The Sovren Trading Guide.

Strategy overview

Sovren is automated trading software for NinjaTrader 8. It runs one rules-based opening range breakout strategy on Nasdaq-100 index futures: the E-mini (NQ) or the Micro E-mini (MNQ), which is one tenth of the dollar size.

It is built around a single, well-defined window: the first 90 minutes of the New York cash session. Each day it measures the opening range, waits for a breakout that meets strict quality rules, and manages any resulting trade on its own with a fixed target, a protective exit and daily limits.

What it is designed to do

• Trade the same way every session. The rules don't change with mood, news headlines or the last trade's result.
• Be selective. Many sessions produce no qualifying signal, and on those days Sovren does not trade. Sitting out is part of the design.
• Limit the downside of a single day. One losing trade ends the day, and nothing is held overnight.
• Run hands-off. Once enabled before the open, it places and manages its own orders through your NinjaTrader connection.

What it is not

Sovren is software that executes a fixed set of rules. It is not investment advice, it doesn't know your financial situation, and it doesn't read order flow or any proprietary data feed. It reads 1-minute bars on your chart. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.

Installation & setup

What you need

• NinjaTrader 8 desktop on Windows, with a market data feed and a connected broker or prop firm account.
• A 1-minute NQ or MNQ chart on the default CME US Index Futures ETH trading hours.
• A computer or VPS that stays on and connected through the New York morning. Because an open trade can be held until the daily session close, keep NinjaTrader running until you are flat.
• An active Sovren subscription. Your activation key and the download are on your account page.

Install in four steps (about ten minutes)

1. Confirm your NinjaTrader username. On your account page, make sure the NinjaTrader username on your license matches the NinjaTrader 8 sign-in that will run Sovren (not your prop firm or broker login).
2. Download and import. Download the protected Sovren file from your account page. In NinjaTrader 8 go to Tools → Import → NinjaScript Add-On, select the file, then restart NinjaTrader.
3. Add it to your chart. Open a 1-minute NQ or MNQ chart, add the Sovren strategy, and choose your account, instrument and contracts.
4. Activate and enable. Paste the activation key from your account page into the strategy's Activation key setting, then enable the strategy before 9:30 AM ET.

Devices and licensing

Each license runs on up to 2 devices, for example a home PC and a VPS. The first install that uses your key is registered automatically, and your account page shows how many devices are in use. To move Sovren to a new computer, email support to free a device slot. Sovren never asks for your NinjaTrader, broker or prop firm passwords.

Settings you control

Trading methodology

The opening range concept

The first minutes after the 9:30 AM ET New York cash open are often the most active of the day. Sovren uses the first five 1-minute bars (9:30–9:35 AM ET) to set an opening range high and low. Times are converted to Eastern Time, so the range is the same whatever time zone your computer uses.

Entry conditions

From 9:35 AM ET, Sovren watches for a 1-minute bar that closes above the range high (for a long) or below the range low (for a short). Closing beyond the range is not enough on its own. The bar must also:

• have a body of a minimum size, so small drifts across the line are ignored;
• close near its extreme, with only a small wick against the direction of the trade;
• follow a bar that moved in the same direction.

When a bar qualifies, Sovren places a limit order at that bar's closing price. A limit entry fills only if price trades back to that level, so some signals don't fill. Signals are accepted until 11:00 AM ET.

Trade management

• Fixed profit target attached to every trade.
• Protective exit: Sovren closes the position at market if price moves a set distance against it.
• End-of-day flat: anything still open shortly before the daily futures session ends is closed automatically.

Exact body, wick, target and exit sizes are proprietary and are not published. They are the same for every member and every session.

Session rules at a glance

Risk management

Built-in limits

• Daily loss limit: one losing trade ends the day. No revenge trades.
• Trades per session: 2 by default, adjustable from 1 to 3.
• Volatility filter: no entries when recent 1-minute ranges are unusually wide, with a stricter limit for a third trade.
• News days: verified high-impact US news sessions are skipped by default. If a day's status can't be verified, Sovren sits out.
• Monthly window: no new trades after the 22nd of each month, a deliberate filter explained in the disclosures.
• Unfilled orders: pending entries are cancelled once a limit is reached or the session is no longer cleared to trade.
• No overnight risk: positions are closed before the daily session ends.

Protective exits: what you need to know

Drawdown considerations

• Prop firm accounts: Sovren is built for end-of-day (EOD) drawdown accounts. Intraday trailing drawdown accounts are not recommended, because the limit follows open profit in real time.
• Position size is your decision. Losing streaks happen with any strategy. Choose a contract size your account can withstand through a run of losing days; MNQ lets you trade at one tenth of NQ's dollar size.
• Firm rules come first. Each prop firm sets its own rules on automation, news trading, copy trading and multiple accounts. Confirm yours before you enable Sovren.

Operating instructions

Daily checklist

1. Before 9:30 AM ET, start NinjaTrader and confirm your data and account connections are green.
2. Open your 1-minute NQ or MNQ chart and enable Sovren. Check the account and contract size.
3. Confirm the chart badge (see below).
4. Leave NinjaTrader running and connected until you are flat for the day.
5. Review the trade in your NinjaTrader history or your Sovren trade journal.

When Sovren trades, and when it doesn't

Monitoring: the chart badge

Every trade also appears in your NinjaTrader history. Members get a private trade journal on sovrentrading.com, filled in automatically when each trade closes, with a P&L calendar and room for your own notes. The member dashboard also shows the week's news calendar, so you know in advance which sessions Sovren will sit out.

Backtesting & performance

Can I backtest it?

Yes. Sovren 2.7 and later run in NinjaTrader's Strategy Analyzer, so you can backtest it yourself on your own historical data. Backtest results are hypothetical and can differ from live trading. Sovren does not trade on the Playback (market replay) connection.

Performance policy

The headline results are live trading from January 2026 to the present on 2 NQ contracts, based on NinjaTrader account statements; a six-year backtest is shown separately and labelled hypothetical. See the results page. Members can also request the full trade history from support. Recorded live sessions are on the sessions page for educational purposes; see the Live Trade Room Disclosure.

Video training

• Installation walkthrough (members): a step-by-step video on your member dashboard under Download & setup covers every click, from import to enabling the strategy.
• Recorded live sessions: watch Sovren run real New York opens on the sessions page.
• 1-on-1 help (members): book a 30-minute Zoom call with our support team from your dashboard to go through your setup together.