No.11: Breakeven-ATR-Market combined stop loss trailing
Description
You can find an example for the Expert Advisor Builder on this page. If you need to familiarize yourself with the MetaTrader strategy tester and the Expert Advisor Builder, please begin with the Getting Started article.
This example demonstrates the process of initiating long orders based on signals from a MACD oscillator. Signals are only generated when the slope of the MACD signal and MACD main lines is positive. Only one trade can be open at any given time, meaning some signals are intentionally ignored. For illustrative purposes, all trades are initiated without a take profit value.
As in examples 9 and 10, the initial stop loss is determined by the average true range value at the time of trade opening. The stop loss is set to breakeven as soon as the price changes favorably. After further positive changes, the average true range trailing methods become active. As the profit increases, the trailing method switches to a very aggressive market trailing method. This example employs a robust trailing system comprising three independent trailing methods. Depending on the profit value, the trailing becomes increasingly aggressive and the stop loss moves closer to the current price.
Please note that this is not a plug-and-play trading strategy. A trading strategy needs suitable adjustments, fine-tuning to the timeframe and symbol, and thorough backward and forward testing. Therefore, providing fully working trading strategies as read-to-use examples is impossible. However, this example could serve as a foundation for your trading strategy.
Reset of inputs
Locate the Expert Advisor Builder application in the dropdown menu of the strategy tester settings under FEA Trading\MT4\Expert Advisor Builder 2.0 if you're using a MetaTrader 4 instance or FEA Trading\MT5\Expert Advisor Builder 2.0 if you're using a MetaTrader 5 instance. You can replicate the entire example in minutes by following the steps outlined in this article. To begin, kindly reset the strategy tester input as indicated.
The default input parameters of the Expert Advisor Builder are designed to be highly functional. This implies that only some parameters must be adjusted when creating a new strategy. As a result, even with minimal reconfiguration, the output strategy can be significantly different.
Inputs configuration
Most examples can be executed in any timeframe and on any symbol. However, please set EURUSD as the symbol to be tested, M15 as the timeframe, select Open prices only (MT4) or 1 minute OHLC (MT5) as the model, and the previous four weeks as the test period. Finally, enable the visual testing mode.
Refer to the table below to set up the input parameters for the Expert Advisor Builder.
| Input variable within MetaTrader (Identifier in SET file) | Example value | User manual chapters |
|---|---|---|
| > (OUF) Idea output description (max 63 characters) (IN_strOufIdeaOutputDescription) | No.11: Breakeven-ATR-Market combined stop loss trailing | Output Folder |
| > (ISL) ATRS factor (IN_dIslAtrsFactor) | 3.75 | Initial Stop Loss |
| > (SLT) A Type (IN_enmSltAType) | BREAKEVEN | Stop Loss Trailing |
| > (SLT) B Type (IN_enmSltBType) | ATRS | |
| > (SLT) C Type (IN_enmSltCType) | MARKET | |
| > (SLT) AB change position (-1 -> OFF) (IN_nSltABChangePosition) | 180 | |
| > (SLT) BC change position (-1 -> OFF) (IN_nSltBCChangePosition) | 250 | |
| > (ITP) Selection (IN_enmItpSelection) | OFF | Initial Take Profit |
| > (OSA) CONF, Signal in use (IN_enmOsaSignalInUse) | ON | Configuration Available Oscillators and Default Values Example |
| > (OSA) COND, Relation 1 OSA1 to OSA2 (IN_enmOsaRelation1) | VALUE X CROSS VALUE X | |
| > (OSA1) CONF, Signal in use (IN_enmOsa1SignalInUse) | ON | |
| > (OSA1) COND, Angle limit condition (IN_enmOsa1AngleCondition) | GREATER LIMIT 1 | |
| > (OSA2) CONF, Signal in use (IN_enmOsa2SignalInUse) | ON | |
| > (OSA2) COND, Angle limit condition (IN_enmOsa2AngleCondition) | GREATER LIMIT 1 |
Confirm the inputs by pressing OK, and finally, start the test run with Start.
Chart example and SET file download
The underlying algorithm is highly optimized for execution speed. Generally, it only takes a few minutes until the entire test period is simulated. At the end, you will see a chart similar to the following.
To reproduce the chart from this example, you can download and use the SET file package eab_example_11_v_2_0.set.