What is a trailing stop?

A trailing stop is an automated mechanism to have the Stop Loss (SL) trail behind the current price of an order by a set number of points. This is one of the best tools for risk management.

It is often used when an order’s price is volatile or when active monitoring of the order is not possible since it can automatically close an order.

Note: This is currently only available on MT4 and MT5 desktop terminals. Trailing stops are not available on mobile trading terminals. It is only possible on desktop-based trading terminals.
Setting up and managing a trailing stop
To activate a trailing stop, the order needs to be profitable by a set number of points. Only after this condition is met will this feature be available.

How to set up a trailing stop:
1. On the MT5 platform, right-click on the open order in the Trade tab.
2. Select Trailing Stop.
3. Select the number of points you would like to have the SL trail your price.
4. You may choose from the options or click Custom to enter your preferred value.

How to manage a trailing stop:
•To modify:
1. Right-click on the open order in the Trade tab.
2. Select Trailing Stop.
3. Select the number of points you would like to change from the given options.
4. You can also select Custom to set up your preferred value.

•To remove:
1. Right-click on the open order in the Trade tab.
2. Select Trailing Stop.
3. Select None.

Note: If you select Delete All, it will delete all the trailing stops set in all the open and pending orders.

Information regarding trailing stop

- The trailing stop cannot be set to less than the stop level.
- The minimum trailing stop amount that can be set will depend on the stop level pips for each particular instrument, as shown in contract specifications.
- A trailing stop can never be set at less than 15 points in MT4 due to limitations on the trading terminal.
- Only one trailing stop can be set for each position. Trailing stops can be set for pending orders too - if you have already set up a pending order, you can add a trailing stop to it.
- The trailing stop will start working only after the order has started moving in a profitable direction by the exact number of points the trailing stop is set at.
- Each time a trailing stop modifies the SL, it will be recorded in the journal tab.
- A trailing stop can be set up irrespective of whether, or not an SL was set initially.
- Once the trading terminal is closed or your device is shut down, the trailing stop will stop working. To avoid this, you can use our VPS.

Example of a trailing stop
A trader opens a Buy order and sets their Take Profit (TP) and Stop Loss (SL) 10 points below the current price.

Their order then makes a profit, but the trader needs to move away from the trading terminal for a while. The worst-case scenario is that the price starts falling before it hits the TP level and closes at the set SL level.

The trader then uses a trailing stop to make sure the order closes while it is still profitable. This means the SL always remains 10 points behind the current price, instead of staying in its original position.