Breaking into professional trading has never been easy, especially for talented individuals without access to significant capital. That challenge is exactly what Gil Ben Hur set out to solve when he founded The 5 Percent Group. Today, The5ers is widely recognised for giving traders around the world a real opportunity to prove their skills, manage funded accounts, and build long-term trading careers. By combining structured evaluations, real capital, and a strong focus on risk management, Gil has helped redefine what it means to support the next generation of traders. In this exclusive TechBullion interview, Gil shares the story behind The 5 Percent Group, his approach to funding and developing trading talent, and his perspective on the future of proprietary trading in an increasingly competitive market.
1) Can you share a bit about your background story and what brought you to the trading industry?
My journey into trading started long before The5ers was ever conceived. I came from a background in the financial markets, where I was fascinated not only by the mechanics of trading but by the psychology behind it. I learned early on that trading is a profession that tests your discipline, self-awareness, and resilience as much as your analytical skills. Over the years, I worked across different trading environments—independent trading, team-based workflows, and institutional settings—and I learned how dramatically the right environment can impact a trader’s performance.
What ultimately drew me to trading was its meritocratic nature. It doesn’t matter where you come from; what matters is how you perform under pressure, how you manage uncertainty, and how committed you are to mastery. Over time, I became increasingly motivated to help traders who had talent but lacked capital or guidance. That desire to level the playing field became the seed that grew into The5ers.
2) How was the company established?
The idea was conceived back in 2014. I was part of an independent traders’ community. We were trying to collaborate on our trading efforts. I have blueprinted a many-to-one trading approach, where everyone is contributing positions into a single trading account. It involved policies, guidelines, management, and some technology to govern the operation.
The5ers was only a natural progression. In 2016, I established The5ers out of a simple but powerful realization: there are countless skilled traders around the world who can succeed if they’re given the right structure, risk management, and capital. In the early days, I met traders who had the skill but not the resources, and others who lacked mentorship or a supportive environment that encouraged long-term growth over short-term gambling.
I wanted to create a prop-funding model rooted in discipline, transparency, and sustainability, one that placed real emphasis on risk management rather than gimmicks. We started as a small team with a big vision: an accessible, global trading program that rewards consistency and professionalism. From day one, The5ers was built as a company that funds, educates, and supports traders—not just tests them.
3) How has The5ers’ mission evolved since 2016, and how do you see your role in today’s funded-trader and prop-trading landscape?
When we launched, our mission was clear: give traders a fair, transparent path to capital. As the industry matured, our mission evolved into something broader: to redefine professional trading by combining funding, education, and risk-aligned trading culture into one ecosystem.
Today, prop trading is an incredibly crowded space, and my role is to continually uphold standards that protect traders and enhance the credibility of the industry. While many firms focus on marketing shortcuts or unrealistic promises, we focus on sustainable models—real risk management, real capital allocation, and real trader development.
We see ourselves not as a “challenge company,” but as a platform that develops traders into long-term portfolio managers.
4) What are the biggest integrity challenges in prop trading today, and how does The5ers set itself apart in transparency and credibility?
The biggest challenges today revolve around credibility, opaque rules, unrealistic expectations, and misaligned incentives. Many traders enter the industry confused by flashy ads or inconsistent policies, only to discover that some firms operate like marketing companies rather than trading institutions.
The5ers differentiates itself in several ways:
- Clear, consistent, and transparent rules
- A risk model based on professional trading standards
- Real capital allocation, not simulated promises
- A genuine commitment to trader success—not quick churn
- Open communication channels and human-centered support
Integrity is not a slogan for us; it’s the core of our business model.
5) How do you maintain a strong risk-management framework as you scale globally, and which emerging risks matter most?
Scaling globally requires discipline. We’ve actually just recently won an award for our scaling model. Our risk framework focuses on aligning funded traders with the same risk controls used by institutional desks: consistent leverage and equity-based drawdowns, data-driven monitoring of trader behavior, portfolio-level exposure limits, and gradual capital scaling to prevent over-leveraging.
Looking forward, emerging risks will vary and, among other things, include algorithmic misuse (undisclosed automation), Market volatility surges due to geopolitical and macroeconomic shifts, and technological threats, including latency manipulation and platform abuse. We continuously upgrade our systems to protect both the traders and the integrity of our capital.
6) How did The5ers develop its education ecosystem, and how does this help traders progress from challenge success to long-term funding?
Our education ecosystem was created from observing thousands of traders across multiple years. We identified the patterns that separate long-term professionals from short-term performers.
The ecosystem now includes Workshops, webinars, and masterclasses, Structured trading methodologies, Psychological coaching and mindset training, Data-driven feedback from our risk team, and Community support and mentorship layers.
The goal is simple: passing a challenge means little without the ability to sustain performance in real-capital conditions. Our educational model is designed to close that gap.
7) In the absence of regulation or an adjudicator in the prop trading industry, how do you best navigate the waters of disputes?
Transparency and communication are our first lines of defense. We understand that mistakes, misunderstandings, and gray areas can arise in any complex trading environment. To navigate disputes, we Provide clear documentation for all rules, Maintain transparent trade-log reviews, Offer direct communication channels with senior staff, and Encourage third-party auditing mechanisms wherever possible.
In a non-regulated space, trust is earned through behavior. We aim to model how responsible prop firms should operate—fairly, clearly, and respectfully.
8) What diversity trends are you seeing across global traders, and how does The5ers adapt its offering for different markets?
The trading world today is more diverse than ever. We see rapid growth in trading communities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, a younger demographic entering the field earlier due to digital accessibility, more women entering trading roles than in previous decades, and increased interest in systematic and hybrid trading styles. In order for us to be able to support this diversity, we adapt our offering through Multilingual educational materials, Region-specific payment and onboarding solutions, Scalable programs that match different cost-of-living realities, and Cultural understanding of how traders in different regions approach risk and learning. The global nature of trading is one of the industry’s greatest strengths.
9) What is your future vision for The5ers and the prop-trading sector, and what key opportunities and challenges lie ahead?
My vision is for The5ers to become the global standard of professional development for traders—a place where talent is identified, nurtured, and funded responsibly.
Key opportunities include integrating AI-driven analytics to help traders optimize performance, expanding real capital allocation programs, strengthening educational pipelines, building global trading communities, and growing institutional partnerships.
The greatest challenges will be maintaining integrity in an increasingly crowded industry, adapting to technological advances without compromising fairness, navigating future regulatory changes, and ensuring prop trading continues to serve traders’ best interests.
Ultimately, The5ers aims to be a long-term partner—not just a funding service—helping traders build careers that are sustainable, profitable, and professionally respected.
