Sizing followers: multiplier, fixed lots and exits

Two ways to size a follower

Every follower in a group has its own sizing, and there are exactly two kinds.

The multiplier must be a whole number — 1, 2, 3 and so on. That is deliberate. With a fractional multiplier, each order rounds on its own while the position as a whole rounds once, so the follower and the leader × multiplier drift apart by a lot here and a lot there, and a later reconciliation "corrects" a gap that was only rounding.

Max lots and Reverse

Max lots caps the lots on any one order for that follower (0 = no cap). ×2 with Max 5 and the leader buying 3 lots gives 5 lots, not 6.

Reverse makes the follower sell when the leader buys and buy when it sells. A leader buying 1 lot of a NIFTY call becomes a follower selling 1 lot of the same call. Two things follow: reversing an option buy turns the follower into an option seller, which needs margin; and a leader's resting stop-loss is not placed as a stop on a reversed follower — it is copied when it fills.

How exits are sized — and capped

An exit uses the same rule as an entry: leader lots × multiplier, or the fixed lots. It is then capped at what the follower holds, because anything beyond that would open a position in the opposite direction.

The tricky case is a broker whose positions book lags the orders just placed. If the leader exits in two quick slices, both slices can read the old holding and together sell more than the follower had. So the copier keeps its own running count of what each follower should hold in each contract, moved by every copy it places, and caps an exit at the smaller of the broker's read and that count. The count can only make an exit smaller, never larger, and after a minute with no copy on that contract the broker's read is trusted alone again.

Sales out of delivery holdings work the same way, capped at what the follower can sell from its holdings.

Large orders and the freeze quantity

The exchange rejects any single F&O order above the quantity freeze for that underlying. A follower sized up by a multiplier can easily cross it. Every order Trade Copy places is therefore cut into slices, each a whole number of lots within the freeze, sent a fraction of a second apart. The freeze values are read from the exchange's own published figures rather than hard-coded, since they are revised by circular. If the freeze or lot size for a contract is unknown, the order goes out unsplit.

A worked example

Hypothetical numbers. A follower at ×5 holds nothing. The leader buys 1 lot at 09:30 and 1 more at 09:45; the follower buys 5 and 5 and holds 10. At 10:15 the leader sells 1 lot: the follower sells 1 × 5 = 5 and holds 5. At 10:15:02 the leader sells its last lot, but the broker still shows the follower holding 10. The exit wants 5; the broker read says 10; the copier's own count says 5. The smaller is 5, so 5 are sold and the follower is flat — not short 5.

Freeze slicing, also hypothetical: if an index's freeze were 1,800 units with a lot of 75, the largest slice would be 24 lots. A 60-lot follower order would go out as 24 + 24 + 12 lots.

Changing size mid-trade, and other edge cases

• Change sizing while the leader is flat. Lots already copied are not resized; every later order uses the new multiplier. Change ×2 to ×5 with a position open and the follower drifts from leader × 5. Trade Copy warns before saving such a change, and Check Positions fixes the drift when you confirm.
• Fixed lots leaves size to the order count. If the leader builds a position in three orders and closes it in one, a fixed-2 follower buys 6 and sells 2. Check Positions will show the remainder.
• Unknown lot size. Fixed-lot sizing needs the contract's lot size; if it is unknown, the copy is skipped and the Activity Log says why.

Where to find it

1. Open Copy Settings and select the group.
2. In Followers & sizing, pick Multiplier or Fixed lots for each follower and enter the value.
3. Set Max lots and Reverse if needed, then Save settings.

Common questions

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