Last updated: 13 October 2026 How much money do retail traders keep at US futures brokers, and is it growing? Every month the CFTC publishes the customer funds held by each futures commission merchant (FCM). We compared August 2026, the latest file, with August 2025.
Customer money held for futures traders at NinjaTrader Clearing rose 91% in a year, from $307.0 million to $586.5 million (August 2025 to August 2026), per the CFTC’s monthly FCM financial data.
Robinhood Derivatives grew 144%, to $234.5 million, and Coinbase Financial Markets 85%, to $346.9 million. Retail-focused brokers are pulling in customer money faster than the industry as a whole.
Across all 75 firms in the August 2026 file, segregated customer assets were $388.09 billion, up 8% from $358.20 billion. Most of it sits at large bank-owned clearing firms.
Not every retail name grew: Plus500US fell 13%, to $1.04 billion, and TradeStation slipped 2%.
Retail-focused futures brokers: customer money in segregation
| Firm | Aug 2025 | Aug 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| NinjaTrader Clearing | $307.0 million | $586.5 million | +91% |
| Robinhood Derivatives | $96.2 million | $234.5 million | +144% |
| Coinbase Financial Markets | $187.9 million | $346.9 million | +85% |
| Plus500US Financial Services | not listed | $1.04 billion | new |
| TradeStation Securities | $830.9 million | $813.8 million | -2% |
| AMP Global Clearing | $99.4 million | $119.9 million | +21% |
| Webull Futures | not listed | $62.1 million | new |
| Dorman Trading | $338.3 million | $290.5 million | -14% |
| Interactive Brokers | $10.17 billion | $10.76 billion | +6% |
| Aug 2025 | Aug 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All FCMs in the file | $358.20 billion | $388.09 billion | +8% |
| Firms listed | 63 | 75 |
“Customer assets in segregation” is money, securities and property the firm holds in separate accounts for customers trading on US futures exchanges, under section 4d(a)(2) of the Commodity Exchange Act. It does not include foreign-exchange futures accounts (Part 30) or cleared swaps.
Why this matters for prop traders
This is real customer money at regulated brokers, not prop firm money. Futures prop firm evaluations usually run in simulation, so challenge fees do not show up here. The data is still a useful public measure of how much retail futures trading is growing, on the same platforms (such as NinjaTrader and TradeStation) that many futures prop firms use. Our CFTC comment tracker covers related regulation.
Sources
- CFTC: Financial Data for FCMs — August 2026 file (posted October 2026), downloaded 13 October 2026.
- CFTC: Historical FCM reports — August 2025 file.
Method
We used column (e), “Customers’ Assets in Seg”, for each firm as of the last day of the month, and matched firms by name across the two files. The all-firms total is our sum of that column. Firms with no figure are counted as zero.
Caveats
Firm figures are self-reported to the CFTC and the NFA and can be revised. One month is a snapshot; balances move with margin levels, market prices and client activity.
Growth in customer funds does not mean a firm is safer or better, and the figures do not show how many customers each firm has.
How to cite this
Prop Data Lab, “Futures Broker Customer Funds (CFTC FCM Data)”, updated 13 October 2026, https://propdatalab.com/futures-broker-customer-funds-cftc/
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: copy, chart or republish them, commercial use included, as long as you link back to this page. Source data: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Common questions
How much customer money does NinjaTrader hold?
NinjaTrader Clearing reported $586.5 million in customer assets in segregation as of 31 August 2026, up from $307.0 million a year earlier, per CFTC data.
What is an FCM?
A futures commission merchant is a firm registered with the CFTC to accept orders and customer money for futures trading.
Is prop firm money in this data?
No. These are real customer funds at regulated brokers. Prop firm evaluations usually run in simulation and are not reported here.
How often does the CFTC publish FCM data?
Monthly, several weeks after the month ends. The August 2026 file was posted in October 2026.