Institutional Volume Terminal
Handbook

1. What IVT Is

IVT is a TradingView overlay indicator that brings together five distinct analytical layers — macro regime, volume profile, anchored VWAP, volatility compression, and order flow — and synthesises them into a single, tiered signal system. Every signal on the chart has been evaluated against up to 13 independent directional factors before a tier is assigned.

The core thesis: institutional order flow leaves repeatable signatures in volume, price structure, and relative positioning around anchored VWAP. IVT makes those signatures visible and scores them systematically so you can act on them consistently.

2. Quick Start

Add the indicator to any chart. It works on all timeframes and all instruments.

1. Set Display Mode to Essential — clean chart, 6-row dashboard, targets on. Best for live trading.
2. Leave Cantillon Regime Filter enabled with default proxies unless you have a specific reason to change them.
3. Turn on Alerts for the tiers you trade (Section 16).
4. For research sessions, switch to Full display mode to see every diagnostic row.

Reading a signal label

The number in brackets is the confluence score — a weighted sum of all active context factors. The tier (S1–S4) is determined by the count of independent directional factors, not the score.

3. Display Modes & Presets

Display Modes

Quick Presets

Presets optimise all settings for a specific trading style in one click. Your input sliders are unchanged — presets are non-destructive.

Lite Mode

Hides the volume profile histogram, AVWAP curve, and target boxes. The AVWAP line remains. Fastest chart load on slower connections.

Simple Mode

One-click clean view. Hides all diagnostic overlays (volume profile, divergence labels, absorption markers, sweeps, delta histogram, convergence zone) and shows only S2+ signals, exit targets, AVWAP line, and compression background. Mini dashboard only.

Profile: Map

Optimised for pre-session context reading. Signals and targets hidden. AVWAP and volume profile visible. Use this before a session to build context, then switch to your trading profile to execute.

4. The Cantillon Regime Filter

The regime filter answers one question: what is the macro environment doing right now? It scores three proxies on a daily basis, combines them into a composite, and maps the result to a named regime with an associated bonus or penalty. That bonus feeds directly into the signal tier system — the same setup in a FULL RISK-ON regime scores differently than in DISTRIBUTION.

Proxies

Each proxy is scored on trend, momentum, and structure. A proxy scoring above its threshold is classified as bullish for that layer.

Regime States

Bonus modifiers

• Very strong composite (all layers aligned) → additional +1
• Very weak composite → additional −1
• VIX above high threshold (default 30) → −1
• VIX below low threshold (default 18) → +1
• Final bonus is capped at ±5

Falling Knife Guard (Stress Recovery)

When bonds are rallying but equities are falling, that could mean two very different things: (1) bonds are genuinely leading a recovery — real ACCUMULATION, or (2) bonds are rallying as flight-to-safety while equities collapse — a stress regime, not a bullish setup. IVT checks the rolling correlation between bond and equity returns. When that correlation is elevated, the ACCUMULATION bonus is neutralised to STRESS RECOVERY.

Composite Score

The sum of all three layer scores plus the VIX adjustment. Displayed in the dashboard as a score out of 9. Higher = more macro layers aligned in your direction.

Transition Speed

Compares this bar's composite to the last bar's. Shows ⬆ Improving / ⬇ Deteriorating / → Stable. Useful for spotting regime turns in real time before the label changes.

The Leader

Which proxy is driving the composite. In healthy cycles the order is: Liquidity leads → Equities follow → Risk last. If Risk is leading without Liquidity, that's INFLATIONARY PUMP — no bonus.

5. Volume Profile

IVT builds a volume profile anchored to the current swing structure, with optional delta-weighting to show buy and sell pressure at each price level. The profile updates automatically when the swing changes or when price makes a significant move.

