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Before a trader defines their strategy or chooses their markets, they must decide how they plan to conduct themselves. A trading strategy should be underpinned by a set of standards and behaviours that guide every decision and approach. Establishing professional standards can provide a framework for consistency and personal accountability, and give you a better chance of improving your trading outcomes.These standards should form one of the first and most important sections of any trading strategy, serving as a personal code of conduct that you can return to in times of uncertainty and something you can align with at the start of a trading day.Review these standards often, reword them to fit your natural way of thinking, and take ownership of them!

1. Discipline

I act in the market according to my written rules, not my impulses. Without trading discipline, even the best strategy can break down. Sticking to predefined criteria helps to remove emotion from decisions on entry and exit. Although this is a crucial standard in developing consistency, discipline is a symptom rather than a cause. You will still need to explore the underlying cause if you often find yourself straying from your plan.

2. Risk Management

I risk only what is appropriate for my account size, experience, and market conditions. Protecting capital and managing profit risk (the amount you give back to the market if it moves in your desired direction) should always be a cornerstone of any planning.Appropriate position sizing relating to account size (e.g., 1% if leveraged trading) and some awareness and adjustment of this, are also worth consideration in specific trading plan criteria.

3. Evidence-Based Refinement

I measure, evaluate, and adapt based on performance data, not hunches or whims. The need for consistency in action is at the basis of effective performance measurement. You will only be able to determine the success of trading approaches and your trading plan if you actually trade it. Improvement comes from analysing trade results, including the success of various strategies, instruments, and timeframes.To close the circle through refinement according to these results is the final step in this cyclical approach to ongoing improvement in outcomes.

4. Trading Patience

I wait for high-quality setups that align with my plan. Overtrading only exposes me to noise and weakens my trading edge. It is not so easy waiting for the market to respond as you think it should. The ‘itchy-trigger” syndrome of premature entry is commonplace for many traders, but often that move you expect fails to materialise and results in a trade that moves against you.Waiting for complete candles to confirm a breach of a resistance level and ensuring all entry criteria are met are two key things to work on. This may mean sitting through an entire session without a trade because the right setup defined in your rules has not happened. If so, tomorrow is another trading day and one that may produce the right setup with a desirable result.

5. Transparency and Trading Honesty

I keep records that reflect the truth, wins and losses alike, recognising this is the best way to identify what I must work on to become the trader I can beHonest trade journaling builds personal accountability and highlights where improvement is needed. A painful stop triggered and too much profit given back, caused by ignoring your rules, is still logged and reviewed — that is how you grow as a trader.

6. Professionalism

I treat trading as a business, not as a form of entertainment or gambling. Setting clear overall goals for your trading, managing costs, and reviewing your performance, like any business owner would. Your trading business profit/loss is based on doing the right things consistently, being serious about continuous improvement and refining your interactions with whatever market and trading style you choose to trade.

7. Adaptability

I adjust my approach to market conditions instead of forcing one method into all environments. A breakout system shines in volatile conditions, but in quiet ranges, it may be time to consider alternative strategies, such as mean reversion. Matching strategy to market requires the development of general market awareness, often facilitated through looking at longer timeframes or key market classes as part of your daily trading routine.This is not only important at the start of the day, but also at the start of each new trading session, e.g., the move from Asian into European sessions.Proactive assessment of when markets may change, e.g. key economic data releases, is also a key part of this.

8. Resilience

I remain composed and continue to adhere to my trading plan when faced with losses and setbacks. Every trader experiences drawdowns, but it is resilience that determines who recovers and how rapidly this recovery may be. You may choose to set a standard to provide some “breathing space” to press your psychological reset button.For example, when I hit three consecutive losses, I stop, reset, realign with my plan and return with clarity, rather than potentially compounding errors through frustration and revenge trading behaviour.

