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Guide

How to Choose a Risk Profile for a Gold Expert Advisor

Every Philippe Calibre 79 preset runs the same logic — the risk profile only decides how big each position is. Choosing well means starting from the drawdown you can live with, not the growth you hope for.

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The six risk profiles

The MQL5 product page publishes six risk profiles, each with a free preset file. Three are live-monitored; the other three offer lower exposure:

Philippe Calibre 79 risk profiles
ProfileDescriptionLive signal
Balanced ProfileConservative capital preservation and steady compounding.Yes
Aggressive ProfileActive growth with moderate drawdown tolerance.Yes
High Risk ProfileHigh turnover on smaller capital bases.Yes
Conservative ProfileLower exposure focus
Defensive ProfileReduced volatility risk
Strict Defensive ProfileStrict risk limitation

The three live-monitored tiers

The developer's Capital Allocation and Risk Setup Guide defines each live tier by the capital behind every 0.01 lot and a target drawdown. Here they are next to what the live signals have actually recorded after 6 weeks:

Live tiers: capital per lot, target drawdown and live results
TierCapital per 0.01 lotTarget DDLive max DD (equity)Recommended accounts
Balanced$100<12%10.13%Standard accounts with $1,000+ or Micro accounts with $100+.
Aggressive$50<20%19.40%Standard accounts with $500+ or Micro accounts with $50+.
Extreme$35<30%27.00%Micro accounts or dedicated high-risk capital.

Start from drawdown, not growth

All three live signals trade the same baskets at the same times — only position size differs — so growth and drawdown rise together:

  • Balanced: +7.39% growth with 10.13% maximum equity drawdown.
  • Aggressive: +15.72% growth with 19.40% maximum equity drawdown.
  • Extreme: +20.81% growth with 27.00% maximum equity drawdown.

Decide first how deep a fall you could watch without switching the EA off, then choose a tier whose target drawdown sits comfortably inside that number. Maximum drawdown only grows as an account gets older, so leave room for a worse period than the one on record.

If even Balanced feels too much

Conservative, Defensive and Strict Defensive use the same engine with lower exposure. They are not live-monitored, so compare them against Balanced in the free demo before going live.

Dynamic or fixed sizing

  • Volume Calculus: Select dynamic lot sizing or fixed lot sizing. In dynamic mode the chosen risk profile sets the size; the guide advises leaving the extra auto multiplier at its default of 1.0 unless you deliberately want more.
  • Absolute Base Volume: The base lot size used when fixed sizing is selected.
  • Capital Segment per Base Volume: The balance required to increase the lot size by one step. The guide's example: at 100 per step on a $650 balance the starting volume is 0.06 lots, rising to 0.07 at $700. Use 100, 50 or 35 to mirror the Balanced, Aggressive or Extreme tier.

Cap the worst day

The Daily Equity Controller is optional but worth understanding. Enable Daily Equity Lock: Master switch for daily limits. Daily Target Ceiling (%): Halts trading until the next day if this positive threshold is reached. Daily Drawdown Floor (%): Halts trading until the next day if this negative threshold is reached. The official presets were saved before this input existed, so set it yourself if you want it — the developer's Daily Equity Limitation Setup Guide explains how.

Test before you commit

Run the same backtest period with two or three presets in the free demo and compare equity drawdown side by side on your own broker's data. Then start live one step more cautious than the backtest suggests, and move up one tier at a time — never straight from Conservative to Extreme. Past performance, live or backtested, does not guarantee future results.