Trailing Stops & Risk Management for Automated Trading

Automation is only as good as its risk controls. TradeBridge lets you size positions sensibly and protect open trades automatically — straight from your alert message or your account's risk profile.

Position sizing: fixed lot vs % risk

Use VOLUME= for a fixed lot, or RISK= to size from your stop distance and account balance so every trade risks the same proportion of capital:

SELL,XAUUSD,RISK=1,SL=120,KEY=TB-XXXX   # risk 1% with a 120-pip stop

Percentage-risk sizing keeps your exposure consistent as your balance grows or draws down — usually the better default for systematic trading.

Trailing stops: TRAIL and TRAILSTART

A trailing stop follows price in your favour, locking in gains while leaving room to run. Add two parameters:

TRAIL= — the trailing distance in pips.
TRAILSTART= — how many pips in profit before trailing activates.

BUY,EURUSD,VOLUME=0.50,SL=40,TRAIL=20,TRAILSTART=30,KEY=TB-XXXX

Here the trade starts with a 40-pip stop; once it's 30 pips in profit, a 20-pip trailing stop takes over. Trailing is managed on the server and the EA, so it keeps working between signals.

Account-level guard rails

Beyond the alert, each account can use a risk profile with hard limits that apply even if an alert omits them: max lot, max open trades, a daily-loss cap and a drawdown limit. These act as a safety net against runaway strategies or fat-finger alerts.

Risk warning: trading leveraged instruments carries a high risk of loss. Trailing stops reduce — but don't eliminate — risk; gaps and slippage can still cause losses beyond your stop. Never trade with money you can't afford to lose.

Put it together

Start with %-risk sizing, attach a sensible SL, add a trailing stop for trend trades, and set account guard rails. Then test it with the Alert Builder before letting it run live.

Build your first alert