Trading Plan Template: Rules, Risk and Review

TRADING PLAN

Owner:
Plan version:
Effective date:
Next review date:

1. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE
Why do I trade?
What does a successful month mean in process terms?
What capital is allocated to trading?
What money is explicitly not available for trading?

2. MARKETS AND INSTRUMENTS
Markets allowed:
Specific instruments allowed:
Markets excluded:
Broker or execution venue:

3. TRADING SCHEDULE
Trading days:
Trading sessions:
Preparation start time:
Last permitted entry time:
Dates or events when I do not trade:

4. STRATEGIES ALLOWED
Strategy name:
Market condition required:
Setup definition:
Entry trigger:
Invalidation rule:
Exit rule:
Link to the complete strategy document:

5. RISK LIMITS
Maximum risk per trade:
Maximum total open risk:
Maximum daily loss:
Maximum weekly loss:
Maximum monthly drawdown:
Maximum correlated positions:
Action after the daily limit is reached:
Action after the weekly limit is reached:

6. POSITION SIZING
Position-sizing method:
Stop-loss method:
Costs included in calculations:
Minimum acceptable reward-to-risk:
When position size must be reduced:

7. ENTRY CHECKLIST
[ ] Market and instrument are allowed
[ ] Trading session is allowed
[ ] Required market condition is present
[ ] Setup matches written rules
[ ] Entry trigger has occurred
[ ] Invalidation level is defined
[ ] Position size respects the risk limit
[ ] Total open and correlated risk remain acceptable
[ ] Scheduled event restrictions have been checked

8. TRADE MANAGEMENT
Stop movement rule:
Break-even rule:
Partial-exit rule:
Trailing-stop rule:
Manual-exit rule:
What may never be changed after entry?

9. NO-TRADE RULES
Do not trade when:
Do not trade after:
Do not trade during:
Do not trade if platform or data quality is impaired:

10. BEHAVIORAL CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Action after two consecutive losses:
Action after an unusually large win:
Signs that require a break:
Minimum break duration:
Who or what verifies that trading may resume?

11. PRE-MARKET ROUTINE
[ ] Check platform, connection, and data
[ ] Review scheduled events
[ ] Mark relevant levels and market condition
[ ] Calculate available risk
[ ] Read the no-trade rules

12. POST-TRADE JOURNAL
Strategy and setup:
Entry, stop, target, and position size:
Planned risk and result in R:
Screenshot before and after:
Rules followed:
Rules broken:
What should be repeated or corrected?

13. REVIEW SCHEDULE
Daily review:
Weekly review:
Monthly review:
Metrics reviewed:
Minimum sample before a strategy rule may change:
How changes are versioned:

14. EMERGENCY PROCEDURE
Platform failure:
Data-feed failure:
Unexpected volatility:
Broker or exchange problem:
Personal emergency:

SIGN-OFF
I will judge execution quality separately from profit or loss. I will not
increase risk, add a new market, or change a strategy rule without recording
the change and defining when it becomes effective.

Signed:
Date: