TL;DR: Maverick Trading is a Utah prop trading firm that has been running since 1997 (Maverick Trading, Inc., incorporated in 2003). It does not sell evaluation challenges. You pay a membership fee, go through its training and qualification program (tests, a written trading plan and a monitored demo account), then post a performance bond and trade a real sub-account as an independent contractor. Its options and stock desk runs on mavericktrading.com. Its forex and crypto division, Maverick Currencies (also listed as Maverick FX), runs on maverickcurrencies.com. The published tier table has three levels. Associate is a $1,000 membership fee and a $1,000 bond for $4,000 of capital at a 60% split. Professional is $4,000 and $2,000 for $10,000 at 80%. Partner is $8,000 and $2,000 for $20,000 at 90%. Every tier also pays a $199 monthly desk fee, partly returned as credit. Profits are paid monthly above a high-water mark, by ACH or wire. Capital rises after two straight months above that mark. Trustpilot shows 4.7 from 98 reviews, the BBB rates the firm A+ (not accredited) and Indeed shows 3.8 from 44 employee ratings. Reddit is split: current traders describe real payouts, while outsiders question paying to join. The firm’s own pages disagree on the starting capital, the split range and the payout date. No restricted-country list is published.
Research status: On October 11, 2026 we checked this review against Maverick Trading’s own pages: the FAQ, the capital sharing, firm capital access, get-paid, qualification program, application and careers pages on mavericktrading.com, and the home, capital sharing, terms and risk disclosure pages on maverickcurrencies.com. The same day we read the firm’s BBB file, its Trustpilot and Indeed pages, six Reddit threads from 2014 to 2026 and the Amazon listing for its book. We did not apply or pay, so anything that only appears in the private application videos or in the written program agreement is printed as the firm publishes it or as traders report it, and labelled that way. Recheck fees with the firm before you enrol.
Maverick Trading review verdict: is it legit?
Maverick Trading is a real, long-running business rather than a new online brand. The BBB file for Maverick Trading, Inc. says the business started in May 1997 and was incorporated in May 2003, and it lists named managers. The BBB, which opened its file on the firm in 1998, rates it A+, though the firm is not BBB accredited. The firm publishes a Salt Lake City mailing address and a Cottonwood Heights street address. It has had press coverage from CNBC and Forbes (2020), and it published a McGraw Hill book in 2011. Traders on Trustpilot, Indeed and Reddit describe reaching live capital and being paid, some of them over several years.
What Maverick sells is very different from the evaluation firms most BestProps readers compare. There is no challenge to buy and no simulated funded account. You pay a membership fee and a monthly desk fee for training, coaching and access. You post a performance bond, which is your own money held against the account. Once you qualify, you trade a sub-account of the firm’s real brokerage account. That makes Maverick closer to a traditional remote prop desk than a challenge firm, and the costs work differently.
Strong points:
- A track record of almost three decades, a named management team and an A+ BBB rating.
- Real-capital sub-accounts instead of simulated funded accounts, and the firm says it adds no commission mark-up.
- Splits of 80% to 90% on the two upper tiers, plus a one-time $4,000 or $8,000 performance bonus.
- No profit target, time limit, minimum trade count or consistency percentage to pass. Instead you have to follow a written plan on a monitored demo account.
- Heavy training and coaching, built around options.
Weak points:
- High entry cost for the capital you get. The Partner tier is $8,000 in fees plus a $2,000 bond for $20,000 of starting capital.
- Your own bond is part of the account, and the bond refund terms are not published on the website.
- A $199 desk fee every month, whether or not you profit.
- The site’s own pages disagree on starting capital, the split range and when payouts arrive.
- No published loss limits, no published restricted-country list, and the legal links on mavericktrading.com are placeholders.
So is Maverick Trading legit? The evidence points to a genuine, operating firm that pays traders who reach and stay on live capital. The real question is whether its fee-plus-bond model is worth it for you, and that depends on how profitable you already are. The worked numbers below show how much profit each tier needs before the fees are covered. BestProps does not give Maverick Trading a numeric score; our review methodology explains how we check firms.
Who runs Maverick Trading
The BBB profile names the company Maverick Trading, Inc., a corporation, with the alternate names Maverick Trading and Maverick FX. It lists:
- Robb Reinhold, founder and chief administrative officer
- Darren Fischer, CEO
- Jon Frohlich, COO
- Gregory Thoennes, COO
Every page on the site gives P.O. Box 900802, Salt Lake City, UT 84090. The application page adds 1910 Ft Union Blvd, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84124. Support is by email at support@mavericktrading.com, Monday to Friday, 6 AM to 5 PM Mountain time. The contact form’s text-message consent names “Maverick Trading, LLC”.
