Picture a trader with a live account at one broker, a second at another, and an evaluation account at a prop firm. In the eTrader trading terminal that is three entries in the broker list and three separate sign-ins, one per firm. That stays as it is. The firms hold the money, so the firms hold the logins.
What was missing was a place for the work that spans those accounts. eTrader ID is that place: one sign-in that belongs to the trader, with each trading account connected underneath it.
Three Firms, Three Accounts, One Person
Every firm on eTrader is listed by name in the shared eTrader apps and runs on its own server, with its own instruments, spreads, swaps, commissions and leverage. A trader's account at one firm knows nothing about their account at another, and it should not. Those are separate contracts with separate companies.
The trader, though, is one person. A strategy they wrote does not care which firm it is tested against, and an AI Trader they designed is the same idea whichever account it sits on. Before eTrader ID, the platform had no identity above the trading account, so that work had nowhere to belong.
What Connecting an Account Actually Does
From the ID panel, the trader adds a trading account by entering that account's sign-in. eTrader checks the details once and does not keep them. The account then shows up in the list of connected accounts, and it can be removed from the same list.
Nothing moves when an account is connected. No balance is copied, no position is transferred, and the firm's record of the account is untouched. The connection only tells eTrader Code and eTrader AI which accounts this person may work with.
The link runs one way. Deleting an eTrader ID removes the ID and its connections, and every trading account carries on at its firm.
Each Firm's Settings Still Apply
A connected account does not turn into a generic account. Orders still go through that account at its own firm, so a trade on a prop firm account meets the prop firm's instruments and leverage, and a trade on a broker account meets the broker's. The ID never holds money and has no route to the market of its own.
Testing works the same way. When a trader tests a strategy in eTrader Code in the browser, they choose one of their connected accounts and the test runs on real prices from that account. Comparing two firms means choosing a different connected account, not building a second workspace.
A Strategy Written Once, Ready for Every Account
eTrader Code files belong to the ID, not to a computer and not to a trading account. A trader who writes a strategy in the browser on Monday finds the same file in the Mac app on Tuesday, because both sign in with the same eTrader ID. The file stays saved until the trader deletes it.
That matters most when the accounts sit at different firms. There is one copy of the strategy rather than one per firm, so a fix made after testing against one account is already in place when the trader tests against the next. If the same file gets edited in two places, eTrader Code shows the clash and lets the trader decide which version to keep, instead of quietly overwriting one of them.
One AI Trader, Accounts at Different Firms
eTrader AI is where this shows most clearly. An AI Trader is built once, and the trader then attaches connected accounts to it. Those accounts can sit at different firms. Each attachment has its own on and off switch, so a trader could keep it on for a broker account and off for a prop firm account during an evaluation. Edit the AI Trader, and the edit applies to every attached account.
Disconnecting an account from the ID also detaches it from any AI Trader. When a trader closes an account or stops trading with a firm, the list stays accurate without extra cleanup.
eTrader AI runs in the browser and as a Mac app, and an AI Trader trades on live and demo accounts alike.
What a Firm Gets From a Shared Identity
A trader who already has an eTrader ID, with Code files or AI Traders saved under it, can open an account at another firm listed in eTrader, connect it, and have those tools available on the new account straight away. For a firm, that lowers the cost of being someone's second or third firm. The trader does not have to give up their setup to try you.
It also means a firm competes on what it controls: its instruments, its trading conditions and its service. The tooling is shared by every firm in eTrader and runs on a platform hosted in the cloud by SGHK, built to scale across clustered servers as firms grow. The firm builds nothing and hosts nothing for it.
The firm also keeps the relationship that matters most. The trading account, its balance and its history remain the firm's record, whatever the trader does with their ID.
"Firms should compete on their conditions and their service. A trader's own tools should come with them to whichever firm they choose."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- Firms keep their own logins; eTrader ID sits above them as the trader's own sign-in.
- Connecting an account moves no money and changes nothing in the firm's record of it.
- Orders and tests on a connected account use that account's firm, prices and settings.
- One AI Trader can be attached to accounts at different firms, each with its own switch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Connecting Accounts Merge Balances From Different Firms?
No. Each trading account keeps its own balance, positions and history at its own firm. The ID only lists the connected accounts so eTrader Code and eTrader AI can work with them.
Does a Trader Still Sign In to the Terminal Separately for Each Firm?
Yes. The eTrader trading terminal uses the trading account's own sign-in, so a trader picks the firm from the broker list and signs in to that account as before.
Can One AI Trader Be Used on Accounts at a Broker and a Prop Firm?
It can be attached to both, with a separate on and off switch for each account. It works on live and demo accounts alike.
About SGHK
SGHK is a FinTech company that designs and builds its own software for the trading industry: the eTrader trading platform, the Broker CRM and the Prop Firm CRM. Every product is written, hosted and supported in-house and licensed to trading firms, with the CRMs branded to them, all hosted by us in the cloud, managed by each firm and built to scale across clustered servers as our clients grow. Everything is encrypted, and each firm is the only one with access to its data and its clients' data.