Use Subaccounts at Tradovate
Subaccounts let you run multiple, fully separate trading accounts under a single Tradovate login. Here's how to add them, switch between them, and shuffle money around without touching your bank.
Running everything out of one account works fine until it doesn't. Maybe you want your scalping capital walled off from your swing money, or a clean slate to test a new system without putting your main balance on the line. Subaccounts let you do exactly that: multiple, fully separate trading accounts sitting under a single Tradovate login. Here's how to add them, switch between them, and shuffle money around without touching your bank.
What Is a Tradovate Subaccount?
A subaccount is a standalone trading account tied to your existing login. Each one keeps its own balance, its own open positions, its own statements, and its own risk settings. You log in once and toggle between them from inside the platform, which beats juggling separate usernames and passwords.
Why bother splitting things up? A few common reasons:
- Strategy separation, keep a mean-reversion book and a trend book in different accounts so their P&L never bleeds together.
- Capital segmenting, ring-fence a fixed amount for a higher-risk approach and leave the rest untouched.
- Clean records, one account per strategy means every statement and performance report is already sorted for you.
- Testing, trade a new idea in its own account before you scale it into the main one.
How to Use Subaccounts at Tradovate: Step-by-Step
Open the Accounts Settings
In the Tradovate platform, open the settings menu in the top-right corner. It lands on the Accounts tab by default, and any accounts you already have are listed right there. This is home base for adding a new one.
Request a New Subaccount
From the Accounts tab, choose the option to add a trading or live account. You'll fill in the required fields and upload the documents Tradovate asks for, typically a proof-of-account form, a government ID, and a proof of address. You'll also pick an auto-liquidation risk profile for the new account. Live subaccounts go through a short approval, so don't expect the balance to appear the same second you hit submit. Tradovate has generally allowed several subaccounts per login, so if you hit a cap, that's the ceiling on your plan rather than a mistake on your end.
Switch Between Your Accounts
Once a subaccount is live, the account name shown at the top-center of the platform becomes your switch. Click it and a dropdown lists every account you can trade. Pick one, and the charts, DOM, orders, and positions all snap to that account. Get in the habit of glancing at that account name before you fire an order, because it's the single easiest thing to get wrong when you're moving fast.
Move Funds Between Subaccounts
Rebalancing is quick because it stays inside Tradovate. Open Application Settings, find the Transfers & Payments area, and use the internal funds transfer to shift money from one of your accounts to another. No wire, no ACH hold, no waiting on a bank, funds land in the receiving account almost immediately. That makes it easy to top up a strategy that's working or pull profit back to your main account.
Set Risk Limits Per Subaccount
The real payoff of separating accounts is separate risk. Open the risk settings on each subaccount and give it its own max position size, daily loss limit, and auto-liquidation profile. A rougher, experimental strategy can run on a tight leash while your core account keeps a wider one, and a bad day in one can't reach across and drain the others.
A Note on Prop-Firm Accounts
If you're trading a funded or evaluation account, the setup is different. Prop-firm accounts are provisioned by the firm and usually come as their own separate login, not as a subaccount you can create yourself. You can't add or fund those from the Accounts tab, and the number of accounts, drawdown rules, and buffers all vary by firm and account size, so check your firm's current rules rather than assuming a fixed number. Personal, directly funded Tradovate accounts are the ones where you control subaccounts end to end.
Automate Across Every Subaccount with PickMyTrade
Placing the same signal into two, three, or five accounts by hand is exactly the kind of repetitive clicking that leads to mistakes. PickMyTrade takes one TradingView alert and routes it into whichever Tradovate accounts you choose, each with its own contract sizing. Your strategies stay cleanly split across subaccounts while the execution happens for you.
Automate Every Subaccount at Once
PickMyTrade takes one TradingView alert and routes it into whichever Tradovate accounts you choose, each with its own contract sizing.
Start Your Free 5-Day TrialFrequently Asked Questions
Tradovate lets you run more than one account under a single login. There's a limit tied to your plan, so if you can't add another, you've likely reached the cap for your account type. Confirm the current number in the platform before you plan around it.
No. Each subaccount holds its own funds, positions, and statements. To move money between them, use the internal funds transfer under Transfers & Payments.
Yes. Every subaccount carries its own risk settings and auto-liquidation profile, so you can cap one tightly and give another more room.
This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or trading advice. Trading futures and other leveraged products carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. PickMyTrade is an independent third-party automation platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tradovate, Inc. "Tradovate" and all related names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Platform features and steps change over time, so always confirm the current process in the official Tradovate platform and documentation before acting.