| 22 September 2009

Every wondered where to set a stop-loss on a trade? Noodling on the right proft target or time horizon? The team at tradeMONSTER has a solution for you, and it's called "Exit Plan."

When you enter a trade using tradeMONSTER's Adobe Air desktop application you now have the option of setting up an Exit Plan associated with that trade. Opening the Exit Plan tool gives you three options: first, you can set a time horizon, which is indicated by the little clock icon. Second, you can set a profit target, as indicated by the little smiley face. Third, you can set a stop loss, which is highlighted by a little -- you guessed it -- frowny face.

The Exit Plan system works with any predefined trade combination, such as a straddle or a butterfly. As the price targets are toggled, projected percentage gain/loss and price gain/loss move in lock-step.

While not as sophisticated as the optionsXpress (OXPS) trade calculator or the risk profile module in thinkorswim's (AMTD) application, it's not meant to be. It's a simple reminder tool that triggers a notice whenever one of your pre-set limits have been hit.

If you so choose, the Exit Plan functionality can also execute trades for you, thus closing out your position. This is interesting and allows traders to set up a complete plan at the point of execution.

Silly icons aside, we're big believers in setting limits and targets, so any tool that makes this easier gets a big thumb's up from us!