9. Competence-Based Progression

I scale my trading in a particular strategy, my trading as a whole, and take on new approaches only when a level of knowledge and competency indicates I am ready. Every move forward in trading activity should be backed up with a defined readiness. If you are considering scaling, this should be specific based on having a critical mass of trades that indicate that your results have some sort of consistency. Taking on new strategies is based on learning and testing at a minimum trading volume initially. There is no race to move forward, but this must be balanced with managing potential procrastination when evidence that you can ramp things up is present.

10. Continuous Learning

I will remain a student of the market. There are no greater lessons that can be gained from how I am trading in reality to identify those things I need to work on nextComplacency will end progress towards the trader you can become. Continuous learning will keep you sharp and should be planned. Each month, look for new insights, tools, and strategies and record milestones to offer motivational evidence that you are progressing.

Final Thoughts

Professional standards should not be viewed as optional extras; they should be explicitly stated and used in reality to measure behaviour. These should be your foundation on which all trading planning and your long-term success can be built. They should be articulated in the first section of your trading plan and will set the tone for how you will operate in every market condition. Your strategies may change, and markets will always evolve, but a trader guided by the standards covered in this article has the chance to grow and positively influence their trading outcomes.

What Is the Break and Retest?

The “Break and Retest” is a common price action setup based on two important principles:

1. The tendency for prior resistance to become support, and prior support to become resistance.
2. Several key-level breakout price moves will offer a challenge to the strength of a move by retesting the key level just breached, before continuing a move in the breakout direction.

Psychologically, this price action indicates market control as the breakout is confirmed, and a new trend may be in play. Essentially, the retest level can be thought of as a battleground. It is asking questions of the conviction of a potential sentiment change, so a new directional move can begin.

Bearish Break and Retest

A bearish setup occurs when support is broken to the downside, and price then retests the former support level, which now acts as resistance.This reflects an inability of the buyers to force price back above the broken level, while the sellers use the retest and subsequent continuation to confirm the move

• A: Break → price pushes decisively below a support level, showing strong seller control.
• B: Retest → price rallies back to the broken support, which now holds as resistance.
• C: Confirmation → the retest is rejected, and a bearish candle close beneath the low of the initial breakout candle is seen. This pattern suggests buyers are unable to reclaim the level, confirming that the balance of power remains with the sellers.

You can see a real chart example of this on the 4-hourly USDJPY, where a previous support level was breached, then retested before the confirmation of a downwards continuation was seen.

Bullish Break and Retest

A bullish setup occurs when resistance is broken to the upside, and price then retests the former resistance, which now acts as support.This sequence reflects sellers being unable to force price back below the broken level, while buyers use the retest to confirm the move.

• A: Break → price surges through resistance, showing strong buyer conviction.
• B: Retest → price pulls back to the broken level, which now holds as support.
• C: Confirmation → the retest of the key level is rejected, and a bullish candle close above the high of the initial breakout candle is seen. This pattern suggests sellers are unable to reclaim the level, confirming that the balance of power remains with the buyers.

You can see a real chart example of this on the daily gold futures CFD (XAUUSD), where a broken resistance level is retested prior to seeing uptrend confirmation with the price breaching the initial breakout candle high.

Stop Placement and Exits

Risk management for the Break and Retest often focuses on the retest zone itself:

• For bearish setups, stops are commonly placed just above the retest candle high of the original support zone.
• For bullish setups, stops are typically set just below the retest candle low of the previous resistance zone.

Profit-taking exit approaches can include:

• Using fixed risk-to-reward targets, often 2:1 or better.
• Profit targets may be set near the next key level in the direction of the new trend
• Employing trailing stops to capture extended runs after strong breakouts.

Final Thoughts

The Break and Retest combines a decisive breakout move with a clear technical retest and confirmation, allowing traders to join a trend at a defined confirmation point with structured and logical stop placement.The psychology is rooted in how market participants react to broken levels and the desire to see conviction before committing to increases in volume and momentum.This setup is commonly used by many traders as it avoids “chasing” the first breakout candle and offers a new and potentially stronger confirmation of the robustness of a new trend. As always, confluence factors such as increased volume, overall trend direction, and proximity to other key market levels can add confidence in the potential for continuation of the price action move.If you want to take the first steps on adding this to your trading toolbox, have a look at charts and see the frequency of this scenario, as well as track charts that exhibit this move to see what happens next.

