The Trade tab consists of:
- Trade box
- Strategy box
Trade box
The Trade box displays relevant information on the actual trade parameters such as: entry price, stops, order and position size, and the current risk.
Manual mode
When the manual mode is activated, this will allow you to place discretionary trades and input corrections to the automatic setups of AgenaTrader++ (plusplus).
This can basically be done in 3 steps:
- Check the Manual Mode checkbox by left click (the background color of the Order Escort will still be grey at this point)
- Select the Buy or Sell option
- Select parameters for the entry, initial stop, hard trail stop, soft trail stop and target.
The advantage of manual mode is that you can set your own setup and submit trades, but AgenaTrader++ will continue to fully monitor your risk and automatically manage your trades.
If you do not want to rely on the automatic entries, you can trade exclusively in manual mode.
The only difference from the fully automated mode is that entries based on signals will not be suggested.
You can also bring up the Setup Escort window and define the manual mode setup within the Configuration tab.
Entry price
The Entry price field contains the suggested entry price. As long as the order has not been submitted to the market, the entry price can be changed.
You can edit the price level in one of the following ways:
- Move the chart trader bar for the entry order directly on the chart
- Enter a new price manually inside the Entry price field
- Increase or decrease the price level tick by tick to the next high or low using the up and down arrow keys.
- Use the drop-down list to select a price from among the 30 possible price levels in both directions.
Order type
There are two possible order types: buy or sell order.
You will only be able to select one of these order types if the manual mode is activated.
This function is not available for automatically generated, signal-based trade suggestions.
$ button
Left clicking on the "$" button will reset a setup regardless of the setup type (manual or signal-based).
All parameters will be reverted to their default settings.
Order size
The Order size field displays the proposed order size that has been calculated using risk parameters.
The order size is based on the following parameters:
- the difference between entry price and hard stop
- the absolute risk
- the initial risk
- the currency conversion factor (if account currency is different from the currency of the traded instrument)
The suggested order size is always rounded to the next possible whole number. The rounding settings can be changed within the Configuration Escort.
Setting the order size above the suggested level (can only be done from within the Order Escort)
If you wish to set the order size above the proposed level, manually enter the desired order size or change the amount using the up and down arrow keys.
Once entered, the background color will change to red and will no longer be adjusted if the stop or entry orders are edited.
If you want AgenaTrader++ (plusplus) to calculate the order size automatically according to the risk-specific criteria, double click in this field and move the entry / stop line inside the chart.
Position size
The position size displays the size of the running positions and corresponds to the order size.
For automatically suggested trades in which the order size is set above the proposed size, the position size will be calculated as:
Position size = initially proposed position size + order amount set above the proposed size.
HardStop / HardRisk
HardStop
The H-Trail field displays the price level at which the trade will be 100% secured, i.e. the price of the Initial stop and HardTrail stop.
You can edit the price level in one of the following ways:
- Move the chart trader bar for the initial stop order (hard trail stop order) directly on the chart
- Enter a new price manually inside the H-Trail field
- Increase or decrease the price level tick by tick to the next high or low using the up and down arrow keys
- Use the drop-down list to select a price among the 30 possible price levels in both directions.
HardRisk
The H-Risk field displays the absolute value that is at risk during the trading (in P&L currency).
Meaning of the background color on the "H-Risk" field:
- red: a negative risk exists for the current trade;
- green: the trade is at the positive risk level.
Positive risk level means that the hard stop is above the entry price for long positions and below the entry price for short positions.
The hard risk already accounts for potential slippage and spread costs (see calculation of spread + slippage = 2x spread). This may impact the risk negatively or positively depending on the order execution time. If the background color changes to red, then the setup is breaking the risk parameters. This can happen due to lot size rounding. If rounding is not the primary cause for this, we recommend that you inspect the trade suggestion in more detail.
Soft Stop / Soft Risk
SoftStop
The Soft Stop is the actual stop price of the Soft Trail stop.
Soft Risk
The Soft Risk is calculated the same way as the Hard Risk, but it is based on the Soft Stop.
The Soft Risk is merely a reference value, since in the case that the soft stop is broken, the actual risk only materializes due to the Hard Stop order being executed.
