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Can you provide step-by-step instructions for enabling and using the ATM Copy feature in Replikanto?

Rodolfo Machado
Updated

ATM Copy tells Replikanto to have each follower account run the leader's ATM (Advanced Trade Management) strategy instead of copying the leader's exit orders. This article walks through enabling it and using it correctly.

Before you start

  • Replikanto must be installed and running inside NinjaTrader Desktop.
  • Your leader and follower broker accounts must be connected in NinjaTrader. If you use more than one broker, enable NinjaTrader's Multi-Provider Mode.
  • The same ATM strategy — same name and same configuration — must exist in every NinjaTrader instance involved. This is required for remote followers (local network or internet) and is the single most common reason ATM Copy does not behave as expected.

Enable ATM Copy

  1. Open Replikanto in NinjaTrader and make sure the leader account and the follower accounts are assigned.
  2. Turn on the Follower setting for each account that should receive the leader's trades.
  3. In the Follower Accounts table, find the ATM Copy column — this toggle is set per follower.
  4. Enable ATM Copy for every follower that should run the leader's ATM strategy. A green indicator means ATM Copy is on; a grey indicator means it is off.
  5. Confirm that each follower node's NinjaTrader has an ATM strategy with the same name and the same configuration as the leader's.

Both settings matter: Follower makes the trade copy at all, and ATM Copy decides whether exits are managed by the follower's own ATM strategy or copied from the leader.

Place a trade with ATM Copy

  1. Place the trade on the leader account from within NinjaTrader Desktop, using an ATM strategy.
  2. Replikanto copies the entry to the follower accounts and instructs each one to run the same named ATM strategy for its exits.
  3. NinjaTrader on each follower places that strategy's stop-loss and profit-target orders. Those exits are OCO (One Cancels the Other): when one fills, the other is cancelled automatically. Starting with Replikanto 1.7.0.0, each follower's ATM orders use their own OCO group, so a fill on the leader or on another account on the same broker connection does not cancel them.

Important: ATM Copy only applies to trades placed in NinjaTrader Desktop with an ATM strategy. If you trade from outside NinjaTrader Desktop, Replikanto copies the leader's exit orders to the followers even when ATM Copy is enabled, and the ATM strategy is not applied.

How contracts are distributed across targets

With ATM Copy enabled, the split of contracts across targets is done by NinjaTrader according to your strategy definition, not by Replikanto.

  • Any quantity left over after distribution is allocated to the first target. This is a NinjaTrader rule.
  • To change the distribution, change the quantities in the ATM strategy itself.
  • If you copy with a Ratio or Pre-allocation method, each follower may end up trading a different quantity than the leader, and NinjaTrader distributes that follower's quantity across the targets. Define your target quantities with the followers' quantities in mind. For reference, a Ratio of 1.0 copies the leader's quantity, 3.0 copies three times the leader's quantity, and a negative value such as -1 reverses the trade direction.

If you turn ATM Copy off

With ATM Copy disabled for a follower, Replikanto copies the leader's exit orders to that account instead of using an ATM strategy there. In this mode the Ratio is applied to each target individually — a leader ATM of 1/1/1 copied at Ratio 3 gives the follower 3/3/3, an even distribution rather than NinjaTrader's default of putting the leftover on the first target.

Limitations and common pitfalls

  • Followers cannot use a different ATM strategy. Followers always follow the leader's strategy, either by copying its exit orders or by running the same strategy locally.
  • Mismatched strategies break exits. If a follower node's strategy has a different name or different targets, exits may fire at the wrong levels or not fire at all.
  • ATM strategies cannot be applied to an open position. A predefined ATM strategy applied from the Positions tab will not be copied to the followers.
  • Custom Stop Strategy with a Ratio other than 1. A Custom Stop Strategy on a target does not account for the follower's scaled quantity, so the stop can close more contracts than expected. Use a regular stop loss when copying at a ratio other than 1.

Verify your setup

  1. Test with one small trade before running ATM Copy in production.
  2. Check that every follower placed its stop-loss and profit-target orders at the expected levels.
  3. Export the ATM strategy configuration from one NinjaTrader instance and import it into the others, so the names and settings match exactly.

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