Risk Management & Money Management1. Understanding Risk Management in Trading
Risk management is the practice of identifying, assessing, and controlling the amount of loss you are willing to tolerate in a trade. It answers a simple question:
👉 “How much can I afford to lose if this trade goes wrong?”
Professional traders know that losing trades are unavoidable. What matters is how big those losses are.
1.1 Key Elements of Risk Management
1. Position Sizing
Position sizing means deciding how many shares/lots/contracts to trade based on your account balance and risk tolerance.
Most traders risk 1% to 2% per trade.
Example:
If your capital = ₹1,00,000
Risk per trade = 1% = ₹1,000
If SL difference is ₹5, quantity = ₹1,000 ÷ 5 = 200 shares.
This ensures no single trade damages your account.
2. Stop-Loss Placement
A stop-loss is a predefined price where you exit automatically if the trade goes against you.
Stop-loss keeps emotions out of the decision.
Three ways to set SL:
Technical SL – based on chart levels (support/resistance, trendline, swing highs).
Volatility SL – using ATR to adapt SL to market conditions.
Money-based SL – based on a fixed rupee or percentage loss.
A trade without SL is gambling.
3. Risk-to-Reward Ratio (RRR / R:R)
The RRR tells how much you stand to gain versus how much you risk.
General rule: Take trades only with RRR ≥ 1:2.
Examples:
You risk ₹1,000 → try to make ₹2,000.
You risk 10 points → target 20 points.
Even with a 40% win rate, a 1:2 RRR can make you profitable.
4. Avoiding Over-Leveraging
Leverage increases buying power—but also increases risk.
Beginners blow up accounts due to excessive leverage in futures/options.
Risk management says:
✔ Use leverage only when you understand risk
✔ Never use full margin
✔ Reduce position size during high volatility events (Fed meet, RBI policy, Budget, elections)
5. Diversification
Do not put all capital into one trade or one sector.
If you trade equities: diversify across sectors.
If you trade F&O: avoid multiple trades highly correlated with each other.
Example:
Bank Nifty long + HDFC Bank long → same directional risk.
6. Probability & Expectancy
Great traders think in probabilities, not predictions.
Expectancy = (Win% × Avg Win) – (Loss% × Avg Loss)
If expectancy is positive, long-term profitability is possible even with fewer winning trades.
2. Understanding Money Management in Trading
Money management is broader than risk management.
It focuses on:
👉 “How do I grow my account safely, steadily, and sustainably?”
Money management includes capital allocation, compounding, profit withdrawal strategy, and exposure limits. It is the long-term engine that helps traders survive for years.
2.1 Key Elements of Money Management
1. Capital Allocation
Avoid using all capital for trading.
Recommended:
Active Capital: 50% (for trading)
Buffer Capital: 30% (emergency, margin calls, drawdowns)
Long-term Investments: 20%
This protects you from unexpected drawdowns or market crashes.
2. Exposure Control
Exposure refers to how much of your capital is at risk across all open trades.
Examples:
Equity traders should avoid more than 20–30% exposure to a single sector.
Derivative traders must avoid multiple positions in the same direction.
For small accounts, 1–2 open trades at a time are ideal.
3. Scaling In & Scaling Out
Scaling techniques help manage profits better.
Scaling In:
Enter partially and add if the trade goes in your favour.
Example: 50% quantity at breakout → 50% on retest.
Scaling Out:
Book partial profits to secure gains.
Example: Book 50% at target 1 → trail SL → exit remaining at target 2.
Scaling reduces overall risk.
4. Compounding Strategy
Money management encourages growth through compounding.
Avoid jumping position sizes drastically.
Increase sizes only after:
✔ Consistent profitability for 20–30 trades
✔ Stable win rate (50–60%)
✔ Maximum drawdown below 10%
Slow compounding beats emotional overtrading.
5. Profit Withdrawal Strategy
Traders should withdraw part of their profits monthly.
Example:
70% reinvest
30% withdraw as real income
This protects you from reinvesting everything and losing it later.
6. Maximum Drawdown Control
Drawdown is the decrease from the peak equity curve.
A good trader keeps drawdown below 10–20%.
If drawdown exceeds limit:
✔ Reduce position size
✔ Stop trading for 1–2 days
✔ Re-evaluate strategy & psychology
This prevents account blow-ups.
3. Psychological Role in Risk & Money Management
Emotions can destroy even a perfect trading system.
Poor discipline leads to revenge trading, overtrading, removing stop losses, and taking oversized positions.
To stay disciplined:
Follow your trading plan
Accept losses as business expense
Do not chase profits
Maintain a trading journal
Review every trade weekly
Consistency comes from discipline—not predictions.
4. Practical Framework for Risk & Money Management
Here’s a step-by-step real-world plan:
Step 1: Define risk per trade
Risk 1% of capital per trade.
₹1,00,000 capital → ₹1,000 max risk.
Step 2: Decide stop-loss level
Use technical or volatility-based SL.
Example: SL = ₹10 away.
Step 3: Calculate position size
Position size = Risk ÷ SL
= 1000 ÷ 10
= 100 shares
Step 4: Set risk–reward
Aim for 1:2.
Target = 20 points.
Step 5: Avoid correlated trades
Do not buy Reliance + BPCL + IOC (same sector risk).
Step 6: Track overall exposure
Keep exposure under 25–30%.
Step 7: Handle profits wisely
Withdraw monthly profits.
Do not increase lot size until consistent.
Step 8: Manage drawdowns
If account falls 10–15%, reduce size by 50%.
Do not increase until account recovers.
5. Why Risk & Money Management Determine Long-Term Success
Most traders lose money not because they lack strategy, but because:
❌ They risk too much
❌ No SL or wide SL
❌ Overtrade after losses
❌ Use 10x–25x leverage blindly
❌ Increase lot size emotionally
❌ Chase market noise
Winning traders do the opposite:
✔ They limit losses
✔ Protect capital
✔ Aim for high RRR
✔ Stay patient
✔ Grow capital slowly
✔ Follow system like a business
Trading success is 10% strategy, 20% psychology, and 70% risk & money management.
Final Words
Risk Management keeps you alive,
Money Management helps you grow.
Together, they form the backbone of professional trading. The markets reward traders who think long term, manage risk smartly, and treat trading as a business—not a gamble. If you master these two pillars, even an average strategy can become consistently profitable.