The FAQ says accepted traders are offered “a position as a trader from one of our trading LLCs”. You trade a sub-account on behalf of that LLC and receive a 1099-MISC at year end. The website does not name which LLC you would contract with. Ask for that name and read it in your agreement before you pay.
The firm says it is not a brokerage. It describes itself as a “private equity trading firm” that partners with brokers such as Interactive Brokers to execute trades. The Maverick Currencies terms say the firm does not give personalised advice, manage client money or act as a broker-dealer. We found no claim of regulatory registration for the firm itself, and the firm does not make one.
A Maverick Trading book by Darren Fischer was published by McGraw Hill on November 22, 2011 (304 pages). On October 11, 2026 it held 4.5 out of 5 from 105 Amazon ratings. The site now promotes a title called Maverick Trading: Professional Techniques to Create Generational Wealth and says it covers about the first third of the training program. The home page also shows a “Top Proprietary Trading Services Provider 2023” award badge but does not name who gave it.
How Maverick Trading works: not a challenge firm
Maverick’s own pages say it “isn’t a challenge firm”. The path from applicant to funded trader has five stages:
- Apply. Watch a short intro video (the site gives 9 and 10 minutes in different places), read the basic FAQ, fill in a trader profile, watch a full-length video on the capital model and costs, then book a phone interview with a recruiter.
- Try, then join and pay. Selected applicants may get temporary access to “try before you commit” (training videos, tests, live sessions and view-only Discord). If you join, you pay the membership fee for your tier and the monthly desk fee, and an orientation specialist runs an onboarding call and regular check-ins.
- Qualify. Pass a series of online tests (unlimited retakes), write a trading plan the firm approves, then show on a monitored Maverick demo account that you follow it. The firm says most traders spend one to two months on the demo. Experienced traders can submit live statements for faster approval.
- Trade firm capital. Post your performance bond, then trade a Level 1 sub-account of real capital within agreed risk limits.
- Scale. Two consecutive months closing above your high-water mark make you eligible for more capital. Higher levels can also need more education and management approval.
Two points matter for comparison. First, the money you pay is a membership and desk fee rather than an exam fee, so there is no “reset” to buy if you fail. Second, the bond is your own capital sitting in the account. The firm says your personal risk stays “limited to your original bond”, so you can lose it.
The firm describes itself as a swing and position trading shop that holds positions from a few days to a few months. It does not set volume requirements and says it “actively discourage[s] high frequency trading”. That suits part-time traders, and the FAQ says many of its traders start part-time.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Operating since 1997, with named managers and a BBB A+ rating | Membership fees of $1,000 to $8,000 before you trade firm capital |
| Real-capital sub-accounts, with no simulated funded stage | Your own bond ($1,000 to $2,000 in the published table) sits at risk in the account |
| Up to a 90% split, plus a one-time $4,000 or $8,000 bonus on the upper tiers | A $199 monthly desk fee, even in losing months |
| No profit target, deadline, trade count or consistency percentage to qualify | Starting capital is small for the fee ($4,000 to $20,000 in the table) |
| Long options-focused curriculum, coaching and a trader community | The site’s pages disagree on capital, split and payout dates |
| No commission mark-up and no volume requirements, according to the firm | No numeric drawdown or loss limits published |
| Remote and part-time trading accepted | No restricted-country list; the legal links on the main site do not work |
| Monthly payouts by ACH or wire, with no payout cap stated | Payouts only above a high-water mark, so a losing month delays the next payout |
For the wider market, what a prop firm is explains the main models side by side.
Maverick Trading fees and pricing
Maverick’s main FAQ says only this about cost: “Each Maverick Trader pays a $199 desk fee and will need to post a trading bond before live trading.” It adds that part or all of the desk fees become a credit toward other Maverick services or toward your bond, and that full details are in the application videos.
