Ashcroft Trading Academy
A trading education built the way a trading desk works: market structure first, risk before ambition, and every claim backed by a timestamped journal. Seventeen years of futures experience, taught as a system you can repeat — not a feeling.
17 yrs
Trading US index futures
1,412
Journaled trades, 2023–2025
2,417
Students trained since 2019
Programs
Learn the system on your own time, watch it traded live every session, or work directly with Marcus in a twelve-seat cohort. Everything is built on the same structure-and-risk playbook.
Core curriculum
The complete eight-module system: market structure, the three-setup entry playbook, risk engineering, trade management, and the journaling discipline that turns all of it into data you can trust.
Daily membership
Watch the method traded in real time. Every session, Marcus publishes his annotated trade ideas — level, thesis, invalidation, target — and every call is logged publicly, wins and losses alike.
Mentorship · 12 seats
A small quarterly cohort working directly with Marcus. Weekly live sessions on your trades, a monthly one-to-one journal review, and a direct line to the desk between sessions.
Curriculum
48 lessons, 26+ hours, sequenced so each module assumes only what the last one taught. Open any module to see every lesson inside.
Total runtime 26h 25m
Lessons 48
Live workshops included 6
Updates Twice yearly, free
Results
Every number below comes from Marcus's personal futures book — timestamped entries, reconciled monthly against broker statements, commissions and fees included. Losing months are shown next to winning ones because that's what a real track record looks like.
Win rate
1,412 journaled trades, 2023–2025
Avg. winner vs. loser
Expectancy +0.41R per trade, fees included
Cumulative return, 2025
Personal futures book, net of commissions
Students trained
Across 41 countries since 2019
Jan
+4.6%
Feb
+2.9%
Mar
+5.4%
Apr
−4.2%
May
+3.1%
Jun
+6.2%
Jul
+2.4%
Aug
+1.8%
Sep
−2.8%
Oct
+7.9%
Nov
+5.1%
Dec
+6.3%
Cumulative 2025: +38.7% | Max drawdown: −9.4% | 471 trades
Full statement history available on request.
Risk disclaimer: Past performance is not indicative of future results. Trading involves risk of loss, including loss of principal. The figures above are historical results from one trader's journal, are not typical, and guarantee nothing about your own outcomes.
Marcus Ashcroft
Founder & lead instructor · Chicago, IL
The instructor
Marcus Ashcroft started in 2009 on the equity-options desk of a Chicago proprietary trading firm, where he spent four years learning what actually moves price — and, more expensively, what doesn't. Since 2014 he has traded his own book full-time, specializing in US equity index futures (ES and NQ): market structure, liquidity sweeps, and the opening drive.
He has kept a timestamped journal of every trade since day one — 1,412 trades logged between 2023 and 2025 alone — and the academy exists because students kept asking for the process behind the numbers, not the numbers themselves. He has trained 2,417 students since 2019 and still teaches every Inner Circle session personally.
Marcus is not a registered investment advisor, and nothing published by this academy is financial advice. He is a trader and an educator who shows his work — including the months the market beat him.
Pricing
No "lifetime signals for $2,000/month," no upsell funnel. One course, one membership, one mentorship — each priced for what it actually contains.
The full system, at your pace.
$899 one-time
The method, traded live beside you.
$79 per month
Twelve seats. Direct access. Your trades on the table.
$2,400 per quarter
14-day full-refund guarantee on the Method · Cancel the Desk any month · Inner Circle applications reviewed within 48 hours.
FAQ
Including the ones most trading academies hope you won't ask.
Yes. Module 01 assumes zero prior knowledge — we start with how price actually moves before anything else. That said, the program is paced for people willing to put in 5–7 hours a week. If you want results without screen time and journaling, no course on earth will help you.
The core playbook is taught on index futures (ES and NQ) and large-cap US equities. Because everything is built on market structure and liquidity, students successfully apply it to forex majors and high-liquidity crypto pairs as well — Modules 02 through 05 include notes on adapting the setups to each.
You do not need trading capital to start the course. We require 100 backtested trades and a full month of paper or simulation execution before anyone goes live. When you do go live — or take a prop-firm evaluation — most students start between $500 and $2,000 of personal risk capital, or a funded account. Never trade money you cannot afford to lose.
The Signals Desk publishes Marcus's annotated trade ideas — level, thesis, invalidation, and target — before and during the US session, with every call logged publicly whether it wins or loses. It is educational content, not financial advice: Marcus is not a registered investment advisor, and blindly copying any signal without understanding it will not make you a trader.
No — and you should walk away from anyone who does. Trading involves substantial risk of loss. What we guarantee is the process: a complete, tested methodology, honest performance data including our losing months, and direct access to an instructor who trades it himself. Whether it becomes profitable for you depends on your execution and discipline.
Every figure in the Results section comes from Marcus's timestamped trading journal, reconciled monthly against broker statements, and includes all commissions and fees. Losing months are shown alongside winning ones. The track record covers January 2023 through December 2025 and has been tracked in the same format since before the academy existed.
You have 14 days from enrollment to go through Modules 01–02 in full. If you decide the methodology or teaching style isn't a fit, email the desk and we refund 100% of your payment — no forms, no retention calls. After 14 days, refunds are prorated by modules accessed.
Lifetime access to all eight modules, including every future update — the playbook is revised twice a year as market conditions shift. Community and Signals Desk access runs for the duration of your membership tier and can be cancelled any month.
Enroll
Tell us where you are and what you want out of the program. Method and Signals Desk applications are confirmed within one business day; Inner Circle applications get a personal reply from Marcus within 48 hours.
March cohort begins March 16, 2026 — enrollment closes March 14.
14-day full-refund guarantee on the core course.
Questions first? Email the desk at desk@ashcroftacademy.com.