How do I find open trades without a stop loss in MT5?
Open the Toolbox in MetaTrader 5 (View → Toolbox, or Ctrl+T) and look at the S/L column on the Trade tab. MetaTrader 5 shows a zero in that column when no stop loss has been placed for the position.
To have it checked all the time, Kingdom Guard, a free, read-only panel for MetaTrader 5, shows an alarm row as soon as any open position is running without a stop loss at the broker, and can also raise a terminal alert.
Does a stop loss work when MetaTrader 5 is closed?
Yes, when it is placed at the broker. MetaTrader 5 keeps Stop Loss and Take Profit levels on the broker’s server, where they are executed, so they stay in force when the terminal is closed or disconnected. A trailing stop is different: it is executed in the trading platform itself and only moves while the terminal is running.
A position without a stop loss at the broker depends on the trader, or on the Expert Advisor that opened it, for every exit.
Check 1: the Trade tab of the Toolbox
- Open the Toolbox: View → Toolbox, or press Ctrl+T.
- Click the Trade tab. It lists every open position with its S/L (stop loss) and T/P (take profit) levels.
- Read the S/L column. A zero means that no stop loss has been placed for that position.
- To add one, right-click the position, choose Modify or delete, enter a Stop Loss level and click Modify. The broker sets how close to the current price a stop level may be.
If an Expert Advisor opened the position, check how that EA manages its exits before you change its levels.
Check 2: the trade levels on the chart
In Tools → Options (Ctrl+O), on the Charts tab, turn on Show trade levels. Each open position is then drawn on the chart of its symbol at its opening price, together with its Stop Loss and Take Profit levels. A position line without a stop-loss line has no stop loss.
A chart shows only the positions of its own symbol; the Trade tab shows all of them.
Check 3: let a free panel keep watch
Kingdom Guard is a free, read-only panel (an indicator) for MetaTrader 5 from EA Kingdom. It works on any symbol, any timeframe and any account, whether you trade manually or run an Expert Advisor. It shows:
- Positions with no stop loss: an alarm row. If any open position is running without a stop loss at the broker, it appears there immediately; a terminal alert can be switched on or off in the inputs.
- Real drawdown: your real drawdown from your own funding-adjusted equity peak, not from your deposit, and your worst drawdown ever, in money and in percent.
- Losing streaks and the largest single loss: the current and the worst losing streak, and the largest loss already taken in the account.
- Month by month: every month listed, with losing months shown in red.
It never opens, modifies or closes a trade, and it never sends data anywhere: it reads your own account history and shows it back to you. Every figure is rebuilt from the trade history that the terminal holds; when that history is incomplete, the affected rows are marked with a star (*). To load the full history, open the History tab of the Toolbox, right-click and choose All history. Get Kingdom Guard free on MQL5.
When is a position without a stop loss expected?
Some Expert Advisors manage every exit themselves instead of placing a stop loss at the broker on each position, for example EAs that close their positions together as a basket. On such an account, Kingdom Guard’s alarm row lists those positions: that is how the EA is built, and the EA needs its terminal running, ideally on a VPS, to manage its exits. The terminal alert is optional and can stay switched off in Kingdom Guard’s inputs.
For EA Kingdom’s own Expert Advisors, see Does every trade have a stop loss? in the FAQ.
Sources
- MetaTrader 5 Help: Executing Trades: the S/L and T/P columns of the Trade tab (zero when no level has been placed), the Modify or delete command, Stop Loss and Take Profit kept on the broker’s server, and the trailing stop executed in the platform.
- MetaTrader 5 Help: Platform Settings: the Show trade levels option on the Charts tab.
- Kingdom Guard on the MQL5 Market: what the panel shows and what it does not do, as described on its product page.
About EA Kingdom
EA Kingdom builds Expert Advisors (automated trading programs) and free tools for gold (XAUUSD) on MetaTrader 5, sold only on the MQL5 Market. Every published backtest comes with the exact Strategy Tester settings to reproduce it with the free demo, and the maximum equity drawdown is printed next to every result. Short answers about every product: FAQ.