The client's idea
Arka Prop Desk works XAUUSD / US30 on M5; the opening brief was: Build a layer that closes trades before the account rules break, independent of whichever strategy I run.
Project and starting point
Prop account rules were not reliably respected during manual, high-pressure execution.
Solution architecture
An independent risk layer verifying daily state, drawdown and open exposure before any order is sent.
Why this design
An independent layer means a later strategy change cannot bypass the guard. It matches how XAUUSD / US30 is actually traded and can be tested against the data already available.
Implemented capabilities
Daily loss cap, max drawdown, position limit and violation logging with explicit error codes.
Safeguards and risk control
The risk layer sits outside the strategy logic, so a later change to the signal cannot bypass it.
Backtest and forward test method
Scenario testing on demo including spread spikes, simultaneous position opens and high-volatility days.
Publishable results
Risk rules are applied deterministically in code; the system did not breach its caps in the tested scenarios.
Limitations and cautions
Behaviour under abnormal conditions such as large gaps or broker disconnections requires separate testing.
Our next-step proposal
The next step is a monthly compliance report that proves the account rules were respected.
Portfolio
Measured results
These are the figures the test produced — not a promise about future performance.
- 4.2 % Max drawdown in test
- 99.8 % Runtime stability in test
- 3 days Recovery after drawdown
- 12 scenarios Scenario test coverage