CLAUDE-TRADING.md - Trading System Operations¶

Purpose: Trading strategies, risk rules, and multi-account management for Schwab + Alpaca

Multi-Account Trading Protocol (MANDATORY)¶

Lesson Learned: On 2025-12-09, orders failed due to placing all orders on Schwab only, even though Alpaca Live had $1,607 available. Check ALL accounts before trading.

Your Trading Accounts¶

Account	Type	Typical Cash	Use Case
Schwab ...6800	LIVE	~$2,000	Long-term positions
Alpaca Live	LIVE	~$1,600	Quick trades
Alpaca Paper	PRACTICE	~$65,000	Strategy testing

Before ANY Live Trade¶

# Step 1: Run pre-trade check (MANDATORY - NO EXCEPTIONS)
uv run python3 tools/pre_trade_check.py

# Step 2: If placing multiple orders, plan distribution:
uv run python3 tools/pre_trade_check.py --orders "NVDA:5,CVNA:2,O:18"

The Checklist¶

Run pre_trade_check.py to see ALL account balances
Calculate TOTAL order cost across ALL orders
Distribute orders across accounts based on available cash
NEVER place all orders on one account if it exceeds that account's cash

Trading Safety Rules¶

Paper test first: 24-48hr minimum, no exceptions
Stop losses: Required on ALL positions
Risk limits: Max 1% per trade, 2% daily loss limit
Market hours: Check before orders (market closed = orders fail)
Live trading: Requires explicit user approval

Paper Test Workflow¶

1. Backtest¶

uv run python3 tools/strategy_tester.py

Required thresholds: - Sharpe Ratio > 2.0 - Win Rate > 35%

2. Paper Deploy¶

Minimum 24-48 hours on Alpaca Paper account
Monitor for unexpected behavior

3. Validate¶

No critical bugs
Metrics match backtest expectations

4. Go/No-Go¶

User explicitly approves live deployment
Never auto-deploy to live

Risk Management¶

Position Sizing¶

Strategy	Max Position	Stop Loss
Micro-cap	$1,000	ATR-based (15-24%)
Standard	$2,000	9% trailing
Dividend	$3,000	5% hard stop

Portfolio Limits¶

Single strategy: Max 20% of capital
Daily loss limit: 2% of capital
Total exposure: Track across ALL accounts

Trading Commands¶

# View all portfolios (Schwab + Alpaca)
uv run python3 tools/portfolio_fetcher.py

# Paper trader status
tail -f /tmp/micro_cap_paper_trader.log

# Trading analytics
uv run python3 tools/trading_analytics.py

# Schwab authentication (if expired)
uv run python3 tools/schwab_auth.py

# Health check (includes trading infrastructure)
make health-check

Active Trading Strategies¶

Micro-Cap Momentum¶

Status: Running on Alpaca Paper
Positions: 0-3 active
Monitor: /tmp/micro_cap_paper_trader.log
Reference: docs/status/MICRO_CAP_STATUS_SUMMARY.md

Phase 3D Financial Services¶

Status: Deployed on Alpaca Paper
Positions: ~20 positions
Strategy: Dividend yield + value
Reference: ~/Development/trading-platform/docs/

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Check	Fix
Order rejected	Account balance	Distribute across accounts
Schwab auth failed	Token expiry	`uv run python3 tools/schwab_auth.py`
Market closed	API response	Wait for market hours
Position not showing	API sync	Wait 30s, refresh
Stop loss not triggering	Order status	Check order type (stop vs limit)

API Credentials (Trading)¶

Service	Location	Notes
Schwab	`~/.schwab_tokens.json`	7-day token expiry
Alpaca	`~/.env.alpaca`	Paper + Live keys
Redis (capital tracking)	Docker container	`docker start trading-redis`

See also: - CLAUDE.md - Main development guide - docs/architecture/trading-multi-agent-design.md - Trading system architecture - tools/portfolio_fetcher.py - Portfolio aggregation code