Customers rarely blow up because they never heard of risk management. They blow up because risk rules were optional under stress. This checklist is written for that moment — short, human, and hard to argue with.

Size before story

Decide maximum loss per idea as a percent of equity you can tolerate without changing your sleep. Then reverse-engineer size from invalidation distance. If the story needs a huge size to “matter,” the story is not ready.

One thesis, one invalidation

A thesis without a kill switch becomes a personality. Write the level or condition that ends the idea. Customers who move invalidation further away after pain are no longer researching — they are negotiating.

Correlation is hidden size

Three tech names can be one trade. Three banks can be one trade. If they gap together, your “diversification” was a story. Map overlapping bets once a week.

Emotional circuit breakers

  • Two emotional overrides in a day → stop for 24 hours.
  • Weekly loss limit hit → reduce size by half next week.
  • No journal entry → no new risk the next session.
A circuit breaker is not weakness. It is product design for a human brain.

Where Labs fits

Research tools should shorten scanning time, not encourage overtrading. Use multi-timeframe boards to prioritize, then apply this risk checklist before any capital decision — paper or live.

If you want a structured multi-asset research workflow, AurexisLabs Labs supports crypto, metals, and stocks with multi-timeframe Discovery — process first, opinions second.

Educational research only — not investment advice. Markets can move against you; manage risk and make your own decisions.