What stop-loss does Mark Minervini use?

In the interview he says to get out at single-digit losses using a stop-loss and to sell for a small loss before it becomes large; the exact percentage is not stated there.

Mark Minervini

Stock trader; US Investing Championship winner; author of “Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard”

BB — an interview with the trader’s own words; the questions are the interviewer’s.

Momentum, volatility contraction pattern (VCP), strict loss control. His own site gives no free rules, so this page uses a published MarketWatch interview. It confirms the principles, not the numbers.

A published rule is a hypothesis, not evidence of profit. We do not know how often these rules won, and traders who publish their methods are the ones who survived.

Sources

My (Expanded) MarketWatch Interview with Stock Market Wizard Mark Minervini (Michael Sincere) — interview
minervini.com was opened: it is a sales page without rules.

Rules

Filter

FilterTrade only stocks in an uptrend; he will not trade against a trend.“I will not trade against a trend.”
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FilterPrefer stocks with relative strength versus the overall market and use a “leadership profile” that compares a stock with common traits of past big winners.
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FilterHedging with put options only adds risk in his view (you can lose on both sides).
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FilterMarket condition: a confirmed uptrend in the S&P 500 is the main green light, and pullbacks in it are buying opportunities. He is cautious on individual small and mid caps when breadth is narrow.
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Entry

EntryHis signature setup is the Volatility Contraction Pattern (VCP). The interview does not state an exact pivot or breakout price rule.
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Stop

StopGet out at single-digit losses, which requires using a stop-loss; the only way to manage risk is to sell for a small loss before it becomes a large one.
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Exit

ExitHold only while the potential reward exceeds the risk and while the stock is “behaving”; protect profit once the trade works. He describes himself as a swing trader.
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Not confirmed

Often attributed to this trader, but not found in the sources above. Not listed as his or her rules.

The eight Trend Template criteria (150- and 200-day averages, 52-week high/low distances) and a “7–8% maximum loss” are widely repeated on third-party sites and indicator scripts; the interview does not state them, so they are not listed as his rules here.

Limits of these rules

Principles without parameters cannot be tested. His stated results are not verified here, and third-party “Minervini” scripts are not his rules.

Other traders

Rules are our paraphrase of the sources; only short quotes are verbatim. This is information, not advice or a promise of profit.