanquish fixes that. Reach it, and your loss limit stops trailing for good. This guide explains what a buffer rule is, exactly where the Buffer sits on each plan and account size, and how it affects your payouts.
It’s one of several rules covered in our Vanquish Trader rules overview, which puts all four plans side by side.
What is a buffer in a prop firm?
A buffer is a profit level on a funded account. Until you reach it, your loss limit trails your equity. Once you reach it, the loss limit locks in place permanently.
The effect is that your drawdown changes from trailing to fixed. Before the Buffer, profit raises your loss limit. After it, profit adds to your cushion, because the limit no longer follows you up.
If you’re new to how a trailing limit moves, our guide to trailing drawdown walks through intraday, end-of-day and static versions with examples.
The Buffer isn’t a profit target
You don’t have to reach the Buffer to keep your account, and you don’t have to reach it before requesting a payout. It’s a milestone that changes how your loss limit behaves, not a requirement.
How the Vanquish Buffer works
The Buffer works the same way on every plan, with two differences: where your loss limit locks, and when the Buffer is checked.
Buffer = Starting equity + 5.75%
Locked loss limit = Buffer − Maximum drawdown
Because the Buffer is always 5.75% above your starting equity, the locked limit depends on your plan’s maximum drawdown:
- Basic Options and Advanced Options have a 5% drawdown, so your limit locks at 0.75% above your starting equity.
- Rapid Express and Rapid Elite have a 3% drawdown, so your limit locks at 2.75% above your starting equity.
Either way, the moment your limit locks, it sits above your starting balance. From then on, your account can’t fall back to its starting balance without hitting the limit first.
Real time or at the close
The Buffer is checked the same way as each plan’s drawdown:
Plan | Buffer checked | What counts |
|---|---|---|
In real time | Your equity at any moment, including open trades | |
In real time | Your equity at any moment, including open trades | |
At the close | Your end-of-day equity only | |
At the close | Your end-of-day equity only |
Buffer levels for every account size
Account size | Buffer | Locked limit: Basic and Advanced | Locked limit: Rapid Express and Rapid Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
$10,000 | $10,575 | $10,075 | $10,275 |
$50,000 | $52,875 | $50,375 | $51,375 |
$75,000 | $79,312.50 | $75,562.50 | $77,062.50 |
$100,000 | $105,750 | $100,750 | $102,750 |
$150,000 | $158,625 | $151,125 | $154,125 |
Buffer examples
Real-time Buffer: $10,000 Rapid Express account
Your maximum drawdown is $300 and the Buffer is $10,575.
When | What happens | Equity | Loss limit |
|---|---|---|---|
Start | Account opens | $10,000 | $9,700 |
Day 1 | Your equity peaks at $10,300 | $10,300 | $10,000 (trailing) |
Day 2 | Open AMZN calls push your equity to $10,600 | $10,600 | $10,275 (locked) |
Day 2, close | The calls give some back and you close at $10,450 | $10,450 | $10,275 |
Day 3 | Your account grows to $11,000 | $11,000 | $10,275 |
The Buffer was reached while the AMZN trade was still open, because Rapid Express checks it in real time. Notice that the limit locked at $10,275, the Buffer minus $300. It didn’t lock at $10,300, which is where the $10,600 peak would have pushed a trailing limit. By day 3, you have $725 of room instead of the $300 a trailing limit would leave you.
End-of-day Buffer: $10,000 Advanced Options account
Your maximum drawdown is $500 and the Buffer is $10,575.
Day | What happens | End-of-day equity | Loss limit after close |
|---|---|---|---|
Start | Account opens | $10,000 | $9,500 |
1 | A put credit spread on MSFT works | $10,250 | $9,750 (trailing) |
2 | Equity reaches $10,650 midday, then closes at $10,520 | $10,520 | $10,020 (trailing) |
3 | You close above the Buffer | $10,610 | $10,075 (locked) |
4 | Your account grows | $11,200 | $10,075 |
On day 2, your equity passed the Buffer during the session but finished below it, so it doesn’t count. On an end-of-day plan, only the close matters. On day 3, you finished above the Buffer, and the limit locked at $10,075 for the life of the account.
The Buffer and your payouts
You can request a payout before you reach the Buffer, but it’s usually worth waiting.
A payout comes out of your balance straight away, while your loss limit stays exactly where it is. Before the Buffer, that limit is still trailing close behind your last peak, so a withdrawal can leave you with very little room. After the Buffer, you know precisely where the limit sits and that it won’t move again, which makes it simple to work out a safe amount.
Take a $10,000 Basic Options account that has reached the Buffer and grown to $10,800, with its limit locked at $10,075. Withdrawing $500 leaves $225 of room. Withdrawing $700 leaves just $25. Taking the full $800 pays out, but it breaches the account. Our payout rules page covers how often each plan lets you withdraw and how to request a payout.
What to look for in a prop firm’s buffer rule
Plenty of firms use the word “buffer”, and they don’t all mean the same thing. If you’re comparing prop firms with a buffer rule, these are the questions that matter:
- What does reaching it actually do? On Vanquish, it locks your loss limit permanently. Elsewhere, a buffer can simply be a minimum balance you must keep above before withdrawing.
- How far above your starting balance is it? A lower buffer locks your limit sooner. Vanquish’s sits 5.75% above your starting equity on every plan.
- Where does the limit lock? The higher it locks above your starting balance, the less room you have at that moment, but the more protected your original account is.
- Is it checked in real time or at the close? Real-time checking lets an open trade carry you over. End-of-day checking needs a close above it.
- Do you have to reach it before a payout? On Vanquish, you don’t.
- Does a payout move the limit? On Vanquish, it never does. Check this carefully elsewhere, because it decides how much you can safely withdraw.
The practical upshot is the same everywhere: once your limit stops trailing, every dollar you make above the buffer is cushion, and how you size your trades should start to reflect that. If this is your first funded account, here’s how the Evaluation and Performance Account differ on Vanquish.
Buffer FAQ
What is the buffer rule in prop trading?
It’s a profit level on a funded account where your trailing loss limit stops moving and locks in place. On Vanquish, the Buffer is 5.75% above your starting equity on every plan.
Does the Buffer apply to the Evaluation?
No. The Buffer only applies on a Performance Account. During the Evaluation, your loss limit trails throughout.
Do I need to reach the Buffer to get paid?
No. You can request a payout before reaching it. Reaching it first is safer, because a payout lowers your balance while your loss limit stays where it is.
Does open profit count toward the Buffer?
On Basic Options and Rapid Express, yes, because the Buffer is checked in real time. On Advanced Options and Rapid Elite, only your end-of-day equity counts.
Can my locked loss limit ever change?
No. Once it locks, it stays at the same level for the life of that Performance Account. It doesn’t rise as your equity grows, and it doesn’t fall when you withdraw.
Why did my limit lock lower than my peak minus my drawdown?
Because the locked limit is always the Buffer minus your maximum drawdown, not your peak minus your drawdown. If your equity jumps past the Buffer, the limit still locks at the Buffer-based level, which leaves you extra room.
Ready to find the drawdown and Buffer setup that suits how you trade? Compare all four plans on the plans page.