What gets drawn

• POC (Point of Control) — horizontal line at the price level with the highest traded volume. The line colour indicates whether buyers or sellers dominated at that level: green when buy volume dominated, red when sell volume dominated.
• Value Area (VA) — box covering the price range containing the configured percentage of total volume (default 70%). This is the range where the majority of trading activity took place.
• HVN (High Volume Nodes) — dashed lines at price levels where volume was significantly above average. These act as support and resistance. Green below current price, orange above.
• LVN (Low Volume Gaps) — dotted lines at thin-volume price levels. Price tends to move quickly through these zones. Off by default.
• Fibonacci 0.618 zone — highlighted retracement area of the swing, where institutional re-entries commonly cluster.

Delta-Weighted VP

When enabled, each price row is split into a buy fraction (cyan) and sell fraction (red), giving you a visual of whether buyers or sellers were dominant at every level — not just where volume was highest.

Key settings

6. AVWAP System

The AVWAP (Anchored Volume Weighted Average Price) is the central reference line of IVT. It represents the volume-weighted average price since the beginning of the current swing — the true institutional cost basis for the move.

How the anchor works

IVT identifies the current swing by finding the significant high and low over the lookback period. The AVWAP anchors to the start of that swing and recalculates as the swing structure evolves. A debounce system prevents the anchor from flickering — the swing must be sufficiently mature and stable before a reset is accepted.

Swing maturity by timeframe

What gets plotted

• AVWAP line — coloured by the current Cantillon regime state. Green in FULL RISK-ON, purple in FULL RISK-OFF, etc.
• Full AVWAP curve — the complete path from swing anchor to current bar, showing how the average has evolved.
• SD1 Bands (±1 standard deviation) — the primary target zones for both long and short entries.
• SD2 Bands (±2 standard deviations) — runner targets, and the lower band is used for the SD2L Extreme signal.

VWAP Deviation

Shown in the dashboard as a percentage — how far price has stretched above or below the AVWAP. Tight entries (low deviation at the crossover) have better historical win rates and qualify for the Dev Filter bonus.

7. Multi-AVWAP Convergence

IVT plots three simultaneous AVWAPs anchored at different structural points in time. When all three converge to the same price level, multiple institutional cost basis references are stacked — historically one of the highest-probability entry zones the indicator produces.

The three anchors

Convergence detection

When all three AVWAPs are within a defined ATR distance of each other, the convergence condition is active. IVT draws an orange background zone and a labelled box at the convergence level. The tighter the stack, the higher the convergence strength percentage shown on the dashboard.

Why it matters

Each AVWAP represents a different group of participants' cost basis. When short-term, medium-term, and long-term averages all meet at the same level, that price is "fair" across multiple timeframes simultaneously — institutions anchored at each of those points are at breakeven together, creating a natural decision zone.

8. Volatility Compression & the Coiled Spring

IVT detects periods where price has been compressing into an abnormally tight range — the coil before a directional move. The longer and tighter the compression, the more energy is stored, and the more decisive the eventual breakout tends to be.

How compression is measured

IVT measures how narrow the current trading range is relative to historical ranges over the lookback period. When the range is in the bottom percentile of recent history, the instrument is considered compressed.

• Building — compression detected but not yet sustained long enough to be confirmed
• COILED — sustained compression meeting the minimum duration requirement

Instrument-Adaptive Threshold

High-volatility instruments like crypto require a stricter threshold to avoid false COILED signals. Low-volatility instruments like large-cap equities on daily timeframes can use a more relaxed threshold. IVT auto-detects the instrument's noise profile and adjusts accordingly — you can override with a manual setting.

Breakout Direction Bias

During an active compression, IVT calculates a directional bias using four inputs — momentum, cumulative delta slope, price position relative to AVWAP, and multi-AVWAP alignment. If the composite score crosses a confidence threshold, the bias is classified as Bullish or Bearish. If no clear direction is established, it stays Neutral.

COILED Spring Setup

The highest-quality compression setup requires two conditions simultaneously: all three AVWAPs converging (multi-AVWAP convergence active) AND a valid compression in place. When both are true at the same time, the dashboard displays 🔥 COILED SPRING and S4 signals are labelled accordingly. This combination — stacked institutional cost basis + range compression — is the signature setup IVT is designed to identify.

