Master forex trading exit strategies with FOREX.com as your online forex broker.
Forex trading not only requires you to find the best entry points, but you also need to figure out when to exit the market. A good forex exit strategy can mean the difference between a lucrative trade and a losing one. But how do you know when to close your position and take profits or cut your losses? This article provides some of the best forex trading exit strategies that traders can use to optimize exits and improve their trading performance.
What Are Trading Exit Strategies?
Trading exit strategies are the rules and methods you follow to close your trades at the right time and price. These strategies help protect your capital, lock in your profits and reduce risk. You can base your exit strategies on technical indicators, price action, volatility, time or personal preferences.
Depending on your trading goals and style, you can use varied exit strategies for different situations. For instance, if you're a scalper, you may want to exit quickly after a slight price movement in your favor. If your strategy is swing trading, you may want to hold your position longer and wait for a major trend reversal.
8 Best Forex Trading Exit Strategies
No single perfect exit strategy fits every forex trading situation. You need to experiment and find what works for you. Here are eight effective strategies that many traders swear by.
Stop Losses
Stop losses are orders that automatically close your position when the market price reaches a certain specified level. This basic strategy limits losses, manages emotions and helps you stick to a trading plan. For best results, set the stop loss before entering a trade based on risk tolerance, using a percentage of your account balance to determine where to place it. Another way is to use technical analysis and place your stop loss below or above a support or resistance level, a moving average or a trend line.
Trailing Stops
A trailing stop is a risk management tool that adjusts as the market moves in your favor. It's best used during a strong trend to capture maximum gains while minimizing losses. You can set it as a fixed distance or percentage of the current price. Try to set the level according to your risk management requirements. If you add the trailing stop too close to current market levels, regular price fluctuations may trigger it quickly. If you set the level too far away, you may lose too much if the trade does not perform. A trailing stop can help you stay in a trade until the trend reverses or slows significantly.
Scaling Exit Strategies
Scaling exit strategies involves closing positions in parts to secure profits early while leaving room for more gains. This is ideal when you have multiple profit targets or are uncertain about the strength and duration of price movements. Scaling exit strategies can help you gradually reduce risk exposure and increase the reward-to-risk ratio. However, be aware of the trade-off between frequency and size of profits, as scaling out too soon or too often may make you miss out on bigger profits later, while scaling out too late or too rarely may cause you to lose some gains if the price reverses.
Moving Average Trailing Stops
Moving average trailing stops are a variation of trailing stops that use moving averages instead of fixed distances or percentages to adjust the stop-loss level. They align your exit strategy with the trend and avoid getting stopped out by minor retracements. Moving average trailing stops are an excellent tool for traders who want to follow the trend as long as possible. You can customize the strategy to your trading style and timeframe using different moving average types and lengths. A 10-period exponential moving average (EMA) may be the best option for short-term traders. A 50-period simple moving average (SMA) may work better for long-term traders.
Volatility-Based Approach Using Average True Range (ATR)
Average true range (ATR) is an indicator that gauges market volatility by measuring the average range of price movement over a specific period. ATR can serve as an exit strategy by adjusting your stop-loss and profit target levels based on changing market conditions. A higher ATR signals higher volatility and broader price swings, while a lower ATR means lower volatility and narrower price swings. The best time to use ATR as an exit strategy is when you want to adapt your exit strategy to the market's volatility. You can use a multiple of ATR to set your stop-loss and profit target levels. This method creates a dynamic exit strategy that reflects the current market conditions.
Price Action
Price action is a method of analyzing price movements on a chart without relying on indicators or tools. It involves identifying patterns, trends, support and resistance levels, candlestick formations and other signals that indicate market behavior and sentiment. Using price action as an exit strategy, you can rely on the purest form of market data to make trading decisions. This strategy is effective when you want a simple exit plan that does not depend on external factors. You can use price action to identify potential exit points based on reversal signals, breakouts, pullbacks or other clues suggesting a change in market direction or momentum.
Profit Target
A profit target is a predetermined price level you aim to reach with your trade based on your expected return and risk tolerance. It helps you avoid the pitfalls of greed and overtrading by providing a clear exit point. Consider using technical analysis, Fibonacci retracements, pivot points or round numbers to set a profit target. The key is to clearly understand how much you want to make and how much risk you're willing to take. By setting a profit target, you can stay focused on your trading plan and increase your chances of success.
Limit Orders
Limit orders allow buying or selling at a specific price or better, unlike market orders that execute at current market prices. They are helpful for entry and exit strategies. With limit orders, you can enter the market at desired price levels and close positions at desired profit levels. Using them as exit strategies secures ideal entry and exit points without constant market monitoring. Limit orders ensure precise trade execution at the specified price or better, avoiding slippage caused by high volatility, low liquidity or delays in order execution.
Testing and Fine-Tuning Your Exit Strategies
Before implementing an exit strategy in live trading, it is crucial to test and fine-tune it. This approach helps you to evaluate its performance, identify strengths and weaknesses and optimize parameters. Backtesting and forward testing are the two main ways to test and fine-tune exit strategies.
Backtesting involves applying your strategy to historical data to simulate its performance over time and under different market conditions. This method helps you to measure profitability, consistency, drawdowns and other metrics. However, backtesting has limitations such as data quality issues, curve-fitting risks and survivorship bias.
Forward testing requires applying your strategy to live or demo data and observing its performance in real time. This way, you can validate your strategy in the current market environment and adjust it to changes or challenges. However, forward testing can be time-consuming and involve emotional involvement and execution errors.
You can use various online or offline tools and resources to effectively test and fine-tune your exit strategies. These include trading platforms, software or websites that offer backtesting and forward-testing features, as well as journals, spreadsheets or apps that help you to record and analyze your trading results.
Supercharge Your Trades with Exit Strategies
Trade exits are one of the most important aspects of forex trading. The forex trading exit strategies discussed here can help protect your capital, lock in your profits and reduce risk. However, you must test and fine-tune your exit strategies for optimal results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do trading strategies work?
Trading strategies can work if they are well-designed, tested and executed, but they are not guaranteed to produce consistent profits.
What is a good exit strategy for stocks?
A good exit strategy for stocks depends on your investment goals, time horizon, risk tolerance and market conditions. A good exit strategy should be based on the investor’s objectives, risk tolerance and market conditions.
Why do you need an exit strategy?
An exit strategy can help investors avoid emotional decisions, lock in profits, cut losses and preserve capital. It can also help investors adapt to changing market situations and exploit new opportunities.
Get a Forex Pro on Your Side
FOREX.com, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), lets you trade a wide range of forex markets with low pricing and fast, quality execution on every trade.
You can also tap into:
- EUR/USD as low as 0.2 with fixed $5 commissions per 100,000
- Powerful, purpose-built currency trading platforms
- Monthly cash rebates of up to $9 per million dollars traded with FOREX.com’s Active Trader Program
Learn more about FOREX.com’s low pricing and how you can get started trading with FOREX.com.
About Anna Yen
Anna Yen, CFA is an investment writer with over two decades of professional finance and writing experience in roles within JPMorgan and UBS derivatives, asset management, crypto, and Family Money Map. She specializes in writing about investment topics ranging from traditional asset classes and derivatives to alternatives like cryptocurrency and real estate. Her work has been published on sites like Quicken and the crypto exchange Bybit.