Instruments
Instrument settings let you add markets that are not already available in the symbol picker. This is useful for broker-specific symbols, private markets, synthetic instruments, backtesting symbols, or any instrument where you need to control the tick size and market details yourself.
Open Settings, then choose Instruments to manage your custom instruments.
Custom instruments table
The Instruments page shows your custom instruments in a table. The table includes:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Symbol | The custom symbol shown in symbol pickers and trade details. |
| Market | The market type, such as Forex, Cryptocurrency, Stock, Funds, Index, or CFD. |
| Description | Optional text that helps identify the instrument. |
| Base | Base currency for Forex, Cryptocurrency, and CFD instruments. |
| Quote | Quote currency for Forex, Cryptocurrency, and CFD instruments. |
| Tick Unit | Whether the instrument uses pips or ticks for movement display. |
| Tick Size | The smallest price increment used for price formatting and calculations. |
| Pip Size | The calculated pip size when the instrument uses pips. |
| Exchange | Optional exchange or venue text. |
| Country | Optional country value for supported market types. |
| Linked Trades | The number of trades currently using the custom instrument. |
Use "Filter symbols" to search your custom instruments. When the list spans multiple pages, use the pagination controls at the bottom of the table.
Add a custom instrument
Click "Add" to open the Add Custom Symbol modal.
The required fields are:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Symbol | The symbol you want to use in Trading Vault. |
| Market | The market type. This controls which fields appear and how the instrument is grouped. |
| Use pips | Turn on when movement should be displayed in pips. Turn off when the instrument should use ticks. |
| Tick Size | The smallest price movement for the instrument. |
For Forex, Cryptocurrency, and CFD instruments, enter the Base Currency and Quote Currency. These must be three-letter currency codes.
Optional fields include Description, Exchange, and Country. Country is shown for market types where it applies.
Tick size, pip size, and price precision
Tick size controls how prices are formatted and how movement is calculated. For example, a tick size of 0.01 means prices move in increments of one cent, while a tick size of 0.00001 supports five decimal places.
When "Use pips" is enabled, Trading Vault automatically calculates pip size as tick size x 10. The modal shows an example price so you can confirm that the precision looks right before saving.
Tick size must be greater than 0, less than 10, and can have up to 10 decimal places.
Edit a custom instrument
Use the pencil action in the table to edit a custom instrument. You can also edit a custom symbol from the symbol picker when it appears in search results.
The Edit Custom Symbol modal uses the same fields as the Add Custom Symbol modal. When editing, you can also enable "Apply tick size and precision to linked trades". Use this when you want existing trades that already use the instrument to receive the updated tick size and precision.
If you apply changes to linked trades, Trading Vault updates those trades in the background.
Linked trades
The Linked Trades column shows how many trades currently use each custom instrument. Use "View Trades" to open the Trades screen filtered to that symbol.
Linked trades matter when editing or deleting a custom instrument:
- Updating tick size or precision can affect calculations and price formatting on linked trades.
- A custom instrument cannot be deleted while linked trades still use it.
- If deletion is blocked, use "View Trades" to find the trades that need to be updated first.
Delete a custom instrument
Use the delete action in the table to delete a custom instrument that is no longer needed.
If the instrument has no linked trades, Trading Vault asks you to confirm the deletion. If the instrument is linked to trades, deletion is blocked and the confirmation dialog offers a "View Trades" action.
Create a custom symbol while adding a trade
You can create custom instruments from the symbol picker as well as from Settings. When the symbol picker cannot find the symbol you typed, press Enter to add it as a custom symbol.
Custom symbols created from the symbol picker are available immediately and can be managed later from Settings > Instruments.