Where you set it
Sizing is set per channel: Channels → Settings tab → Auto-trade panel → Position Sizing. Each change saves immediately (you see "Risk settings saved"). The panel has a Position Sizing Method, a value for that method, and Min Lots and Max Lots.
The Risk per Trade field under Settings → Trading and under Trading Hub → Risk Settings (the same setting, shown in both places) does not size signal trades. Only the channel's Risk per trade (%) under Channels → Settings → Auto-trade → Position Sizing does. A lot size or risk percentage written inside a signal is not used either. Copy Multiplier and Reverse Copy under Settings → Trading do not change the size or direction of trades on accounts you connect under Trading Accounts either.
The formula (Risk-Based)
risk amount = account balance x risk per trade (%) ticks to stop = |current price - stop loss| / tick size risk per lot = ticks to stop x tick value lot size = risk amount / risk per lot
PipSync uses your account balance, as last synced from the broker — not equity. "Current price" is the market price when the order is placed (ask for a BUY, bid for a SELL), not the entry written in the signal. PipSync reads tick size, tick value and contract size for the instrument from your own account where your platform provides it, and otherwise from PipSync's shared MT5 service.
The result is then adjusted in this order:
- Multiplied by the Ratio of that account link (Per-account settings), if you set one.
- Clamped between Min Lots and Max Lots and rounded to two decimals.
- The broker's own volume limits still apply on top.
The clamp is not a risk check. If the stop is so wide that the formula asks for fewer lots than Min Lots, the order goes out at Min Lots and risks more than your percentage. If it asks for more than Max Lots, it goes out at Max Lots and risks less.
A signal without a valid stop-loss and take-profit is refused: the formula cannot work without the stop.
The three Position Sizing Methods
- Risk-Based (% of account risked on SL) — the formula above. Risk per trade (%) accepts 0.1 to 10.
- Fixed Percentage (% of account per trade) — sets the value of the position, not the risk: lots = (balance x percentage / 100) / (price x contract size). The stop distance is ignored. Because it is a position value, a small percentage on a small account usually ends up at Min Lots. The percentage accepts 1 to 50.
- Fixed Lots (fixed lot size) — the lot size you enter, 0.01 to 100, is the starting size for every trade; the Ratio, the Min/Max Lots clamp and the split across take-profit targets still apply to it, as for the other two methods.
Worked example
Balance 10,000 USD Risk per trade 0.5% -> 50 USD at risk Signal BUY EURUSD, stop loss 1.0800, price at order 1.0850 Stop distance 0.0050 -> 50 pips = 500 ticks (tick size 0.00001) Tick value 1.00 USD per tick per lot (= 10 USD per pip) risk per lot = 500 x 1.00 = 500 USD lot size = 50 / 500 = 0.10 lots
Why metals and indices differ
Contract size and tick value differ per instrument and per broker. Gold is often 100 ounces per lot; an index CFD might be 1 or 10 contracts per point. The same stop in price terms therefore risks very different amounts per lot, which is why the formula needs the right specification for each instrument.
PipSync falls back to a fixed size when an input is missing at the moment it sizes the order: without a live price it uses your Min Lots; without a synced balance it uses the Fixed Lots value (0.10 lots unless you changed it, even if your method is Risk-Based, and still clamped to Min/Max Lots).
If no specification can be read for the instrument (for example because it cannot be found under the name your broker uses), a currency pair such as EURUSD is sized with the standard forex contract, and every other instrument — gold, indices, crypto, stocks — goes out at your Min Lots instead of following the formula, without the Ratio of the account link. If your account does answer but its contract data cannot be used, a Risk-Based or Fixed Percentage trade is not placed: PipSync skips it and sends the notification Auto-trade skipped — XAUUSD contract data unusable (with your instrument's name in place of XAUUSD). Fixed Lots does not depend on this data and is not affected.
When a Risk-Based trade is sized from a specification and your Min Lots (or your broker's own minimum) is larger than the size your risk setting asks for, the trade is placed at that minimum and PipSync sends the notification Trade placed at the minimum lot — risk above your setting.
So check the first trade on every new instrument against the formula (Trading Hub → Positions), and if a size looks wrong, message us in the support chat with the symbol and your broker.
A tight stop means a big position
That is the formula working, not a bug. Same risk in currency, more lots. If that feels wrong, lower risk per trade or cap it with Max Lots.