The Coastline Trading Strategy: The Bad Boy of Forex Trading Systems

Coastline Trading is probably nothing like you have ever seen before. It breaks all the “rules” of trading and it still makes money.

You could call it the “bad boy” of trading systems. 

If there is anything that I've learned since starting this site in 2007, it's that there are some trading methods that do not fit neatly into the trading rules that you read about online or in books. Granted, a smaller number of people are successful with these methods because they are so different.

Nonetheless, for certain personality types, this can work.

So what makes Coastline different? 

Well, on the negative side:

• It has no stop losses
• It has permanent drawdown

But there are some big upsides:

• You don't need to time the market. In fact, a random entry can still make money.
• When traded correctly, it can be very consistently profitable.

…wait, rewind…

No stop losses? Isn't that why most traders blow out?

Usually.

But I'll get into how that can be avoided in this method.

So if you are tired of trying to time the market exactly, then this might be a trading style that you want to explore. Like with any other trading method, there are risks associated with this method too.

Remember, there are no free lunches in trading.

However, if this still interests you, then keep reading…

Before we get started, my goal in writing about these different types of trading systems is to expose you to different trading ideas. It is your sole responsibility to figure out if this system fits your personality or not. I'm NOT saying that this is the best trading method in the world. But for the right personality type, it could be a great fit. 

Coastline Trading is…

Simply put, Coastline is a hedging strategy.

But those never work, right?

Depends on who you talk to. 

I have seen it work in a few instances. If you look up FX Viper, he is another high-profile hedger that manages money (check his YouTube videos).

Back in 2011, me and a friend also came up with a flavor of hedging that works too.

So I know that this can work.

Coastline Trading is the brainchild of Gonçalo Moreira, currently THE trader at FX Street. He trades the company's money with this method and teaches it on the website.

Since it is a hedging strategy, you don't really need stop losses. You just need to understand net exposure and stay well within margin limits.

How did he come up with this method?

Gonçalo did his own study of the past winners of trading contests and he found that many of them traded a very similar system. So he reverse engineered the method and came up with what he calls Coastline Trading. He also added some safeguards and monitoring methods that help you understand your risk at all times.

Now, you are probably thinking…

But what about traders in the US? They can't hedge right?

Not so.

This tutorial will show you how to do it.

Since this is Gonçalo's proprietary trading strategy, I can't give too much away here. But if you are interested in learning more about it, you can listen to his conference presentation or head on over to his homepage on FX Street.

There is a lot of information on the website for free, including some webinars that he did.

Backtesting the Coastline Trading Strategy

Yes, this strategy can be backtested. I confirmed this with Gonçalo in person. 

He did a lot of backtesting before ever trading real money.

…and if you are interested in this strategy, this is a must.

Since this method doesn't have set entry and exit rules, backtesting is more for practicing how to get out of bad situations. You should push the limits of the system in backtesting. Then you will understand where to set your risk boundaries in live trading.

Conclusion

I hope that this trading method gives you some ideas. It may not be a trading method for you, but I can see where it could be a great compliment to other trading methods.

There is much more to it than I have explained here, so be sure to head on over to Gonçalo's page to learn more.

Happy trading!

P.S. – If you want to learn my style of hedging, get it here.