What the MT5 connection can and cannot see
A ZeroMQ link reads an MT5 login. It does not log into Tradovate or Rithmic, and it does not flatten NQ for you. Use it for any MT5 evaluation you run beside Apex, and use the dollar rules as a checklist on the futures platform. Daily loss is 2.5%, $2,500 on $100K. The trail starts at 3%, $3,000, and follows peak unrealized equity. Equity Guard at 1.75% is $1,750.
Semi-automated trade assistants are allowed. Fully hands-off unattended bots are prohibited on Performance Accounts. If an assistant places the stop, you still confirm it is on the working order before the next tick. Quote-to-order limits on Rithmic and Tradovate are why the stop is attached once and then stepped at a partial, not rewritten on every flicker.
Stop, breakeven, four partials, then flat
On a $100K notion, 0.50% is $500. Four MNQ with a 60-point stop are about $480, because MNQ is $2 per point. That is the MT5-style ticket translated into micros. One NQ at the same 60 points is $1,200 and does not belong in a half-percent plan. After the first partial, move the stop to breakeven plus a small buffer, then scale the rest across the remaining targets. Be flat before 4:59 PM ET even if target four has not printed.
The 5:1 stop-to-target rule still applies on the futures ticket. An 80-point stop needs a target of at least 16 points. Manual Trade Guard can enforce that shape on MT5. On Apex you type it. Equity Guard watches the MT5 equity loop. Mirror $1,750 as the futures flatten so a late spike cannot print $2,500 after you thought the day was done.
Evaluation assistants and the PA ban
The evaluation and the PA are not the same permission. An assistant that managed stops during the 7-day, 6% evaluation can become a prohibited unattended bot the week you are funded. If you cannot explain the stop and the partials without the tool, you do not have a setup. You have a dependency the PA rules reject. The trail also changes character: it locks at the initial balance plus $100 only after you have built that buffer.
News may be one-sided. A straddle is prohibited. Bot Control can pause an MT5 book around that posture and can hold the 4:50 PM ET reminder. It should not be described as the thing that trades your Rithmic account. Up to 20 PA accounts means 20 checklists, not one robot firing into all of them.
Rehearse the attach before the $137 fee matters
The $100K fee is $137. A missing stop on one NQ can cost $1,200 at 60 points, several times the fee. Open a free Venasri account, connect the MT5 login you actually have, and confirm Manual Trade Guard puts the stop on a tiny test fill, shifts breakeven only after the first partial, and scales out instead of closing the whole idea at once. Then copy that checklist onto a sim futures order.
Store three alarms: day $2,500, trail $3,000 until it moves, flatten $1,750. The 30% maximum negative PnL per trade on PA accounts is a fourth line you confirm on the dashboard rather than guess. When the MT5 test and the futures sim both show a stop at the fill, the setup is real. Until then it is a note.
