Description
MARCs GOLD Swing AutoTRADER H4_V01 is a dedicated gold swing-trading cBot for XAUUSD on the H4 timeframe.
It is designed for selective, rule-based and monitored swing trading. The bot does not try to trade every market movement. Instead, it focuses on defined gold market structures, controlled position sizing and documented long-term backtesting.
RECOMMENDED SETUP
Symbol: XAUUSD
Timeframe: H4
Reference account: 10,000 EUR
Default profile: Conservative
Trading style: selective swing trading with low trade frequency
Recommended use: demo testing first, then cautious live use only after personal review
RISK PROFILES
The bot includes three selectable risk profiles:
Conservative:
Default reference profile with the lowest risk exposure and lowest trade activity.
Medium:
Increases trade frequency and risk exposure compared with Conservative.
Aggressive:
Highest activity and highest risk exposure of the included profiles. This profile is intended for experienced users and should be tested carefully before live use.
PROTECTION FEATURES
Base Reserve:
An optional virtual reserve plan. It can reduce the trading base used for future position sizing by virtually separating part of the profits from the active trading capital. This does not withdraw money from the broker account by itself.
Small Account Guard:
An optional protection feature mainly designed for smaller accounts. It can close profitable positions earlier after defined account and profit thresholds are reached. This may reduce return, but it can also limit later profit giveback in selected situations.
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EASY SETUP AND USE
The cBot is designed for simple use. For a standard setup, the user only needs to:
1. Confirm the risk acknowledgement.
2. Select demo or live account mode.
3. Choose one of the predefined risk profiles:
- Conservative: 0.75% risk per trade, maximum 1 open position, maximum spread 3.0 pips.
- Medium: 1.50% risk per trade, maximum 3 open positions, maximum spread 3.5 pips.
- Aggressive: 2.50% risk per trade, maximum 5 open positions, maximum spread 4.0 pips.
For these predefined profiles, no further strategy parameters need to be changed.
MANUAL MODE
Advanced users can use Custom or Manual mode to adjust parameters such as risk per trade, maximum positions, spread filter and protection settings. Manual changes can materially change the behaviour and risk of the cBot and should always be tested on a demo account first.
BASE RESERVE AND SMALL ACCOUNT GUARD
The optional Base Reserve plan and the optional Small Account Guard are switched off by default. They can be activated separately if the user wants to apply virtual reserve logic or additional small-account profit protection.
STATE AND CLOUD
The cBot can display its current operating state and relevant protection status directly in the chart panel. Depending on the user setup, cTrader Cloud/VPS operation can be used to keep the cBot running continuously. Users should always make sure that the selected account, symbol and timeframe remain active and that the cBot is running as intended.
DISPLAY PANEL
The integrated display panel shows key information about the current setup, selected risk profile, account mode, reserve or guard status and current trading state. This helps the user monitor the cBot without changing the underlying strategy logic.
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IMPORTANT RISK NOTICE
Trading CFDs, leveraged products and automated strategies involves high risk and can result in the partial or total loss of capital. You should only trade with money you can afford to lose.
Backtesting results are historical simulations and do not guarantee future performance. Live results can differ because of spread, commission, slippage, execution quality, liquidity, broker conditions, market gaps, data quality and user settings.
Reserve and Guard functions may reduce final returns because capital is virtually removed from the trading base or profitable positions may be closed earlier. These functions do not guarantee protection against losses.
This cBot is a trading tool, not financial advice, investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument. All trading decisions remain the sole responsibility of the user.
No guarantee is given for profitability, availability, accuracy, uninterrupted operation or suitability for a specific user, broker, account size or market condition. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the author assumes no liability for losses, damages or missed profits resulting from the use or inability to use this cBot.
Use this cBot at your own risk. Always test on a demo account first and carefully review all settings before any live use.
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PUBLISHED BACKTEST BASIS
The numeric backtesting result fields shown in the cTrader Store form refer to the EUR 10,000 Aggressive reference backtest with Reserve Off / Guard Off.
The documented V01 backtests cover XAUUSD H4 from 2013 to 2026.
Backtest environment:
cTrader Historical Replay
Server-side M1 historical data
Demo Trading Mode
Long and short trading enabled
Fixed spread assumption used in the published test set
Documented commission assumptions
Backtests and simulations are historical tests only. They do not guarantee future results.
PUBLISHED BACKTEST SETTINGS
The published backtesting results were produced with MARCsGoldSwingAutoTRADERH4_V01 / V01_FINAL on XAUUSD, H4 timeframe.
