ValueTraders
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Help & Documentation

Step-by-step guides and answers to common questions.

Getting Started

Create an Alpaca account

Go to alpaca.markets and click Sign Up. You can create a free account with just an email — no brokerage application needed for paper trading.

Switch to the Paper Trading environment

After logging in, look at the top-left of the Alpaca dashboard. There is an environment toggle — click it and select Paper Trading. The header turns grey to indicate paper mode. Paper accounts start with $100,000 in simulated cash — no real money is involved at any point.

⚠️ Make sure you are in Paper Trading mode before generating keys. Live trading keys will not work with ValueTraders (which is paper-only), and we do not store or use live brokerage credentials.

Generate your API keys

In the Paper Trading environment, click your account name (top right) → API Keys, or navigate directly to Overview → Your API Keys in the left sidebar.

Click Generate New Key. Alpaca will display:

  • API Key ID — looks like PKLLDNT5VUXB5ZST…
  • Secret Key — looks like 9mA38ozczAJg3s1Y…

🔑 Copy the Secret Key immediately — Alpaca only shows it once. If you lose it, you must regenerate a new key pair. Store both values somewhere safe (e.g. a password manager).

Save your keys in ValueTraders

Go to the Dashboard. Scroll to the Alpaca API Keys section. You will see two fields — paste your API Key ID in the first box and your Secret Key in the second.

Click Verify Keys. A confirmation dialog appears showing your paper account's Portfolio Value, Cash, and Buying Power. Verify this matches what you see in Alpaca, then click Confirm & Save.

Once saved, the key fields are hidden and replaced with a summary. You can update keys at any time using the "Update Keys" button.

Add tickers to your Watchlist

Use the Add to Watchlist form to add any stock or ETF (e.g. AAPL, SPXL, QQQ). Configure:

  • SMA Period — lookback window in days (e.g. 50 = 50-day moving average)
  • Allocation $ — dollar amount per position (e.g. $5,000)
  • Trailing Stop % — how far price can fall from peak before selling (e.g. 15%)
  • Cool-off Days — days to wait before re-entering after a trailing stop fires (default: 3)

The bot scans your watchlist every hour Mon–Fri between 9:35 AM and 3:55 PM ET. Trades are placed automatically and you'll receive an email alert each time.
Tip: Hover over any ticker symbol in the Watchlist table to see the backtest results for that ticker's exact strategy parameters — including strategy return %, buy-and-hold comparison, win rate, and max drawdown over the past year.

Frequently Asked Questions

The bot fetches daily closing prices from Polygon and calculates a Simple Moving Average (SMA) over your chosen period. When the current price crosses above the SMA, a buy order is placed for your configured dollar amount. When price crosses below the SMA, the position is sold. A trailing stop is also set on Alpaca at the same time as every buy, so the position is also protected even while the bot is not scanning.
A trailing stop is a sell order placed directly on Alpaca that activates if the price drops a set percentage from its recent peak. For example, a 15% trailing stop on a stock at $100 will trigger a market sell if the price falls to $85. As the price rises, the stop level rises with it — locking in profits automatically.

The stop lives on Alpaca's servers, so it triggers even if ValueTraders is offline.
After a trailing stop fires, the bot waits the configured number of calendar days before re-entering the same ticker. This prevents immediately buying back into a stock that just broke down sharply. The default is 3 days. It is configurable per ticker (0 = no cool-off). Note: cool-off only applies after a trailing stop exit — after a normal SMA exit the bot re-enters immediately if the price crosses back above the SMA.
Hover any symbol in your watchlist to see a simulated backtest of your exact strategy (same SMA, trailing stop, and cool-off) applied to the past 365 days of daily bars from Polygon. It shows: strategy total return %, ticker simple buy-and-hold return (same period), SPY buy-and-hold 1Y, number of round trips, win rate %, and max drawdown %. Backtests are refreshed every Saturday.
Remove the ticker from your watchlist (this closes any open position) and re-add it with new parameters. Changing settings on a live position is not supported to avoid conflicting orders.
If you have an open position in that ticker, it is automatically closed via a market sell on Alpaca before the watchlist entry is removed. The trade is logged and you will receive a trade alert email.
Yes — two types:
• Trade alert — sent immediately on every buy or sell, showing price, shares, value, and P&L.
• Weekly P&L report — sent every Monday at 7 AM ET with last week's trades, all-time P&L, and current open positions.
No. ValueTraders Beta uses Alpaca Paper Trading accounts only. All trades are simulated — no real money is deposited, invested, or at risk through this platform. This platform is for educational and experimental purposes only.

Ask a Question

Still have questions?

Send us a message and we'll get back to you at help@valuetraders.ai.