A client builds an AI Trader with a rule block that caps orders at one lot. A week later a demo run looks promising, and they change the cap to fifty. Nothing inside the flow stops that edit. The rule was the client's to write, so it is also the client's to change.
That is the reason eTrader AI keeps its hard limits in the platform itself. Every order an AI Trader sends is checked against settings your firm controls before it is accepted. No block can switch those checks off, and neither can the trader.
The Ceiling You Set for Each Server
Limits are set per trading server, so a firm running separate servers for different client groups can treat each one differently. Your staff change these settings from the broker dashboard. Each server has an on and off setting for AI trading. Under it sit two numbers: the most lots one AI order may carry, and the largest loss an account may take in a day, as a percentage.
The daily loss is measured against the account's balance at 00:00 UTC, with open positions valued at current prices. It counts every loss on the account, including trades the client placed by hand. A client who loses money trading manually in the morning leaves their AI Trader less room in the afternoon.
Once the limit is reached, further AI orders on that account are refused for the rest of the day. The client can still trade by hand, and positions that are already open stay open.
Tighter Is Allowed, Looser Is Refused
Traders can add their own limits for each account an AI Trader is attached to, such as a smaller maximum order or a lower daily loss. The platform accepts any value inside your ceiling. A value above it is refused, and the trader has to choose again.
A refused value is never trimmed down to fit. That matters more than it sounds: nobody ends up believing one limit is in place while a different one quietly applies.
Pending orders get checked twice. An AI Trader's pending order is checked when it is placed and again at the moment it would fill, so a limit your firm tightened in between still counts.
Kill Switches, Orders and Open Positions
Your firm holds two kill switches. One stops AI trading on an entire server. The other blocks it on a single account, which is useful for a client under review or a complaint in progress.
Neither switch needs a developer or a support ticket to SGHK. A risk manager flips it, and the next AI order on that server or account is refused.
When either switch is used, or a limit is tightened, pending orders placed by AI Traders are cancelled. Open positions are left alone, because the limits never close a position. What happens to a trade that is already open stays a decision for people: the client, or your dealing desk.
The trader has a switch of their own. Any AI Trader can be turned off on any account at any time from eTrader AI.
Before clients start building: set the ceiling on each server, try both kill switches on a demo account, and add the log of refused orders to your risk team's daily checks.
The Refusal Log
Every order the limits refuse is logged with its reason, and the broker dashboard shows those events. Your risk team can see which accounts hit a ceiling, how often, and on which rule.
The log is kept even if the AI Trader or the trader's eTrader ID is deleted later. When someone asks months afterwards what happened on an account, the answer is still there.
Patterns deserve a second look. An account that runs into the daily loss limit every week says something about the flow behind it, and perhaps about whether AI trading should stay switched on for that client.
What Limits Do Not Do
Limits cap how much an AI Trader can put at risk. They do not improve its decisions, and they do not remove the risk of loss. An AI Trader follows the rules its owner sets, inside the ceiling your firm sets, and it can still lose money up to that ceiling.
eTrader AI runs on live and demo accounts, so set your ceilings before clients switch an AI Trader on for real money. The limits come with the platform, which is hosted in the cloud by SGHK and managed by your firm, built to scale across clustered servers as firms grow, with eTrader AI included. How an AI Trader is assembled in the first place is covered in AI Trader blocks explained.
"A trader can change any block. The ceiling on the server is not theirs to change, and that is where the firm's control starts."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- Every AI order is checked against per-server settings your firm controls: AI trading on or off, maximum lots per order and maximum daily loss.
- Traders may set tighter limits on their accounts; looser values are refused, never trimmed to fit.
- Kill switches work per server and per account; they cancel pending AI orders and never close open positions.
- Refused orders are logged with a reason and shown on the broker dashboard, and eTrader AI runs on live and demo accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Daily Loss Limit Only Count Losses From AI Traders?
No. It counts every loss on the account since 00:00 UTC, including trades the client placed by hand, with open positions valued at current prices.
Will a Kill Switch Close My Clients' Open Positions?
No. A kill switch cancels pending orders placed by AI Traders and refuses new ones. Open positions stay open.
Can a Trader Set Limits Higher Than the Firm's?
No. A trader can only set limits inside your ceiling for that server. A higher value is refused, and the trader has to pick one that fits.
About SGHK
SGHK is a FinTech company that designs and builds its own software for the trading industry: the eTrader trading platform, the Broker CRM and the Prop Firm CRM. Every product is written, hosted and supported in-house, licensed to trading firms, hosted by us in the cloud and managed by each firm, built to scale across clustered servers as our clients grow. Everything is encrypted, and each firm is the only one with access to its data and its clients' data.