The capital sharing page publishes more. Its membership table (labelled maverickcurrencies.com, and repeated on mavericktrading.com) reads:
| Item | Associate | Professional | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership fee | $1,000 | $4,000 | $8,000 |
| Performance bond | $1,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Starting capital | $4,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Profit split | 60% | 80% | 90% |
| Monthly fee / credit | $199 / $100 credit | $199 / $199 credit | $199 / $199 credit |
| Performance bonus | None | $4,000 | $8,000 |
| Coaching | Evaluations | Scheduled | Unlimited |
| Discord access | Limited | Full | Full |
Read from the firm’s public pages on October 11, 2026; not verified by purchase. The Maverick Currencies terms and risk disclosure say your costs may include a one-time or recurring qualification program fee, monthly platform, data or desk fees, and “in some cases a capital contribution”. They also say the exact amounts and any refund conditions are given in writing before you enrol, and that those documents win over the website.
Traders describe higher figures for the options desk. These are reports from reviewers, not prices Maverick publishes:
- A January 2025 Trustpilot reviewer described a $7,000 training fee, a $5,000 performance bond and a $25,000 starting account. He said the fee is refunded once you finish the program and your trading earns the same amount at an initial 70/30 split, which he put at about $23,500 of gross profit.
- An October 2025 Reddit poster who had just been interviewed described a $6,000 upfront fee, refunded as a bonus after your first $6,000 of profit. He also described a $25,000 account made up of $5,000 of your own capital and $20,000 from the firm, plus a $200 monthly technology fee.
- A March 2025 Trustpilot reviewer said he was asked for $4,000 plus monthly fees before his interview went further. In its reply, the firm said its pre-interview video sets out the “lifetime membership fee, monthly desk fees, and the steps to qualify for capital”.
The fee depends on your tier and possibly on your desk (options or currencies), so get the written fee schedule before paying. We found no discount code or promotion on either site.
What the first year costs, worked out
These examples use only the published table. They count the membership fee and twelve months of the $199 desk fee. They leave out the bond because it is your capital in the account and not a fee, although you can lose it. They also ignore the desk fee credit, because the site does not say how the credit is applied.
| Tier | Cash to start (fee + bond + first month) | First-year fees | Gross profit needed to cover fees at your split | As a return on starting capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate (60%, $4,000) | $2,199 | $3,388 | $5,647 | 141% |
| Professional (80%, $10,000) | $6,199 | $6,388 | $7,985 | 80% |
| Partner (90%, $20,000) | $10,199 | $10,388 | $11,542 | 58% |
The performance bonus changes the picture for the upper tiers. If a Professional trader earns the $4,000 bonus in year one, only $2,388 of desk fees is left to cover, which takes about $2,985 of gross profit (30% on $10,000). For a Partner, the $8,000 bonus leaves $2,388 to cover, which takes about $2,653 (13% on $20,000). Maverick does not publish the profit milestone that triggers the bonus, so you cannot plan around it. Ask for that number in writing.
The bond is a large share of each account: 25% of Associate capital, 20% of Professional and 10% of Partner. The reported $5,000 bond on a $25,000 options account is also 20%. At these sizes you are trading a lot of your own money alongside the firm’s.
Your capital grows as you advance, so these return figures fall over time. The point is that the first year is expensive unless you are already profitable. One current trader on Reddit put it bluntly: those who fail “probably put the membership fee and risk deposit on credit, didn’t make any profits, and couldn’t pay the monthly desk fees.”
The application and qualification program
The qualification program has three required steps, and the firm repeats them on several pages:
- Pass the tests. A series of online quizzes on position sizing, risk management, order entry, profit targets and Maverick’s methods, with unlimited attempts. The qualification page cites “over 300 hours” of training video. The FAQ says “over 1000 hours of videos on demand”.
- Write a trading plan. It has to set out your markets and timeframes, entry and exit rules, position sizing, stop losses and drawdown rules, open-position management, and journaling. The firm reviews the plan and helps you revise it.
- Prove it on demo. You trade a monitored Maverick demo account. Reviewers check that your trades match your plan, that you keep to your stops and sizing, that you journal, and that your results are consistent. The firm says most traders spend one to two months here, with no fixed deadline.
Reported timelines run longer. One current trader on Reddit said he started training in July 2024 and was approved to go live in late January 2025, about six months, even though he says he had already been profitable for five years. Another trader at the Associate level described logging 200 simulator trades before moving on.
The FAQ says every trader must finish the program, “without exception”. For experienced traders, the Maverick Way page says live trading statements can be submitted for “accelerated approval”.
