davymailu
01 Nov 2017, 18:05

RE:

Panagiotis Charalampous said:

Hi davymailu,

Apologies if my explanation was misunderstood but I am aware how it works and it is working exactly as describe it. What I was trying to explain was what would happened if the SL was "set" within the spread. The reason we do not allow SL to be set within the spread is that this would cause immediate closing of the position resulting to an immediate loss. 

My question is how would you expect it to work in this case? We would appreciate your feedback so that we can discuss it internally and improve the way it works. For example, would you like the position to be closed immediately despite the loss? Would you accept a higher SL automatically adjusted outside the spread? Give us any options that could satisfy your needs so that we can discuss it with the product team.

Best Regards,

Panagiotis

Dear Mr. Charalampous,

I now understand what you meant. Frankly, both options you have mentioned offer a better alternative to the current stop loss execution framework, with the best option being the scenario where the stop loss is automatically adjusted outside the spread. Yes, this would be a very good solution since it can just be taken as slippage, which is expected anyway. It is much better than a position going into a loss after cancellation of the stop loss. Closing the position immediately would be a second choice, but that's just me. There was another thread where this was being discussed, back in 2013 and I think it's high time that the stop loss execution setup is reviewed. Here's the link of the discussion /forum/calgo-support/1239?page=3 

Regards!

davymailu
01 Nov 2017, 17:33

RE: Stop Loss inside the Spread

Panagiotis Charalampous said:

Hi davymailu,

Thanks for raising this topic. The logic of the implementation is that if the SL is within the spread, then your position should be closed immediately after opening, resulting into a definite loss. Therefore it is rejected. What would be the expected logic from your side in these cases? Maybe our server team can consider changing the logic based on your suggestion.

Best Regards,

Panagiotis

 

Hallo Mr. Charalampous,

Thank you for your response.

What I encountered was very different from your explanation. The position continued into a loss until I realized what was happening. Luckily, I was right there and closed it out very fast since one can clearly see -79 pips on the platform! Had it been how you explained it (the position closing immediately after the stop loss is within the spread, then that would be great. That loss would be acceptable. Unfortunately, it isn't the case. I'm really hoping you do not think that positions close once the stop loss is inside the spread in your system, they don't. Only the stop loss is cancelled and the trader is left wondering what happened. Kindly correct this, it's just terrible the way it is. On the flip side, the execution of orders is fine, I'll give you that. 

Kind regards!

davymailu
29 Oct 2017, 16:58

I'm also having issues with cTrader, specifically cAlgo since it's the algorithmic trading platform. I believe we have the same broker, but my issue is with the stop loss cancellation. It's more likely that your stop loss was also inside the spread, as in my case. Smart stop out should have worked either way. I don't think Spotware is taking such issues seriously. Sometimes some important things do not work and they have very flimsy explanations for them. It's like they're testing their platform with our money. In contrast, stop losses work very well in MT4, but the order execution is mediocre at best. Seems we have to give up some aspects of trading to get exactly what's important to us. I'd recommend setting wide stop losses. I'm talking 13+ pips since my order was also with USD/CAD (the recent Int. Rate Decison) and the spread was around 8-11 pips. My stop was at 7 pips and it got cancelled as the counter move occured. Luckily I knew it was 0.1 lots since I suspected they would increase the rate. Also, check out our broker's spreads during the weekends, they're very high and that's what they might look like during new time. 

davymailu
29 Oct 2017, 16:40

I requested the limit for "abnormal spreads" from my broker, if at all there is something like that. I am yet to see if they have any limit. From what I've seen before, spreads could go crazy since they come straight from their liquidity providers (only for true ECN platforms). It could be that there is no existing limit. It all depends on the liquidity available at certain moments. However, to get an idea as to how wide they could get try to see your broker's spreads during the weekends. Note that these might still be lower than those during news time sometimes. For example the USD/CAD spread right now is 6.7 pips for FXPro cTrader while during news time it could be anywhere between 8-15 pips, without counting the commission. It's really shocking since I thought ECN platforms would have lower spreads due to the commissions. If you are a newbie I'd recommend trying out MT4 first for news trading, even though the execution might be slower and the slippage might be great. At least you'll be safe from the fake stop losses that cTrader has to offer.