Compression contribution to scoring

Compression exceeding 30 bars in duration adds an additional score bonus — the longer the coil, the more meaningful the eventual release.

9. Signal Architecture: S1–S4

Every signal starts with the same base trigger and escalates through tiers as independent evidence accumulates. The tier reflects conviction, not direction — you decide the position size based on the tier.

Base trigger

• Buy base — price crosses above the AVWAP with momentum confirmation and session filter pass
• Sell base — price crosses below the AVWAP with momentum confirmation and session filter pass

Tier assignment

VIX downgrade rule

If a signal reaches S3 or S4 on the long side but VIX is elevated and rising above a danger threshold, the tier is decremented by one. This prevents high-conviction long signals from firing in genuine high-fear environments.

Signal cooldown

To prevent repeated labels during a trending move, the same signal direction requires a minimum gap between firings. Higher tiers can override this cooldown — if a new signal is a higher tier than the last one, it fires immediately.

10. The 13 Independent Factors

These are the building blocks of tier assignment. Each factor measures a genuinely different aspect of market structure or order flow — none is a redundant restatement of the base crossover.

F1 — Volume Structure

Assesses whether a significant volume event accompanied the move. A volume spike with buying pressure adds a bull factor; a spike with selling pressure adds a bear factor. Large-body candles on above-average volume are also captured.

F2 — Liquidity Sweep

Detects when price wicks beyond a recent swing extreme and closes back inside it — a classic liquidity grab where stops above/below a level are triggered before price reverses. A low sweep (wick below, close above) adds a bull factor. A high sweep adds a bear factor. Visible on chart as small markers. Looks back over the most recent 5 bars.

F3 — CVD Divergence

Compares the direction of price movement to the direction of cumulative delta (net buyer vs seller volume). When price makes new lows but delta is rising — buyers are absorbing at lower prices — that's a bull factor. The reverse for bears. Only moderate and strong divergence qualifies; weak divergence is filtered out.

F4 — Price Structure (POC / VA)

Two independent checks: (1) proximity to the Point of Control combined with whether buyers or sellers dominated there, and (2) whether price is above or below the Value Area midpoint. Both checks use VP data rather than AVWAP position, keeping them independent from the base signal.

F5 — Multi-AVWAP Convergence

When the three AVWAPs are converging, the direction of cumulative delta flow into the convergence zone determines the factor. Buyers flowing into a convergence zone adds a bull factor; sellers add a bear factor.

F6 — Volatility Compression Directional Bias

When a valid compression is active with a confirmed directional bias, this adds two factors in that direction. The double weight reflects that a sustained coil with confirmed direction is one of the highest-quality setups in the system.

F7 — Cantillon Regime Alignment

When the macro regime bonus is meaningfully positive (e.g., FULL RISK-ON or ACCUMULATION), a bull factor is added. When meaningfully negative (DISTRIBUTION or FULL RISK-OFF), a bear factor is added. This keeps macro as one input among many rather than a veto.

F8 — VP Delta Imbalance at POC

A dedicated check of buyer vs seller dominance specifically at the Point of Control. When buyers dominated by more than 15% of total volume at the POC, a bull factor is added. When sellers dominated by more than 15%, a bear factor.

F9 — AVWAP Deviation Filter

Applies only at the crossover bar. Tight entries — where price is close to the AVWAP at the moment of crossing — have meaningfully better historical win rates than extended entries. When the deviation is within the configured threshold at the crossover, a factor is added in that direction. Historical data on SP500 daily showed a +7 percentage point win rate improvement for entries inside 3% deviation.

F10 — SD2L Extreme Mean-Reversion

Fires when price capitulates below the lower 2-standard-deviation band and then snaps back above it. This captures institutional buyers absorbing a panic flush — a high-probability mean-reversion setup. Adds two bull factors while active, and triggers its own dedicated label and alert. Historical data on SP500 daily: 72% win rate, +2% average return over the following 10 bars.