The Inside Bar breakout is a price action setup that indicates a short-term consolidation within the broader context of an existing trend — and a potential confirmation that the trend may be continuing.It is a candle that forms entirely within the outer points of wicks that formed from the previous candle. This previous candle, often referred to as the mother bar, is critical in the formation of this price pattern.This setup indicates a pause in market momentum (the market “catching its breath”) during the course of a trend before choosing whether to continue its move in that direction.When price compresses into an inside bar, buyers and sellers are in temporary balance. The eventual breakout from this pause is where the potential opportunity lies for traders, when aligned with the prevailing trend.As with all chart patterns, the setup is not complete until a breakout and confirmation candle are seen in the chosen direction.

Bearish Inside Bar Breakout

A bearish breakout occurs when the price breaks below the low of the mother bar following the formation of an inside bar. This shows that sellers have regained or confirmed control after a period of consolidation.

• A: Mother bar → a candle within a trend that sets the boundaries of the setup based on the high and low of its range
• B: Inside bar → a smaller candle that is contained entirely within the mother bar, showing indecision or temporary balance between buyers and sellers.
• C: Breakout and confirmation → price breaks below the low of the mother bar, confirmed by a bearish candle close, showing sellers taking control.

On occasion, you may see a double inside bar where two bars trade within the range of the mother bar before finally breaking out.Although some people may see this as not a pure inside bar, the market psychology behind the move has not changed.You can see a real chart example of this on the 4-hourly Nasdaq futures (NDX100) CFD chart, where there was a one-candle pause before continuation of the prevailing downtrend following a reversal to the downside.

Bullish Inside Bar Breakout

A bullish breakout occurs when the price breaks above the high of the mother bar following an inside bar. This demonstrates that buyers have reasserted control after the pause.

• A: Mother bar → an initial large candle showing a defined range.
• B: Inside bar → a small consolidation candle within the mother bar, often reflecting hesitation or equilibrium.
• C: Breakout and confirmation → a bullish candle closes above the high of the mother bar, showing buyers are ready to push higher.

This reflects the market psychology where selling pressure was absorbed during the consolidation for one candle before renewed buying momentum.You can see a real chart example of this on the 30-minute EURJPY, where a strong move to the upside on the mother bar was temporarily halted, followed by the confirmation bar resulting in a 50 pip move upwards.

Stop Placement and Exits

Risk management is central to the inside bar strategy:

• For bearish setups, stops are often placed above the high of the mother bar.
• For bullish setups, stops are typically placed below the low of the mother bar.

Profit management exit strategies vary depending on the risk profile of the trader and should be articulated in a trading plan. These can include:

• Setting a fixed risk-to-reward level (e.g., 2:1).
• Using trailing stops as price moves continue to move in your desired direction, locking in profits during the life of the trade.
• From a profit target perspective, approaches that target logical chart levels, such as recent swing highs/lows or nearby support/resistance zones, can be considered.

Final Thoughts

The Inside Bar breakout is a flexible strategy that can be seen across different markets and timeframes.Its strength lies in recognising that markets often pause and compress before a potential move in the same direction as the prevailing trend.Its popularity is based on the fact that it can provide both an opportunity for entry when an initial trend move has been missed or an indication that accumulation into an existing position could be worth looking at.By identifying the presence and the range of mother bar, the inside bar, and exercising patience for a decisive breakout, traders aim to capitalise on this temporary contraction and expansion in volatility.As always, practising this setup and making notes on what happens next is crucial to determining your specific approach and developing testable, unambiguous criteria for action.

Last year was the year of the split. Tech titans like Nvidia, Broadcom, and MicroStrategy all executed 10-for-1 stock splits that sent retail investors (rightly or wrongly) into a buying frenzy.

But despite multiple major stocks climbing to record-high levels this year — Netflix $1,200, Meta $760, and AutoZone $4,200 — we have yet to see any significant split action in 2025.