Capital levels and scaling
Maverick publishes two different capital ladders:
| Level | Capital sharing page | Firm capital access page |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | $4,000 to $20,000 (by membership tier) | $25,000 |
| Level 2 | $20,000 to $50,000 | $50,000 |
| Level 3 | $50,000 to $100,000 | $100,000 |
| Level 4 | $100,000 to $150,000 | $150,000 |
| Above | Elite, $150,000+ (discretionary) | Levels 5 and 6 negotiated |
The lower ladder (from $4,000) matches the membership table and the forex division. The $25,000 start matches what options traders report. Treat the ladder in your own agreement as the one that applies.
The advancement rule is simple on paper. If you close two consecutive months with profits above your high-water mark, you become eligible for a capital increase. There is no forced trading and no penalty for trading less. The FAQ adds that increases depend on performance, the profits you leave in the account and the size of your risk deposit, and that “level advancement will be made by additional education requirements and management approval”. A Trustpilot reviewer who reached the top level wrote that the amounts for each advancement “are not static”, depending on your risk management, profits, strategy and how much you keep in the account. Elite status at the top is discretionary.
A Reddit commenter who looked at joining in 2026 noted that the firm did not tell him how far above the high-water mark each month had to close. If that matters to your plan, ask for the exact threshold.
Worked example. A Professional trader starts on $10,000. In month one the account closes $600 above its starting value, which sets a new high-water mark. In month two it closes another $400 higher, a new mark again. That is two consecutive months above the mark, so the trader becomes eligible for Level 2 ($20,000 to $50,000 on the capital sharing ladder). If month two had closed $200 below month one’s high, the count would restart.
For how scaling works at evaluation firms, see prop firms with scaling plans.
Profit split by membership level
The split is set by membership level, not by account size alone:
- Associate: 60% in the membership table and 65% on the get-paid page. No performance bonus.
- Professional: 80%, plus a one-time $4,000 performance bonus at a firm profit milestone.
- Partner: 90%, plus a one-time $8,000 bonus.
- Elite: “90%+” plus further performance bonuses.
Other pages give other ranges: 65% to 90% (firm capital access, capital sharing, careers), 60% to 90% (the application FAQ and the Maverick Currencies home page), and “typically 70–80%” (capital sharing). Traders’ reports of an initial 70/30 split fit the options desk. The firm says the bonus is paid in full to you, on top of your split and “immediately after the milestone is reached”.
Worked example from the firm. The firm’s own illustration uses a $25,000 allocation and a $3,000 profit month. At 80%, the trader’s share is $2,400 and the firm keeps $600. If the $2,000 bonus in that illustration is earned the same month, the payout is $4,400. Note that the illustrative bonus ($2,000) does not match the published Professional bonus ($4,000).
All payouts are reported on a 1099-MISC, and you pay your own taxes. Our guide to tax software and accountants for prop traders covers the basics for contractor income.
Maverick Trading payouts and the high-water mark
Maverick pays monthly. Its pages describe the timing in three different ways:
| Source | When profits are measured | When you are paid |
|---|---|---|
| Main FAQ | Each options period; credited the Saturday after monthly options expiration (between the 15th and 22nd) | The 1st of the following month |
| Application FAQ | Total account value on the last calendar day of the month | Available to request on the 1st of the following month |
| Get-paid page | Monthly mark-to-market at month end, open positions included | Within two business days after the trading month closes |
Methods are ACH, wire or “other approved methods”. The firm capital access page says traders are paid monthly by ACH to their bank account. The get-paid page also mentions case-by-case mid-month payouts for milestones, bonuses or tier advancement. Its header advertises “Weekly payouts”, which no other page supports. We found no stated payout cap and no stated minimum. You can also leave profits in the account to qualify for more capital.
The high-water mark. Your payout is based on profit above your account’s previous peak. Open positions are marked to market at month end, so unrealised gains and losses count. A drawdown month pays nothing (the firm says “no profits are pulled”), and you must recover the loss before you are paid again.
Worked example at an 80% split:
- Month 1: +$1,500 above the mark. You are paid $1,200 and the mark rises by $1,500.
- Month 2: −$900. Nothing is paid.
- Month 3: +$1,200. Only the $300 above the old mark counts, so you are paid $240.
Over three months you made $1,800 of net profit and were paid $1,440, the full 80% share. But the $900 you earned back in month 3 paid nothing, and month 2 paid nothing at all. Budget for the $199 desk fee in months like that.
Both FAQ examples give a payout on the 1st: $5,000 of profit at 80% pays $4,000 on April 1, and $10,000 at 75% pays $7,500 on May 1. Reports from Trustpilot reviewers (“very nice payouts as promised”) and from the current trader on Reddit support the claim that payouts happen. We could not check individual payments. For context on payout reliability across firms, see prop firms that actually pay out.