The Soft Stop/Soft Risk and Hard Stop/Hard Risk are equal until the position is opened.
Once an order is submitted the Soft Stop/Soft Risk values will deviate from the Hard Stop/Hard Risk values.
Strategy box
The strategy box suggests a setup based on selected or calculated entry signals.
You can change the strategy parameters:
- Before placing the trade on the market: to edit stop and target methods inside the Order Escort;
- When the trade is running: to adjust the soft trail stop and the hard trail stop as well as targets (until the first target has been met).
Entry
Once in manual trade mode (semi-automated discretionary trading) the EntryEscort will allow you to select the strategy setup.
Manual mode will display the pre-initialized Entry Escort with the appropriate Stop and Target Escorts, which you can use to keep AgenaTrader's stop / target logic.
If the Entry Escort has been suggested a trade in accordance with the Stop and Target Escort signals, then entries in this field cannot be changed.
Initial stop
The initial stop is calculated using the initial stop method.
The image below shows the initial stop based on an ATR (average true range) stop.
If the Hard Trail stop is responsible for the stop order in the running trade, AgenaTrader will simultaneously display the Hard Trail stop and the initial stop order (PivotSlow).
The calculated order size is based on:
- the initial stop
- the defined risk
Thus, the initial stop should be placed within close distance to the Hard Trail stop.
If you wish to change the initial stop calculations, please read more about this in the Risk and Money management section.
Hard Trail stop
Hard stops and Hard Trail stops are the stop methods that are applied to the stop orders.
Basically, a Hard Stop is intended to be used for catastrophic scenarios. The Soft Stop should retain the corresponding setup logic.
Hard Stop and Soft Stop are connected to each other by the following logic.
If the closing price has crossed a Soft Stop, then Hard Stop will react and move:
- below the low of the candle that caused the crossing of the Soft Stop (in a long position) or
- above the high of the candle that caused the crossing of the Soft Stop (in a short position).
If the crossing of the Soft Stop was faked, then the stop will not be triggered, but if the break is confirmed and the price move is sustainable, then the Hard stop will be triggered and the trade closed.
You can replace the Hard Trail Stop during the trade in one of these two ways:
- via the Order Escort
- by pressing the red "X" box within the chart trader bar, moving it and then confirming the new hard trail stop by left clicking on the checkmark symbol.
It is also possible to overrule the Hard Trail Stop for the current period. AT++ will continue to perform the calculations for the stop price level and set it at the end of the period.
Soft Trail
This is a stop that does not close a trade immediately after the stop is crossed by a closing price.
Once the Soft Stop is crossed by the closing price, the Hard Stop will be triggered and moved:
- below the low of the candle that caused the crossing of the Soft Stop (in a long position) or
- above the high of the candle that caused the crossing of the Soft Stop (in a short position).
You can replace the Soft Stop during the trade in one of these two ways:
- via the Order Escort
- by pressing the red "X" box within the chart trader bar, moving it and then confirming the new hard trail stop by left clicking on the checkmark symbol.
Furthermore, Soft Trail stops stops must be triggered faster than Hard Trail stops, therefore they cannot be placed at the same level.
Targets
You can select various target strategies within the Target field.
Freeze
If you check the Freeze checkbox, then suggested orders will no longer be placed on the chart when a signal occurs.
Initial risk (% field)
To access the initial risk account settings, select the Tools main menu followed by the Configuration Escort menu item. In this window, select the General and Account tabs.
The Risk/Trade option allows you to set the percentage of the account that you wish to risk during the trade.
The order size calculation is based on:
- the gap between the entry and stop order,
- the valuation of the instrument,
- the instrument/account currency pairs,
- and the buying power.
If you place an order with the deviating risk and money management settings in the Configuration Escort, it will be "overruled" (order size is set above the proposed level).
Halt
If you check the Halt checkbox, the Hard Trail stop / Soft Trail stop will no longer be triggered at the appropriate level.
This is also true for situations in which the Soft Trail stop is crossed by the closing price.
Important! If you activate checkbox halt for Hard Trail stop settings for BreakEvenAfterN... will be disabled. Please find additional information about BreakEvenAfterN... on page Setup Escort: Parameters tab