Why Companies Split Their Stock

A stock split is financial engineering. It makes individual shares more affordable without changing the company's underlying value.

When a company executes a 4-for-1 split, shareholders receive four shares for every one they previously owned, while the stock price drops to one-quarter of its pre-split level. It doesn’t change the overall market capitalisation of the company or anything from a foundational value perspective.

However, it can have some psychological benefits and add flexibility for the company, which can often be enough for markets to rally around it.

Companies typically split their stock for a few key reasons:

Accessibility: High stock prices can deter smaller investors who prefer to buy full shares rather than fractions. A $1,000 stock becomes more psychologically appealing at $100 after a 10-for-1 split.

‍Liquidity: For the same psychological reasons, lower prices often increase trading volume, and the higher liquidity makes the stock even more appealing for further retail investments and lower-risk traders.

‍Employee compensation: Splits give greater flexibility when granting employees shares through stock option programs.

‍Market inclusion: Some indices, particularly the Dow Jones, favour companies with more moderate share prices.

Stock Splits So Far in 2025

Although at a far more measured pace than we saw in 2024, this year has seen some split activity, especially from outside the tech sector. Four prominent non-tech companies have completed forward splits so far in 2025:

• Coca-Cola Consolidated (COKE): Announced a 10-for-1 split
• O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY): Completed a 15-for-1 split
• Interactive Brokers (IBKR): Executed a 4-for-1 split in June
• Fastenal (FAST): Implemented a 2-for-1 split

However, the tech sector, which dominated split headlines in 2024, has been notably quiet this year.

Next Top Stock Split Candidates

1. Netflix (NFLX) - $1,200+ Per Share

Netflix is the most likely candidate for a 2025 stock split. The company's share price pushed through the $1,200 barrier for the first time following the release of positive financial results for H1 2025.

Netflix has conducted two stock splits in the past: a 2-for-1 stock split in 2004, and a 7-for-1 stock split in 2015 when its price hit $650 per share — almost half of what it is currently.

Netflix reported 18.9 million new subscribers during Q4 2024  (significantly more than the 8.2 million Wall Street forecast), and its advertising revenue is also expected to double by the end of 2025.If its momentum continues, Netflix executing a split before the end of the year is highly likely.

2. Meta Platforms (META) - $760+ Per Share

Meta is the only member of the Magnificent Seven stocks to never carry out a split. META currency trades at over $760 — a threshold where many companies regularly consider splitting.

Meta's winning streak over the past year drove its shares to an all-time high of $790 in August, and it is the top performer in 2025 among the Magnificent Seven.

Meta posted earnings beats of $47.5 billion in revenue in July, well above the $44.83 billion expectation, with earnings per share hitting $7.14 compared to the expected $5.89.

There is high speculation that the company could announce its first-ever split before the end of 2025. Its heavy AI spending, including raising 2025 AI expenditures to $66-72 billion, shows Meta’s confidence in its trajectory and would justify a stock split within the next few months.

3. Microsoft (MSFT) - $510 + Per Share

Microsoft currently trades around $510 per share. Its all-time high of $555.45 per share came in July 2025, driven by AI growth and cloud dominance.

Microsoft has executed nine stock splits since going public in 1986, with the most recent occurring in 2003, when shares traded around $48.The 22-year gap since the last split is the longest drought in the company's history, with all previous splits occurring below $200 per share.

Microsoft is one of only two stocks in the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average trading above $500, alongside Goldman Sachs.

The Dow's price-weighted structure means higher-priced stocks have disproportionate influence on the index, creating pressure from S&P Dow Jones Indices to maintain balance.

There is also a competitive precedent for Microsoft to split. Its long-time rival, Apple, executed a split in 2020 when its stock was in the $450 range. And other tech giants, such as Nvidia and Broadcom, have also recently split their stocks, setting a strong precedent for Microsoft to follow.

