Thanks!

Hi jcl. Evidently FXCM person A didn't know what they were talking about. I've just received notification from FXCM person B that the accounts have been changed to 1:400 and that appears to be borne out in TS.

That should end this thread. Further issues will go into the other Margin thread.

Thanks.

Hi jcl. One more issue related to transitioning between accounts, using example numbers:

Existing account A was started with $2000 CR using Margin 50 that Tested to that CR. Account A now has $3000 balance and the open trades have Risks totaling $2500.

For whatever reason, want to transfer to new account B.

Per above, $2500 needs to stay in account A while the open trades are run to completion with Margin 0 to prevent opening new trades.

$500 ($3000 balance - $2500 Risks; Equity's irrelevant to this, right?) can be moved to the new account B.

The question is what value should be used for Margin on account B? It shouldn't be 50, should it? (Since so little $$$'s been moved to account B...)

Should it be whatever Tests to $500 CR? And then as trades close in account A, the appropriate additional funds can be moved from A to B, and B's Margin setting increased?

Thanks.

Hi jcl. Related to the Margin setting for new account B question above...

Z3 yesterday closed all trades for losses. Today it opened a single trade with a Risk value greater than the account's balance. Is that correct?

If so, and the printed value is an overestimate of actual risk, how would I determine what the actual amount at risk is so I can subtract and get the amount eligible to move to the new account B?

Thanks.

The maximum risk is printed for any opened trade. As long as RISKLIMIT is not set, the balance does not matter for the risk. The capital does not matter either, as it is calculated from the drawdown, not from the trade risk.

Thanks jcl. I believe I understand what you're saying - however, I'm still confused. This is Z3, so RISKLIMIT is whatever it sets. I understand that the maximum risk printed is based on the Margin & Risk slider settings, not the account's balance. Where I'm lost is in the "close the loop", "total consistency" aspect. The Margin & Risk settings were determined via Testing to the Capital available to invest - the initial balance. This CR reflects the maximum drawdown, which by definition can't exceed that CR = initial balance. Therefore, if all is consistent, how can the printed risk for 1 trade exceed the account's balance?

Separately, I'd appreciate your comment re. the Margin setting to use when transitioning between accounts & before the old trades are closed on the old account, as in the example above.

Thanks!

The Z systems do not use RISKLIMIT or supervise your account in any way. You must do that yourself. When the risk is higher than the account balance, you can reduce the margin, or add more money - all this is up to you. It's not done automatically by the trading software.

For moving a system to another account, I'd leave enough money in the old account so that the risks of all still open trades are covered.

Thanks jcl.

Re. moving a system to another account: Please re-read the example above. The question was not about how much money to leave in the old account. The question was what Margin setting to use on the new account when only part of the balance has been transferred.

Re. risk per trade: I'm very well aware of the need to monitor - I've already had to add funds twice to (narrowly, barely) avoid margin call on Z5. My question is about stepping back and looking at the "big picture" interrelationships of the various factors/parameters and how they all "hang together" consistently. If I've Tested to determine the CR for a given Margin/Risk setting, and funded the account with that CR balance, how then does Z3 open a trade with risk exceeding the CR/balance? That seems inconsistent to me, and makes me suspect the veracity of Test results.

Thanks.

I would reduce the margin in the new account by the same percentage as the capital was reduced. When the trades in the old account are closed and the rest capital is transferred, the margin can be increased to the previous value.

Why should Z3 not open a trade dependent on your balance? Z3 does not even know your balance. The balance also has nothing to do with test results or required capital. The required capital is based on statistical risk, not on the stop distances of single trades.

http://manual.zorro-trader.com/performance.htm

Thanks jcl.

Re. new account: That makes sense and is easier than Testing.

Re. risk: What's confusing me is perhaps encapsulated in your 3rd sentence. The balance is actually directly related to Test results and CR - in fact it's exactly equal to the Tested CR. That's why I don't understand how the printed risk of this single trade can exceed the balance = Tested CR. Take "balance" out of this and just focus on CR. There seems to me to be a disconnect between the statistical simulation and its results vs. what Zorro then does trading using those Tested settings. How can the Tested CR be considered the "safe" or "worst case" value to trade the system if a single trade's risk is sufficient to not only hit but exceed margin call?

Thanks.