F11 — Compression Breakout Bias

Fires on the first bar exiting a valid compression — the spring release moment. The direction is determined by whatever bias was confirmed during the coil. This is the most time-specific factor in the system: it only fires once per compression event, on the first bar of the breakout.

F12 — AVWAP Institutional Return

Identifies when an established trend pulls back to its long-term cost basis anchor — the AVWAP anchored to the major swing low of the past 500 bars — and then reclaims it with above-average volume. This is the "institutional re-entry into trend" signal. Bull label: ↩ AVWAP. Bear equivalent: ↪ AVWAP. Appears as a standalone label on the chart.

F13 — VIX Spike / Fear Gauge

Elevated VIX relative to its recent average indicates the options market is actively buying protection — put buyers are active at lows. This is a contrarian bull signal: fear at the bottom tends to mark the turn. When VIX spikes above its rolling average by the configured threshold, a bull factor is added. An extreme spike adds a second factor. When VIX drops into complacency territory (well below its average), a bear factor is added.

11. Special Signals

SD2L Extreme Label

A separate, visually distinct label drawn in coral below the candle when the capitulation-and-snapback condition fires. Format: SD2L EXTREME [score]. Has its own dedicated alert. See Factor 10 for full details.

Structural Trend Break (v13.4)

Fires when price violates a recently confirmed swing pivot — not a minor intrabar wick, but a genuine close beyond the last confirmed structural level.

• ↘ STRUCT BREAK — price closes below the last confirmed swing low. Red label above the bar. IVT then watches for a subsequent reclaim.
• ↗ RECLAIM — after a prior structural break, price closes above the last confirmed swing high. Cyan label below the bar. Resets the break watch.

Reference lines are plotted on the chart: a stepping red line at the last swing low, a stepping cyan line at the last swing high. These signals are standalone structural warnings — they do not add to the factor count and do not trigger S1–S4 tier labels. A cooldown prevents repeated labels during an extended breakdown.

12. Order Flow & Bar Coloring

Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD)

IVT tracks the running net difference between estimated buy and sell volume from the start of the current swing. Rising CVD with rising price = healthy participation. Falling CVD with rising price = distribution (hidden selling). This delta is what powers the divergence detection and breakout bias scoring.

When Intrabar Data is enabled, the delta is estimated from sub-bar data for greater accuracy. On the forming bar this estimate updates as the bar develops.

Bar Coloring

Gold and purple bars are the ones to watch. They reveal institutional activity running against the visible price direction — the signature of smart money positioning before a move.

Delta Strength Histogram

An optional panel below the main chart showing the rate of change of cumulative delta as a histogram. Useful for seeing the momentum of delta — whether buyers or sellers are accelerating or slowing down.

13. Institutional Mechanics

Sweeps (Liquidity Grabs)

When price wicks beyond a recent swing extreme and closes back inside it, a sweep marker appears on the chart: a small marker in green for low sweeps (potential long) or red for high sweeps (potential short). These mark the "stop hunt" — where retail stops above/below a level are triggered before institutional reversal. Feeds into Factor 2.

Fair Value Gaps (FVG)

A price imbalance where three consecutive candles leave a gap — the middle candle's range is not covered by the adjacent candles. This gap represents an area where price moved too fast for all participants to trade. Green = bullish FVG (potential support on return), red = bearish FVG (potential resistance). Zones clear automatically when price returns to fill them. Off by default.

Mitigation Blocks (Order Blocks)

A two-bar structure where a strong reversal candle follows a candle in the opposite direction. The prior candle's range is marked as a zone — this is where the original order flow imbalance was placed. When price returns to that zone, the block is removed. Off by default.

14. The Dashboard

The dashboard is positioned at any corner of the chart (Top Right by default). Two versions: a 6-row Essential dashboard for live trading and a full 27-row dashboard for research.

Essential / Simple Mode (6 rows)

Full Dashboard — additional rows

Hover any value cell for a tooltip explanation when Show Dashboard Tooltips is enabled. Dashboard Mode: Minimal shows only the top 4 rows — auto-selected in Advanced display mode.