4. Costco Wholesale (COST) - $960+ Per Share

Costco's consistent growth and near $1000 per share price make it a likely split candidate in the next 6-12 months. The company has split its stock multiple times in the past, but its last split was over 25 years ago in 2000. The stock is up 2,780% since then.

Costco’s reported Membership fee revenue increased 10% to $5.3 billion from June 2024 to May 2025, and its overall revenue of $268.78 billion is up 5.94% during the same period.

Despite the positive numbers, Costco’s management has remained noncommittal when asked about split plans, making timing uncertain despite the strong financial case.

5. AutoZone (AZO) - $4,230+ Per Share

AutoZone's current stock price ironically exceeds the cost of many used cars for which it sells parts.

Despite its massive per-share price, AutoZone has avoided splitting since 1994. The company's share buyback programs have nearly halved the share count in the past ten years, pushing the price higher.

This massive share price alone puts it firmly on the upcoming split candidate list. However, its history shows that they often delay and defy the split norm.

Stock Splits Are a Result, Not a Cause

Stock splits generate excitement, but they don’t change a business's fundamental value or the total value of the shares owned by shareholders.

Although research suggests split stocks often outperform broader markets in the 12 months following the announcement, this is generally a correlation, not a causation.

It is the strong business fundamentals that justified the split in the first place that usually lead to market outperformance, rather than the split itself. Anyone considering these stocks should focus on business fundamentals rather than split speculation.

That said, stock splits can generate hype and serve as catalysts for broader market attention. If the marketing strategy around the split is done well, it can help the company generate more interest from retail investors than otherwise anticipated.

Looking Ahead

2025 has seen fewer tech company stock splits than 2024, setting the stage for major announcements in the coming months. Companies like Netflix and Meta face increasing pressure to make their shares more accessible as prices reach new highs.

The next wave of stock splits will likely come from these established leaders whose strong business performance has driven their share prices to split-warranting levels.

Whether these companies ultimately decide to split their stocks remains to be seen, but the fundamental case for each remains strong regardless of corporate actions.

What Is a Bollinger Band Reversal?

The Bollinger Band reversal is a mean-reversion strategy that looks for the price to temporarily overextend beyond its typical range before snapping back inside.It consists of three lines:

1. An upper band
2. A lower band
3. A 20-period simple moving average (SMA) in the middle.

The Upper band and Lower band are set at a default level two standard deviations from the SMA.When the price closes outside one of the bands, it often signals significant price momentum. This level of momentum is often followed by "move exhaustion” and subsequently pulls back to a more usual state. If the next move returns price inside the bands, this may offer a possible reversal opportunity. This setup can happen on any timeframe on any asset.As always with any chart pattern, the pattern can only be thought of as complete when there is a confirmation candle. Confluence factors such as where the candle sits in relation to the range (e.g., in the top half for a bullish trade) and increased volume are often considered part of a complete trading plan in the Bollinger Band reversal setup.

Bearish Bollinger Band Reversal

A bearish reversal occurs when the price moves sharply above the upper band, showing extreme buying pressure, but then closes back inside the band. This can suggest the price may have become overextended, and sellers are attempting to regain control.

• A: Prior advance (bull candles) → strong upward momentum pushing price above the upper Bollinger Band.
• B: Over-extension → a candle closes outside the band, showing unsustainable momentum.
• C: Re-entry with confirmation → a subsequent bearish candle closes back inside the band, confirming the reversal.

The EURJPY 30-minute chart below shows two examples of this setup in action:

Bullish Bollinger Band Reversal

A bullish reversal can be seen on a chart when the price falls below the lower band, showing extreme selling pressure, but then closes back inside the lower band. This suggests that the downward trend in price is becoming exhausted, and buyers are stepping in.

• A: Prior decline (bear candles) → strong downward momentum pushing price below the lower Bollinger Band.
• B: Over-extension → a candle closes outside the band, showing unsustainable downside pressure.
• C: Re-entry with confirmation → a subsequent bullish candle closes back inside the band, validating the reversal.

