Trend Friend - Swing Trade & Scalp Signal Indicator
For Tradingview
PREMIUM INDICATOR
Trend Friend Algo is a custom built, data driven algorithm that gives buy and sell signals when many different factors line up together on a single candle. It is designed to catch every move so you can expect early entries and exits across all of your favorite markets. Use scalp mode for early entries with lots of signals or swing mode for longer swings with fewer signals and long swing mode for really long swing trades with even less signals.
The best markets to use this indicator on are high volume tickers with a lot of price action as these markets have enough data to use to give the signals the algo needs to be able to detect highly probable moves in price. That being said, it works across all markets such as stocks, crypto, forex and futures and across all timeframes(on really long timeframes it may not give signals due to not having enough data to work with).
Major Points To Remember Before Using This Indicator
The algo is designed to catch major moves, so if a signal seems to come in late, it is highly likely the market is about to reverse so use caution when taking signals that seem late. This typically happens because the market is indecisive so always be careful in these situations and just wait for a better signal when markets are really decisive.
Always trade in the direction of the trend meaning the volume weighted moving average clouds. There is also a trend detection label and risk level label that you should follow to keep your trades as safe as possible. The safest way to do this is only trade short when the VWMA 100 is below the VWMA 500 and a Bear signal comes in very close to a VWMA line. Only trade long when the VWMA 100 is above the VWMA 500 and a Bull signal comes in very close to a VWMA line.
If price is between the moving averages, play the VWMA 100 and VWMA 500 as support and resistance and only take signals near one of the VWMAs with the plan of price returning to the other VWMA . If you are taking trades against the trend, like trying to buy the dips or sell the tops, wait for price to cross the VWMA 100 before following a signal.
If the VWMA 100 and VWMA 500 are close to each other and/or moving sideways, you can expect choppy price action and consolidation so use caution when taking trades during this time. It is better to wait for the price to hold above or below both VWMAs and stay supportive there before taking trades. Waiting for volume to increase is also a good way to avoid chop after the trend decides a direction.
This indicator will repaint sometimes before the candle has closed, so either wait for the candle to close with a signal before entering trades or only take signals before it closes on candles with good volume and technical analysis backing it.
All The Features You Need
Trend Friend has multiple features designed to help you trade better and make decisions faster.
Buy & Sell Signals – When the algo detects all of our required parameters lining up on a single candle, Trend Friend will give Bull or Bear signals on the chart. Bull means upward price action is expected. Bear means downward price action is expected.
Take Profit Signals – When the price action makes a move that typically signals a reversal, a take profit signal will show up on the chart to help you get out of a trade before the next signal comes in.
Risk Levels For Signals – There is a risk detection system that tells you how risky each signal is as it comes in to help you stay out of dangerous trades. Wait for signals with low risk and you’ll be much safer than trying to take trades against the trend.
Alerts – There are options for alerts on buy signals, sell signals, take profit signals, price crossing the VWMA 100 and price crossing the VWMA 500. All of these can be controlled using tradingview alerts so you don’t have to watch the charts and wait for things to happen. These alerts can also be used to send orders to trading bots if you choose.
Candles Painted Green Or Red According To Buy & Sell Pressure – By default, this indicator paints the candle sticks green, red or blue according to buy & sell pressure(DMI). You will need to turn off candle colors in your chart settings for this to appear correctly.
Moving Average & VWAP Clouds – We included two color coded volume weighted moving averages( VWMA 100 and VWMA 500) and a color coded RMA 10 moving average. We also have a VWAP dotted line and cloud so you can easily see the trend direction on the chart at all times. The cloud and moving averages will turn green or red in real time depending on whether price is above or below each moving average or the VWAP respectively.
Trend Detection Label – The top label on the percentage update table tells you if the trend for this timeframe is Bullish or Bearish as well as when the trend is undecisive with choppy price action expected.
Chop & Low Volume Warning Labels – When price action is choppy or there is very low volume compared to historic candles, a warning label will appear at the top of the screen so you know to use caution and stay out of trades during these times.
Auto Fibonacci Levels – The chart will automatically populate fibonacci retracement and extension levels. The percentage update table will also give you real time updates on how far away the next fibonacci levels are from the current price.
Bounce Zone – We also included a very long term moving average cloud( EMA 1000 and EMA 2000) that shows as purple on the chart. When price enters that cloud, you can expect a reversal in that area. If price was trending above the cloud, expect that cloud to act as support. If price was trending below the cloud, expect that cloud to act as resistance. When price is trying to break through that cloud in either direction you can expect price action to be choppy and big moves to happen once price gets supportive in that zone and breaks out.
Margin Multiplier – If you are using margin to trade, our margin multiplier will multiply all of the percentage updates by the margin level you input in the settings tab so your percentages will reflect the percentages in your account.
How To Use
Scalp, Swing And Long Swing Mode – You can choose from scalp mode, swing mode or long swing mode in the indicator settings. It is set to scalp mode by default. Scalpers will want to use the scalp mode as it provides early entries and exits and is designed to catch every move quickly. Swing mode is designed to catch almost every move and filter out some of the noise so it will have less signals than scalp mode. Long swing mode is designed to catch those lengthy moves and will hold positions the longest but give entries later than the other modes.