Risk rules, drawdown and what is not published
Maverick does not publish a daily loss limit, a maximum drawdown percentage or a contract limit. Instead, the capital sharing page says:
- Your position sizes, drawdown caps and exposure rules are agreed and locked in before you start trading.
- Every funded account is monitored in real time.
- The system enforces automatic stop-outs and trade restrictions if you go past your limits.
- A “retention system” adds mid-month checks, temporary trading restrictions, coaching, a plan reset and a final capital review before you go back to trading. The firm says this is meant to keep you in the firm rather than end your account at the first breach.
In practice your rules are the limits in your approved trading plan and agreement. What we could not find published, and you should ask about:
- The loss level at which trading is restricted, and whether it is measured on balance or equity.
- Whether losses come out of your bond first, and what happens if losses exceed the bond. The firm says your personal risk is “limited to your original bond”.
- Whether you get the bond back, and when, if you leave in profit or in drawdown.
- Any limits on holding through earnings, news, overnight or weekends. The firm describes itself as a swing and position desk.
- Whether automated trading or copy trading is allowed.
For the usual rule types at evaluation firms, see the BestProps rules guides.
Maverick Trading FX division: Maverick Currencies
Maverick’s forex desk runs under its own brand, Maverick Currencies, which describes itself as “the Forex & Crypto division of an award-winning proprietary trading firm”. The BBB lists Maverick FX as an alternate name of Maverick Trading, Inc. The company’s Trustpilot description says its currency division has traded since 2009. Maverick Currencies uses the same support email, the same P.O. box and the same Capital Sharing, Get Paid as a Pro and Qualification Program pages as mavericktrading.com, and its membership table is the one in the fees section above.
Differences on the forex side:
- Markets: forex, metals, crypto and “select futures”.
- Its home page adds gamified training, with badges for each skill and a leaderboard.
- Its careers page says traders keep 70% to 80% after training, while its job cards say “up to 90%” with “funded accounts up to $400,000”.
- Unlike mavericktrading.com, it publishes working terms, a privacy policy and a risk disclosure.
If you are comparing it with forex prop firms, remember that this is not a forex challenge. You pay membership and desk fees and post a bond. Our best forex prop firms guide covers the challenge-model alternatives.
Markets you can trade
- Options: the core of the Maverick Trading desk. The training is “built around options mastery”, including spreads and income strategies. One trader describes a top-down “basket trading” approach.
- Stocks: equities across the major US exchanges.
- Futures: offered “for traders who bring a well-defined edge”.
- Forex, metals and crypto: through Maverick Currencies.
Few prop firms let you trade listed options or real shares, so this is Maverick’s clearest point of difference. See prop firms for options trading and prop firms for stock trading for the few others.
Maverick Trading platform, broker and tools
Maverick does not name a trading platform for funded accounts on its public pages. What it does say:
- Broker: the firm “partners with brokers like Interactive Brokers to execute trades”. The application FAQ says it uses “the best broker/dealers in the industry” and does not mark up commissions.
- Members area: a members website for training, tests and the trading blog. The login is at options.mavericktrading.com for the options desk and maverickcurrencies.com/members for currencies.
- Demo: the qualification demo is a Maverick demo account. A trader on Reddit describes logging trades in a simulator called Tradebench.
- Education: the free video library covers TradingView, thinkorswim and Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation.
The firm’s FAQ promises “professional data feeds, professional commission rates and professional trading software” for funded traders, without naming them. If you rely on a particular platform, confirm it at the interview. The BestProps platform finder lists which platforms other firms support.
Training, coaching and community
Training is what Maverick charges for, and it is the part reviewers praise most. Published elements:
- A large on-demand video library (300 or 1,000+ hours depending on the page).
- Knowledge tests with unlimited retakes.
- Trading-plan templates with feedback.
- An orientation specialist for your first weeks.
- Coaching that scales with tier: evaluations for Associate, scheduled sessions for Professional and unlimited for Partner.
- Live sessions several times a week and a weekly Trading Room.
- A real-time trading blog for members.
- A Discord server (view-only during temporary access, limited at Associate, full above).
- A yearly Trading Summit in Las Vegas.
Staff may also ask experienced traders to lead sessions. A free YouTube channel and blog give a taste of the method before you apply.
Reviewers name their mentors and describe better discipline, smaller average losses and steadier reward-to-risk after the program. Critics argue that you can learn options from books and free courses without paying a