Account examples shown in the published material:
500 EUR
1,000 EUR
2,500 EUR
5,000 EUR
7,500 EUR
10,000 EUR
Risk profile parameters:
Conservative:
Risk per trade: 0.75%
Maximum positions: 1
Maximum spread filter: 3.0 pips
Medium:
Risk per trade: 1.50%
Maximum positions: 3
Maximum spread filter: 3.5 pips
Aggressive:
Risk per trade: 2.50%
Maximum positions: 5
Maximum spread filter: 4.0 pips
Main backtest variants:
1. Reserve Off / Guard Off
Reserve Plan: Off
Small Account Guard: Off
2. Base Reserve / Guard Off
Reserve Plan: Base_AIX5_SPR45_RAP50
Annual Index AIX: 5.0%
Surplus Reserve SPR: 45%
Reserve Activation Profit RAP: 50%
Minimum Days Before Reserve: 180
Small Account Guard: Off
3. Base Reserve / Guard On
Reserve Plan: Base_AIX5_SPR45_RAP50
Annual Index AIX: 5.0%
Surplus Reserve SPR: 45%
Reserve Activation Profit RAP: 50%
Minimum Days Before Reserve: 180
Small Account Guard: On
In the combined backtest sheet, the left Account Size Comparison uses:
Off = Reserve Off / Guard Off
Base = Base Reserve On / Guard Off
Guard = Base Reserve On / Guard On
The right Guard % Scan is different:
Guard 5.0% to Guard 13.0% = Reserve Off / Guard On, tested on the EUR 1,000 Aggressive setup with Guard Account Max 100,000. This scan was designed as a threshold scan, not as the final small-account boundary setup.
Small Account Guard settings used in the main published Guard runs:
EUR 500:
Guard Account Max: 1,500 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 10.0%
EUR 1,000 Conservative:
Guard Account Max: 1,500 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 6.0%
EUR 1,000 Medium and Aggressive:
Guard Account Max: 2,500 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 10.0%
EUR 2,500:
Guard Account Max: 3,500 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 10.0%
EUR 5,000:
Guard Account Max: 7,500 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 10.0%
EUR 7,500:
Guard Account Max: 10,000 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 10.0%
EUR 10,000:
Guard Account Max: 13,500 EUR
Guard Close Profit: 10.0%
EFFECT OF RESERVE AND GUARD IN THE BACKTESTS
Reserve and Guard are protection-oriented features. They are not designed to maximize the final backtest result.
In the published tests, activating Base Reserve or Base Reserve + Guard often reduced the final net result compared with Reserve Off / Guard Off. This happened because the Base Reserve virtually removed part of accumulated profit from the active trading base used for future position sizing. The Guard could also close profitable positions earlier after defined thresholds were reached.
Examples from the EUR 10,000 reference backtests results 2013 - 2026:
Conservative:
Reserve Off / Guard Off final wealth: 16,049 EUR
Base Reserve / Guard Off final wealth: 15,706 EUR
Base Reserve / Guard On final wealth: 15,706 EUR
Virtual reserve outside trading base: 5,083 EUR
Medium:
Reserve Off / Guard Off final wealth: 38,775 EUR
Base Reserve / Guard Off final wealth: 33,698 EUR
Base Reserve / Guard On final wealth: 29,486 EUR
Virtual reserve outside trading base: 10,812 EUR with Base Reserve / 5,946 EUR with Base Reserve + Guard
Aggressive:
Reserve Off / Guard Off final wealth: 54,782 EUR
Base Reserve / Guard Off final wealth: 52,230 EUR
Base Reserve / Guard On final wealth: 45,950 EUR
Virtual reserve outside trading base: 16,870 EUR with Base Reserve / 14,571 EUR with Base Reserve + Guard
Additional EUR 1,000 Aggressive Guard % Scan:
Reserve Off / Guard Off:
Final equity: 12,863 EUR
Profit factor: 2.80
Max equity drawdown: 28.1%
Reserve Off / Guard On 100,000 / 10:
Final equity: 9,383 EUR
Profit factor: 2.92
Max equity drawdown: 24.6%
Reserve Off / Guard On 100,000 / 11:
Final equity: 10,014 EUR
Profit factor: 2.79
Max equity drawdown: 25.8%
The scan shows that Guard On could reduce final return while also reducing equity drawdown in this EUR 1,000 Aggressive threshold test. This effect is not guaranteed in every configuration.
KEY STRENGTHS
Specialized XAUUSD H4 swing-trading approach
Selective, monitored trading style
Conservative, Medium and Aggressive risk profiles
Optional Base Reserve logic
Optional Small Account Guard for smaller accounts
Transparent long-term backtest documentation
Designed for use with the MARCs GOLD Swing Trade Monitor
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Backtesting results are historical simulations and do not guarantee future performance. Live results can differ because of spread, commission, slippage, execution quality, liquidity, broker conditions, market gaps, data quality and user settings. See important risk notice above.
TRANSPARENCY NOTE
This cBot was developed with the assistance of AI-based tools.
TOOLS AND VALIDATION USED:
cTrader Automate
cTrader Historical Replay
XAUUSD H4 long-term backtests
Server-side M1 historical data
Visual chart and backtest review
MARCs Trade Monitor
MARCs MARKET OVERVIEW
MARCs internal market-structure indicators
Manual review of reports, settings and publication material
Summary
Key features include an optional Base Reserve system that virtually separates part of the profits from active trading capital to manage risk without withdrawing funds from the broker account. Additionally, a Small Account Guard feature provides extra protection for smaller accounts by limiting relative exposure due to minimum trade sizes.
Backtests cover the period from 2013 to 2026 using cTrader Historical Replay with server-side M1 data, a fixed 2.4 pip spread, and documented commission assumptions. These backtests illustrate strategy behavior, trade distribution, drawdown phases, and the effects of reserve and guard settings but do not guarantee future results.
The bot supports both long and short trades with fixed risk percentage models and includes risk management tools such as stop loss, trailing stop loss, break-even, and spread filters. It is designed for use alongside the MARCs GOLD Swing Trade Monitor and is recommended for accounts starting at 10,000 EUR.
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