Try all three on a few charts and timeframes to see which setting matches your trading style the best. If you want more signals with any of the 3 modes, go to a lower timeframe. If you want less signals on any mode, go to a higher timeframe.
Bull & Bear Signals – When all of our algo parameters line up, a BULL or BEAR label will print on the chart. Bull labels will be colored green and bear labels will be colored red. Bull indicates a good place to enter a long trade because the algo is detecting patterns that indicate price should move upwards. Bear indicates a good place to enter a short trade because the algo is detecting patterns that indicate price should move downwards.
For best results using these signals, take trade signals that line up very closely with fibonacci levels or volume weighted moving averages or the vwap or any combination of them. It is also recommended to only take trades in the direction of the trend to avoid trading false reversals. Wait for low risk signals using our risk identifier and then enter the market. Waiting for good volume to come in will also help you avoid chop and catch those quick moves.
Also, make sure to check the percentage updates table to see if the expected move to the next fibonacci level is far enough away to make the risk to reward ratio worth taking the trade. Watch for signals when the VWMAs squeeze together after a wide gap and price breaks out with a corresponding signal as these can bring large, quick moves in price. Use caution when the VWMAs are close to each other and trending sideways as this usually brings choppy price action.
(The bull and bear signals can be turned on or off in the indicator settings input tab. Useful if you want to clean up the chart or only show bear or bull signals according to the trend.)
Take profit Signals – Take profit labels will show up on the chart when a reversal candle pattern or reversal indicator pattern is detected while a trade is still open. Use these signals as times that it may be a good point to exit the trade to avoid losses or reduced profits.
(The take profit signals can be turned on or off in the indicator settings input tab.)
Risk Level Label – Taking trades against the trend is dangerous because there are more false bottoms than there are actual bottoms. Our risk detection label is there to keep you from taking dangerous trades against the trend. The label will say Low Risk when the trend is in the same direction as the last signal given. The label will say Medium Risk when the trend is neutral because price likes to chop around during these times. The label will say High Risk when the trend is in the opposite direction as the last signal given.
Make sure you wait for the risk level detector to show Low Risk before taking trades or you may be buying a false bottom.
Candles Colored According To Buy & Sell Pressure – By default this indicator will paint the candlesticks green, red or blue depending on the buy & sell pressure for those candles using the Directional Movement Index or DMI. If buy pressure is higher than sell pressure, it will paint green. If sell pressure is higher than buy pressure, it will paint red. If buy pressure is equal to sell pressure, it will paint blue. Use this to confirm which direction buying and selling is favoring and use a change in color trend to determine reversal points early. For this to work correctly you will need to go into chart settings(gear icon top right) and in the symbol tab turn off body, wicks and border.
(The buy & sell pressure candle coloring can be turned on or off in the indicator settings input tab.)
Auto Fibonacci – This indicator will automatically populate fibonacci retracement and extension levels for you. These levels are calculated using the previous high and low. You can switch the source between the previous day, week, month, quarter and year(the weekly setting is the default as it is great for day trading). The previous high and low levels will show as white(These are very important levels so watch for price to bounce off of the white lines). The percentage update table will also show the percentage gap from the current price and the next closest fibonacci level above and below, with labels telling you which fib levels they are.
(The fibonacci levels can be turned on or off in the indicator settings input tab.)
Volume Weighted Moving Averages With Clouds – The red or green moving averages should be treated as dynamic support and resistance as well as a visual way of telling current price trends. You can expect price to bounce off of these moving averages very often and quick moves usually happen when price breaks out of these moving averages.
The safest long trades you can take will be when the VWMA 100 is above the VWMA 500 and you get a BULL signal that is very close to the VWMA 100 or VWMA 500. The safest short trades you can take will be when the VWMA 100 is below the VWMA 500 and you get a BEAR signal that is very close to the VWMA 100 or VWMA 500.
When the moving averages squeeze together and price bounces between them, you can expect big moves in price when it breaks out. If price has been trending up and the moving averages squeeze together, expect the price to fall quickly once it breaks down from there. If price has been trending down and the moving averages squeeze together, expect the price to jump quickly once it breaks out from there.
These moving averages and the clouds associated with them will paint green when price is above them, indicating a bullish trend and they will change to red when price is below the moving averages, indicating a bearish trend .
You can also use the moving averages as support and resistance levels when markets are moving sideways. Since these are volume weighted moving averages, price tends to stick to them very well and paints a much clearer picture of what is going to happen than regular moving averages that don’t take volume into account. Try it on a bunch of different timeframes and charts to see for yourself.
(The moving averages and clouds can be turned on or off in the indicator settings input tab.)
Bounce Zone – The bounce zone is a purple cloud that is made up of two very long term moving averages. When price is trending above this cloud and comes back down to it, you can expect the price to bounce back upwards in this zone. If the price is trending below this cloud and comes up to it, you can expect the price to bounce back downwards when it reaches this zone.
