Indicator Signal Strategy Builder

Indicator Signal Strategy Builder lets you build a trading rule from up to three indicator conditions and runs it with a complete exit manager and a lot computed from the risk you choose. Signals are read on closed bars only, so the robot acts the same way in the Strategy Tester and on a live chart.

Why the exit and the size come first
In our own research, changing the exit (a trailing stop instead of a fixed target) and the position size changed the results more than changing the entry rule. Classic indicator entries with a fixed target were not profitable after costs in our tests. This product does not promise a profitable rule. It gives you a clean way to build and test one, with the exit and the risk handled properly from the start.

How a rule is built

• Up to 3 conditions. Each one has its own type, timeframe, periods, MA method, applied price and level, and can be reversed (buy and sell swapped).
• All active conditions must agree (logical AND). The ADX condition is a filter: it allows both directions while ADX is above the level.
• Crosses and breakouts are events: valid on the closed bar where they happen (or for N bars, an input) and used for one entry at most. An event on a higher timeframe stays valid until that higher bar is replaced.
• Optional: the first entry after attaching may follow the current state of an MA or MACD cross (for example fast MA above slow MA) instead of waiting for a fresh cross. On by default; after the first entry only fresh crosses count.
• The combined signal can be inverted, and entries can be limited to buys only or sells only.

Condition types

• MA cross: fast MA crosses slow MA.
• MA trend: fast MA above (buy) or below (sell) slow MA.
• Price vs MA: close above (buy) or below (sell) an MA.
• RSI level: RSI above Level (buy), below 100 - Level (sell).
• RSI cross: RSI crosses up Level (buy), crosses down 100 - Level (sell).
• MACD signal: main line crosses its signal line. MACD zero: main line crosses zero.
• Bollinger touch (bar touches the lower or upper band), Bollinger breakout (close outside a band), Bollinger re-entry (close back inside a band).
• Stochastic cross: %K crosses %D coming from the zone below Level (buy) or above 100 - Level (sell).
• ADX filter: ADX above Level, no direction.
• Donchian breakout: close above the highest high (buy) or below the lowest low (sell) of the previous N bars.

Entry filters

• Trading hours (server time, overnight windows allowed) and week days.
• Maximum spread in points.
• Maximum positions on the symbol (hedging accounts), buy only or sell only.
• No new entry in the bar where a stop or target was hit.

Exit manager

• Initial stop in ATR or points (required, the lot is sized on it). Optional target in ATR or points (off by default).
• Break-even and ATR trailing stop: once the profit reaches a chosen number of ATRs, the stop moves to the entry (plus the spread) and then trails the price at a chosen ATR distance. It never moves backwards.
• Peak lock: keeps a chosen share of the best profit reached (off by default).
• Time exit after N hours, Friday close at a chosen hour.
• Stops are evaluated once per closed bar of the exit timeframe (default) or on every tick.

Position size and risk

• Lot from the risk: equity x risk % divided by the money lost per lot at the stop, rounded down. A wider stop gives a smaller lot.
• Or a fixed lot. Optional maximum lot.
• When the risk lot is below the broker's minimum lot, the minimum lot is used only if it risks at most a chosen share of equity (default 10%); otherwise the signal is skipped. The panel shows the real risk of the next lot.
• The lot is reduced to fit the free margin and the symbol volume limit.
• Daily loss pause: no new entries for the rest of the day once this robot's closed plus floating result reaches a chosen loss (default 3%). Open positions keep their stops.

Opposite signal, hedging and netting

• Opposite signal with a position open: close and open the other side (default), close only, or ignore.
• The robot never holds a buy and a sell at the same time.
• Netting accounts: one position per symbol (maximum positions is always 1). A reversal is sent as a close followed by a new order. If another robot or a manual trade already has a position on the symbol, this robot does not open, because the positions would be merged.

Panel

• Every condition with its indicator value and state: green BUY or PASS, red SELL, grey when it does not agree.
• The combined signal, time to the next bar close, and whether new entries are allowed (or why not).
• Positions in a table: side, lot, entry, current stop and the result in R (multiples of the initial risk).
• Result of the day and total of this robot on the symbol, next lot and its real risk, daily loss pause bar, exit rules in use.
• Buttons: Pause entries / Resume, Close all (needs a second click to confirm). The panel collapses with a click on its header.

Default settings
EMA 20 crosses EMA 50 on the chart timeframe, filtered by ADX(14) above 20. Stop 1.5 ATR(14); break-even and a 2 ATR trailing stop from +1 ATR of profit; no target; opposite signal reverses; 1% risk per trade; daily pause at -3%.
These defaults are a starting point so the robot trades out of the box. They are not optimized and they are not a recommendation: in our own checks on recent H1 data they lost money after costs. Build and test your own rule in the Strategy Tester before using it on a live account.

Limitations and risks

• Past results, in a backtest or live, do not guarantee future results.
• Every indicator rule has losing streaks. Trend rules lose in ranging markets; reversal rules lose in strong trends. A rule that looks good on one symbol and period often fails on another.
• Stops can be filled worse than their level in gaps and fast markets, so a loss can be larger than the chosen risk.
• On small accounts the minimum lot can risk more than the chosen percentage (see the minimum lot cap).
• One chart trades one symbol. Use a different magic number on each chart.
• The terminal must stay running with Algo Trading enabled.

Inputs

• Conditions 1 to 3: type, timeframe, Period 1 / 2 / 3, MA method, applied price, Level (or Bollinger deviation), reverse.
• Signal: event window in bars, first entry on the current state, invert, allowed entries, opposite signal action.
• Entry filters: hours, week days, maximum spread, maximum positions, no entry in the bar of a stop.
• Stop and target: types and values, ATR timeframe and period.
• Exit manager: break-even start, trailing distance, peak lock share and start, time exit, evaluation per bar or tick, Friday close and hour.
• Risk: lot mode, risk %, fixed lot, maximum lot, minimum lot risk cap, daily loss pause.
• General and display: magic number, slippage, order comment, panel corner and offsets.