Pipsgrowth EX18058 TrendFollow

Pipsgrowth EX18058 is a Hull Moving Average trend-following EA that frames every entry through a custom in-line Hull-MA engine plus a seven-state regime classifier. The Hull-MA is not loaded as an indicator — the source walks raw close arrays through a hand-rolled LWMA primitive and combines two weighted averages (n/2 and n) to construct a fast 20-period Hull and a slow 55-period Hull, then compares each to its prior value to derive a slope-color (0=up, 1=down, 2=flat). A consensus requires both Hulls to print the same slope-color before any long or short can be staged; with InpRequireBothHulls left true the EA will not accept fast-only signals even when the slow line is sideways, eliminating a class of mid-trend whipsaws. The signal is computed on the closed bar (InpSignalShift=1) so no repaint on the forming bar.

The seven-state regime classifier in UpdateRegime() drives the no-trade gate. It blends three independent measures: ADX(14) strength, an ATR(14) percentile computed over 50 bars (with the 75th-percentile ceiling used to flag expansion and the 25th to mark quiet), and a Bollinger Bands(20, 2.0) width percentile. The resulting states are STRONG_TREND (ADX ≥ 25 and ATR-percentile ≥ 75), WEAK_TREND (ADX ≥ 18), COMPRESS (BB-width-percentile ≤ 20), EXPAND (BB-width-percentile ≥ 80), BREAKOUT (ATR-percentile ≥ 75 with ADX below 25), RANGE (ADX < 18 with BB-width between the 40th and 70th percentile), and CHOPPY as the catch-all. CHOPPY is the only state that completely blocks entries; everything else remains open to confirmation, which is what gives the EA its 12-layer risk posture.

Confirmation runs through three filters before sizing fires. ConfirmADXStrong() reads the closed-bar ADX and demands the value sit at or above 18 — the same threshold that defines WEAK_TREND — so the engine is willing to enter on a weak trend provided the rest of the suite agrees. ConfirmMinRR() rejects any setting where the configured TP-multiple is not strictly larger than the SL-multiple, a sanity gate on the input ratio. If InpUseHTFBias is left at its default true, HTFHullBias() computes an independent 35-period Hull on the higher timeframe (g_InpHTF — with InpHTF=8 falling through the default branch, this resolves to H1) and the entry direction must match the HTF slope-color; the HTF return value of 0 (flat) is treated as permissive, so genuine HTF trends are required only when the bias is unambiguous.

Sizing and risk draw from a single capital pool. ComputeEffectiveCapital() returns the account equity, optionally floored by InpCapitalCapAmount (default 0.0 = cap disabled). If the resulting effective cap falls below InpCapitalCapFloor (default 50.0), IsCapitalBelowFloor() refuses to stage new entries and the dashboard prints a CAPTIAL BELOW FLOOR block. CalcLots() then converts a 0.5% risk fraction into a stop-distance-relative lot count, falling back to InpFixedLots=0.10 whenever the risk model cannot produce a positive loss-per-lot. MarginOK() pre-flights each candidate through OrderCalcMargin before any order hits the wire. A daily realized PnL watcher (InpDailyLossLimitPercent=3.0% of effective cap) blocks new entries once losses hit that threshold.

Stop placement is ATR-driven, not pip-fixed. Each new position gets SL at 1.8× the live ATR(14) (InpATR_SL_Mult) and TP at 3.2× ATR (InpATR_TP_Mult), which works out to roughly a 1:1.78 reward-to-risk ratio — a deliberate step up from a 1:1 setup. The EnforceStopsDistance() helper pushes both prices inside the broker's stops-level plus one point so the order is never rejected for being too close to market. ManageOpenPositions() runs on every tick and looks for two distinct events: a break-even ratchet (InpATR_BE_Mult=1.0, so once profit reaches 1× ATR the stop moves to open+1 point for buys, open-1 point for sells) and a forward-only trail at 1.5× ATR that activates only once profit has reached 2× the trail distance (so the trail typically begins at 3× ATR of profit). The trail and BE fire through TryModify_EX18058, which retries up to three times on requotes, timeouts, and price changes with a 100ms backoff.

Exits branch on three independent events. CheckRegimeExit() closes the entire position book whenever the regime flips to CHOPPY — a deliberately aggressive exit that treats loss of directional structure as a stop signal regardless of unrealized PnL. If InpCloseOnReverse is true (default), a fresh closed-bar signal that points opposite to the held direction calls CloseAllMyPositions() through TryClose_EX18058, which also retries three times on transient errors. SessionOK() refuses fresh entries on Friday after 21:00 server time and on weekends, so open trades are still subject to normal Friday-evening spread widening but new orders will not be staged through that window. SpreadOK() scales the maximum allowed spread to 0.45× the current ATR — a self-calibrating filter that is more permissive during high-volatility sessions and tighter during quiet tape.

Pyramiding is wired in but disabled by default. Setting InpEnablePyramid=true unlocks CanPyramid(), which permits up to InpPyramidMax=3 legs in the same direction provided every existing leg is in profit, every existing leg is already past its break-even stop, and the current price is at least 0.5× ATR (PYRAMID_MIN_ATR) beyond the oldest leg's open. The third condition is what prevents the EA from reloading the same bar — it must see actual progress before adding exposure. With pyramiding left off, InpMaxConcurrent=3 is still enforced as a hard ceiling for any combination of long and short positions.

A few distinctive engineering choices are worth flagging. First, the H1 higher-timeframe is hard-wired through the default branch of MapTimeframeInt() because InpHTF=8 is outside the 1..7 enum; this is not a bug but it does mean the HTF confirmation is effectively H1 unless the user manually picks another timeframe. Second, the order comment is fixed at "Psgrowth.com Expert_18058" — brokers and prop firms that route by comment will see this on every fill. Third, InpDryRun defaults to true, so the EA ships in a logging-only mode; live trading requires the user to flip the input off. Fourth, there is no weekly loss cap, no time stop on open positions, no partial close, and no cooldown between losses — the safety net is concentrated in the daily-loss limit, the CHOPPY regime exit, the opposite-signal close, and the trailing-stop structure rather than in time-based or loss-streak-based tripwires. Together these choices make EX18058 a tightly scoped trend rider: it waits for a strong consensus from two slope-colors, confirms with HTF and ADX, sizes to a 1:1.78 R:R, and exits on the first sign of structural failure.