What is Trade Runner?

In very simplest terms, Trade Runner is a highly customizeable auto-trading study that uses the concept of a grid to design and execute trades.

It includes functions for:

1. Entering trades (both automated and manual)
2. Defining trade management profiles (trade management templates for scalping, trend following, etc)
3. Dynamic position sizing
4. Distributing quantities between targets
5. Managing the trade by moving stops and targets

Trade Runner is an advanced tool and is extremely customizable. It's designed to allow users flexibility in defining their own trading system for testing and live trading. A very wide range of trading systems can be implemented with little to no programming. 

How do I work with it?

The basic workflow with Trade Runner includes the following steps:

1. Start with an idea for a trading strategy
2. Define trade management profile/s for your strategy - these profiles are configured in text files that come with Trade Runner
3. Define your entry - 
   1. For automated entries, use a spreadsheet to program a signal, an ACSIL study or one of the alert studies that come built in with Sierra Chart
   2. Trade Runner also supports manual entry for discretionary entries (more on this below)

Once the above is complete, use Trade Runner to test in replay/backtest or trade live in sim/paper or live accounts

Automated vs. Manual

Trade Runner comes in two editions:

1. Trade Runner QE - supports manual entry and comes with a graphical interface ATG Quick Entry
2. Trade Runner AE - supports automated entry

Both these editions are exactly the same in terms of Trade Runner features. The descriptions below are consistent and shared the same by both editions

Trade Runner Conceptual Overview (~2.5 minutes, from March 2020 training) 

Overview of the Grid

Trade Runner uses the concept of a grid to define and manage a trade setup. The grid is central to Trade Runner's main functions when entering a trade.

Trade Runner uses the grid in order to calculate initial stop placement and initial target levels. Using trade profiles, uses can configure trade management based on grid levels (this will make more sense as you read on).

What is a grid?

In simplest terms, think of a grid as a retracement that has 0%/100% and several other levels that are defined. Another way to think of this is that a grid defines a range together with retracement levels from that range.

Examples of grids might be:

• Top and bottom of a Donchian Channel
• Last price of a bar and some ATR mutliplier
• Bollinger band top and bottom
• Double top - using the top of the pattern and the bottom of the pattern as the grid size

Often, the 100% level is also the entry point for the trade but that is not mandatory. In the example below, entry to the trade might be between the two magenta lines while the trade setup in terms of stop and target calculations is based on the pattern size. This is really dependent on the design of the trade itself. Point here is just to note that the entry and the grid levels are not necessarily dependent on each other.

How is the grid used in Trade Runner

The grid is primarily used for 2 things in Trade Runner

Initial stop placement - users define stop placement as retracement levels on the grid. In the example above, the stop is placed at -38% of the grid. The -38% is just an example and is a configuration that users can change (more on this later)

Initial target placement - similar to the stop, users define targets as rectrarcement levels on the grid. In the example above, the user has defined 2 targets: 162% and %200. Again, these are just example values and are customizable (more on this later)

Overview of Trade Management Profiles

Trade setup - 

Trade types

Features

Position sizing

Targets

Initial stop

Trailing stop using super trend

Trailing stop using 

Chase

Target movement after X bars

Trade types

Trade Runner Input Settings

Enabled on Start

Config File

ATG Quick Entry Reference

Position Sizing Method

Position Sizing Value

Round Trip Commission Per Contract

Time In Force

Max Position Size

Text Size

ST ATR Multiplier

ST ATR Period

ST Median Period

Target Order

Draw Grid on Trade Entry

Scale Out

Status Text Location

Chase Enabled

Chase Line Color

Chase Line Style

Chase Line Width

Chase Trigger T1 %, T2%, T3%

Trade Window Start, Trade Window End

Flatten and Cancel at End

Distributing Contracts to Targets 

Say that the total entry quantity for a trade is 7 and you have 3 targets defined for your trade type.

How will the 7 contracts be distributed?

ATG supports two options for that:

1. Even distribution
2. % distribution

Even Distribution

In this distribution, ATG will spread the contracts across the targets evenly (disregarding any % settings).

Taking the example of 7, the contracts would be distributed like this:

2 would allocated to each target for a total of 6. We then have a remainder of 1. The remainder is allocated starting from Target1 working our way up.

Another example is 8. Again, 2 would be allocated to each target for a total of 6 and remainder of 2. The remainder would be allocated to targets 1 and 2 giving a final distribution of 3,3,2

% Distribution

In % distribution, each target has a % of the allocation defined.The % is used to allocate quantities to each target.

For example, lets take the following allocation

Taking the example of 7 again, we start with T1. 30% of 7 is 2.1, rounded up gives us 3. We are left with 4 more. Again, 30% of 7 rounded up give 3 so 3 would be allocated to T2. The rest goes to T3 for a final allocation of 3,3,1

Lets take another example using 4. 30% of 4 is 1.2, rounded up is 2, so 2 would allocated for T1. The same would be allocated to T2. At this point we have allocated all 4 contracts so nothing is allocated to T3 and it is not used.

Setting the Contract Distribution Method

The contract distribution method is set within ATG config using the setting "TargetQuantityDistribution". This field supports 1 or 2

1 - even distribution

2 - % distribution