15. Exit Targets

Exit targets appear automatically after any S2+ signal and stay visible for up to 50 bars. Both line plots and optional target zone boxes are drawn.

Target levels

Exit percentages shown on the chart are suggestions only — position sizing is your decision.

Screener Outputs

IVT includes invisible outputs for use in TradingView's built-in screener, letting you scan for COILED setups across multiple instruments simultaneously without opening each chart individually.

16. Alerts

All alerts are off by default and must be enabled via the Alerts group. Each type has its own toggle so you only receive what's relevant to your trading style.

Buy/Sell alerts include: tier, direction, ticker, price, confluence score, regime state, and instrument tier. Signal 4 alerts include the full regime composite and factor breakdown.

17. Signal Performance Tracker

IVT automatically tracks every S2+ signal after it fires and records the outcome — no manual logging required.

How tracking works

When an S2+ signal fires, the tracker records the entry price, tier, direction, and target levels. On every subsequent bar it checks whether price has hit T1 (partial win), T2 (full win), the stop (loss), or whether the signal has been open too long without resolution (expired).

Signal statuses

The dashboard WR row shows win percentage, average bars held, closed count, and open count — filtered to a configurable lookback window. The W/L Detail row breaks down T1 wins vs stops vs open separately.

18. Session Filter

When enabled, signals only fire during active trading sessions. Useful for intraday strategies where off-hours moves produce lower-quality signals.

• London session: 03:00–12:00 EST
• New York session: 09:30–16:00 EST

Both sessions can be toggled independently. Disabled by default and automatically disabled by the 4H Crypto Swing preset.

19. IVT Magnet Zones

The Magnet Zone is IVT's composite price gravity area — synthesising the POC, the Fibonacci retracement zone, and the last liquidity sweep level into a single zone that price tends to be drawn toward. It extends forward on the chart so it remains visible as price moves away from it.

Off by default. Best used on higher timeframes for identifying where price is likely to gravitate during a directional move.

20. Performance & Script Modes

Performance Mode

Maximises loading speed by disabling or reducing the most computation-heavy features: VP histogram, polylines, target boxes, magnet zones, mitigation blocks, FVG, and sub-bar delta calculation. The core signal engine and dashboard remain fully active. Use when the chart is loading slowly.

Production Mode

Designed for clean live deployment. Removes experimental and diagnostic overlays — mitigation blocks, magnet zones, FVG, and sub-bar delta — leaving only the features relevant to live execution.

Research Mode (default)

All features active. Use for backtesting, calibration, and indicator configuration sessions.

21. Settings Reference

Group 1: Cantillon Regime Filter

Group 2: Volume Profile

Group 3: Trend & AVWAP

Group 5: Volatility Compression

Group 5b: Entry Quality Filter

Group 5c: SD2L Extreme Signal

Group 5d: Trend Break Signal

Group 10: Confluence Weights

These weights control how much each factor contributes to the confluence score shown in brackets on signal labels. They do not affect tier assignment — only the score number.

Default weights: Volume=1, Sweep=2, POC=2, VA=1, Absorption=1, Divergence=2, Convergence=3, Compression=3, Bias=2, Dev Filter=1, SD2L=2. The Cantillon bonus is added directly to the score.

Group 11: Dashboard

Group 14: Exit Targets

22. Repaint Policy

What does not repaint

• All S1–S4 signal labels — only drawn on confirmed closed bars
• SD2L Extreme and Trend Break labels — also gated on bar close
• Anchored VWAPs — once a bar closes, its contribution to the calculation is fixed
• Volume Profile levels from completed swings — stable once the swing is confirmed

What updates on the forming bar

• Intrabar CVD — the sub-bar delta estimate updates as each sub-bar closes. Divergence and absorption labels are gated on bar close to prevent false alerts.
• Current-bar VP values — the POC and VA of the active bar shift until it closes. Prior bars' VP levels are stable.