Trading Decision Flowchart

The trading decision flowchart employed by ATM handles most trading strategies. More complex strategies can generally also be handled by creating multiple trading systems in ATM with similar entry and/or exit Rules. Some strategies just can't be done though, such as gridding.

If you are unsure as to if your system can be handled by ATM, just ask the question in the forums. If you have to give us private information for us to answer this question, contact us directly.

The flowchart has been simplified. In each trading system you are actually given multiple ways to specify if:

• an order should be placed
• a trade should be opened at market
• the stop loss should be moved
• the take profit should be moved; or
• the trade should be exited at market

Sometimes having so many options results in conflicts, such as your trading system wanting to move the stop loss to 2 different prices, as well as also wanting to Exit At Market at the same time. The flowchart shows clearly how such situations will be handled.

The flowchart is run through separately for both the Long and Short settings.  Unless your account allows hedging, you need to ensure by yourself that your trading system will never be in both a Long trade and a Short trade in the same account at the same time.

N.b. The definition of "Limit Order" varies from broker to broker. See here for our definition.

From the flowchart, you can see that ATM will only have one order or one trade open at a particular point in time. If a long trade is already open, ATM looks to manage that trade rather than opening a new order. And if it's an order that's open, ATM will modify or cancel it as necessary, rather than opening multiple orders at the same time.

However, long and short are separate things. So ATM may look to open a short order even if a long trade is already open, and vice versa.