Sometimes price will break through this cloud and you will usually notice a lot of choppy price action and accumulation in this zone. When price does break out of it, you can expect fast, large moves. I also like to call this zone the safe zone because taking trades in this zone is typically a very safe place to enter trades depending on how the price is trending before it entered this zone. If you look at the cloud on any of your favorite charts, you will see that the cloud usually represents support and resistance areas quite well.
(The bounce zone can be turned on or off in the indicator settings input tab.)
Chop & Low Volume Warnings – When price is choppy, it can be a portfolio killer. When volume is low, it can give false signals or the market can reverse easily, so stay out of trades when these warning labels appear on your chart. If you were already in a trade when these warnings appear, keep a close eye on your trades and be ready to exit if things start to go the wrong way.
Long & Short Entry Calculator – Here you can enter your own entry price for short or long positions so that your actual P&L will be shown live on your chart. This eliminates the need to calculate percentages in your head or switch screens to your broker often or use the measuring tool to calculate your P&L. These will show as zero until a trade price is entered.
Margin Multiplier – If you use margin to trade, enter your margin multiplier in this input and all of the percentages in the percentage update table will reflect how far each level is based on your margin. So a 5x margin will multiply all percentages in the chart by 5 and so on. This way you don’t have to calculate everything in your head or switch between your chart and your broker constantly.
Customization – Go into the indicator settings and you can customize just about everything to suit your style. In the Input tab you can: turn the Bull or Bear labels off or on so you only get the signals that are going in the direction of the trend, turn on or off the moving average lines & clouds, turn on or off the vwap & clouds, set your fibonacci timeframe or turn them off completely and set your long or short entry price as well as your margin level for percentage updates according to your portfolio.
You can also easily customize: the moving average lines & clouds, the bounce zone lines and cloud, the vwap color and line style, the support and resistance line colors and thickness, the bull and bear label styles, the take profit label styles and more.
Markets
This indicator can be used as a signal on all markets, including stocks, crypto, futures and forex as long as Tradingview has enough data to support the calculations needed by the algo.
Timeframes
Trend Friend Algo can be used on all timeframes.
Important Notes
For the buy & sell pressure colored candles to show up properly you will need to go to the chart settings(gear icon in top right corner) and in the symbol tab turn off body, wicks and border.
No indicator can be right 100% of the time and remember that past results do not guarantee future performance. You still need to make smart decisions when using this indicator to be successful. It is also important to note that markets with little volume and price action may not give very good signals due to many different parameters needing to line up on one candle for a signal to be given so use it on high volume tickers with lots of price action for best results.
Tips
Try using numerous indicators of ours on your chart so you can instantly see the bullish or bearish trend of multiple indicators in real time without having to analyze the data. Some of our favorites are our Volume Spikes, Directional Movement Index + Fisher, Volume Profile with DMI, and MOM + MFI + RSI with Trend Friend. They all have real time Bullish and Bearish labels as well so you can immediately understand each indicator’s trend. We strongly recommend using a support and resistance indicator like Supply & Demand to find great reversal areas and then follow the Trend Friend signals at those levels.
Release Notes
May 10, 2022: Added an adjustment that allows the indicator to give signals on tickers that don’t have a lot of bars of historical data.
Found a bug with latest update that affected lower timeframe outputs. Fixed.
May 11, 2022: Edited to ensure candles are always on top and never covered by other plots.
May 12, 2022: Removed a short term take profit trigger when the timeframe being used is 1HR or longer because the short term trigger is not relevant on longer timeframes.
May 17, 2022: Improved some signal parameters & added ability to turn off the bounce zone.
May 30, 2022: Added a few signal rejection patterns and a signal trigger pattern.
June 21, 2022: Updated signal parameters and added a rejection parameter.
October 4, 2022: Improved signal parameters.
October 17, 2022: More signal improvements!
Swing mode was unintentionally affected by the most recent update, but thanks to a user for pointing it out, I was able to get it fixed right away. Onward & upward!
October 19, 2022: Since each user has different trading styles, I decided to add a new checkbox in the input settings titled “Less Signals” that when checked will give less buy and sell signals on the chart. This will perform like the old versions so that users that preferred the old script have access to both. It affects scalp mode, swing mode and long swing mode so there are now 2 versions of each mode for you to choose from. I figured this would be the easiest way to let everyone use the script version that they like best without alienating anyone.
November 9, 2022: Added 2 signal rejection parameters to hold trending positions longer. Changed candle color from DMI based to based off if the close price is higher/lower than the previous candle close. For green candles, the candle must be up and have a higher close value than the previous candle. For red candles, the candle must be down and have a lower close than the previous candle. If these conditions are not met, then it is considered a neutral candle and will be blue. This is designed to help you stay in positions longer and reduce anxiety while watching price action that has not yet progressed in one direction or the other.
November 10, 2022: Small tweak to recent update.
April 2, 2024: Removed alert for price crossing VWMA 500.
Added alerts for low risk buy signals and low risk sell signals.