The Gold Futures CFD 1-hourly chart below shows two examples of this setup in action:

Stop Placement and Exits

Initial risk management stops are generally placed just beyond the candle that closed outside the band:

• In bearish setups: the stop goes above the high of the candle that closed outside the upper band.
• In bullish setups: the stop goes below the low of the candle that closed outside the lower band.

Exit strategies often include:

• Using the 20-period SMA (the “mean” in the mean reversion) as a potential profit target or signal to trail the initial stop level.
• Using a set risk-to-reward ratio, such as 2:1.

Final Thoughts

The Bollinger Band reversal is a popular mean reversion strategy that takes advantage of price extremes. Traders who are developing a formal trading plan with this setup wait for a close outside the bands, a re-entry of price inside the bands (in the opposite direction), and a confirmation candle.In essence, traders are attempting to capitalise on the pullback.It is important to note that price can “walk the bands” for an extended time, so risk management with stop placements should be part of any plan using this setup.Practicing across different market conditions, asset classes, and timeframes will help identify where Bollinger Band reversals are most effective and how best to integrate them into your trading toolbox.

The outside bar is a powerful price action pattern that often signals a potential reversal. Unlike single-wick setups such as a pinbar strategy, the outside bar forms when a candle’s high and low both exceed those of the prior candle, effectively “engulfing” it completely.This wide-ranging bar represents a change in buying or selling pressure and illustrates the decisive battle, with one side clearly emerging stronger by the close. For traders looking at reversal setups, this pattern may provide a clear structural clue that market sentiment has shifted significantly.

Bearish Outside Bar

A bearish outside bar occurs at the end of a bullish upswing in price and sellers move in to overwhelm any buyer volume that is left in the market. The outside bar pushes above the prior candle’s high but then collapses through its low, closing below the low of the previous candle.This sudden failure at higher prices can often signal price move exhaustion of the uptrend and may be the start of a bearish reversal.

• A: Prior advance (bull candles) → strong upward movement into resistance.
• B: Outside bar (bearish close) → candle exceeds both high and low of previous candle, closing down.
• C: Confirmation candle (bearish close) → follow-through selling that validates the reversal.

The NZDUSD 1-hourly chart below shows two examples of this setup in action:

Bullish Outside Bar

A bullish outside bar appears after a decline when buyers step in aggressively. The candle drives below the prior low but then rallies strongly, closing higher and engulfing the prior candle.This shift signals that selling pressure has been absorbed, and buyers are likely taking control.

• A: Prior decline (bear candles) → downside momentum into support.
• B: Outside bar (bullish close) → candle exceeds both high and low of previous candle, closing up.
• C: Confirmation candle (bullish close) → follow-through buying that confirms the reversal.

The AUDJPY daily chart below shows two examples of this setup in action:

Stop Placement and Exits

A logical stop placement that indicates your trading idea may not have gone as you had hoped it might, and may be a placement beyond the extreme of the outside bar. Therefore:

• In bearish setups, a stop is placed above the high of the outside bar.
• In bullish setups, a stop is placed below the low of the outside bar.

Common additional exit approaches may include:

• Targeting the next key support/resistance zone,
• Using a fixed risk-to-reward ratio (e.g., 2:1 or 3:1),
• Or trailing stops behind subsequent highs/lows as the price moves in your desired direction to capture extended moves whilst locking in profit,

Final Thoughts

The outside bar is a clear visual signal that suggests a change in the balance of buyers versus sellers, where one side overwhelms the other. It may often offer a high probability of follow-through when it appears at significant levels of support or resistance.Like all setups, outside bars are fallible. For example, choppy markets can generate multiple false signals, so combining the pattern with context trend alignment, confirmation candles, and other confluence factors such as increased volume may help improve signal reliability.As always, it is worth reinforcing that an entry set alone will rarely be successful unless you have robust and unambiguous rules around the primary price action of an outside bar.Testing what these factors are and which confluence factors may work for you across different markets and timeframes is critical in creating a complete trading strategy. Only then should traders add the outside bar to their price action toolbox.