Managing Trailing Stops Locally with a Virtual Stop Loss
Summary
The document describes an expert advisor that manages stop loss, take profit, and trailing-stop levels on the trader’s computer rather than placing those levels with the broker. Its trailing stop uses three settings: the distance behind price, the profit required before activation, and the increment for subsequent stop adjustments. In the example, settings of 5, 2, and 3 points cause the stop to activate after the position has gained 7 points, initially locking in 2 points, then advancing in 3-point steps while maintaining a 5-point gap.
A pullback to the virtual stop level closes the order. The document says this approach can bypass broker restrictions on stop placement and keep planned levels from being visible to the broker, but it does not assess execution reliability or other operational risks of local stop handling. It also notes that the tool works properly only with one order per side and does not close losing positions. No performance results are provided.
Key ideas
- A virtual trailing stop is monitored locally instead of being submitted as a visible broker-side stop level.
- The method uses a trailing distance, a minimum profit threshold, and a step size.
- In the example, the stop activates after a specified gain and then advances in fixed increments while following price at a set distance.
- A reversal to the virtual stop level triggers order closure.
- The described tool has limited support for multiple orders and does not close losing positions.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.