Carry strategies: how do you build one properly?

A carry strategy earns the interest difference by holding a high-yield currency against a low-yield one — and survives on risk rules, because carry unwinds violently. The swap is the income; the stop discipline is the strategy.

Carry strategies: how do you build one properly? — risk-reward diagram
A risk-reward ratio of 1 to 2

How do you construct one?

Carry strategies: how do you build one properly? — candlestick anatomy diagram
The parts of a candlestick: wick, body, open and close
  • the pairs and holding periods you use
  • the unwind signals that make you exit
  • how you account for swap when sizing

The carry trade guide covers the mechanics and the unwind risk.

Background: The carry trade explained, and why it can unwind so quickly

Borrowing in a low-interest currency to hold a high-interest one can earn steady income, until the exchange rate turns. How carry works and where the risk hides.

What is a carry trade in forex?

Buying a higher-yielding currency against a lower-yielding one to earn the interest rate difference, usually received as a positive overnight swap.

Why do carry trades unwind suddenly?

They are often crowded. When markets turn fearful, many traders close the same positions at once, buying back the funding currency and pushing it sharply higher.

Read the full guide

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