Which is the best performance forex expert advisor? - article from selfgrowth.com

MT4 is widely used for Forex trading and one feature I personally like about metatrader 4 is the MQL programming language that comes with it. This programming language allows you to codes your favorite profitable trading rules into programs called expert advisor and let it run on your computer automatically.

Expert Advisor

MQL4 is basically a programming language that is similar to C and it is used for coding strategy into program. The program which can be set and run in MT4 are called Expert Advisor or EA. Expert Advisor is lines of codes that run on your forex trading account and simulator strategy tester is used to test the EA using historical price data. The results report from the strategy tester is used to fine tune the strategy and in order to select the best Forex trading program EA, below are some indices that need to be check.

Return on Investment (ROI)

This is a measurement of the price capital that you invested in your Forex trading with the profit return that you gains over a certain time which is a measurement against it. A 100% return over 1 year is a very good indicator that it able to give you 1 dollar profit to 1 dollar invested. When compare to bank saving account interests and stock market and unit trust, 100% return is many times better. For Expert Advisor, minimum 20% return annually is desirable. Any figures less then that is not worth your investement.

Profit Factor

This is calculated by dividing the total profit by total losses. A simple indicator but yet a powerful indices that show over all the time, how profit is the program. A profit factor of 2 means you earn 2 dollars for every 1 dollar you loss. Most program gives profit factor of 1.5 to 2. If you find software that gives more then 2 or 2.5, please grab them immediately. You will never loss out on this measurement.
Simulation period

The strategy tester can define custom simulation period and it is suggested to have at least 1 or 2 years of back testing performed by the strategy tester. As Forex trading involves fundamental trading and news releases that will move prices, using at least 12 months or more will make sure the software is tested for all yearly releases from major government organization and ministry.

Total trades executed

This is similar to the simulated data used. Total numbers of trades are expected to be more then 50 or 100 in order to ensure that your program works without much error. Those software that uses scalping strategy and martingale system would yield more trades then those software that trigger using hourly or daily chart and bars. But 50 trades is a good rule of thumb for software program.

Maximum Draw Down

When the program is trading, any point of time by calculating the existing trade account minus the lowest floating account, this is the Draw Down and for all the time, the lowest point which is the maximum draw down is desirable to be smallest, which is less then 20% at all times. This indicates how your trading account will float to the lowest and how you calculate your margin call required. A high draw down will required you to have a bigger margin to avoid margin call.

In summary, look for expert advisor software that gives >20% ROI, >2 Profit factor, >1 year simulation period, >50 trades and <20% maximum draw down.


source http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/which-is-the-best-performance-forex-expert-advisor

The foreign-exchange market is often referred to as the Slaughterhouse where novice traders go to get 'chopped up'. It is one of egos and money, where millions of dollars are won and lost every day and phones are routinely thrown across hectic trading desks. This palpable excitement has led to the explosion of the retail FX market, which has unfortunately spawned a new breed of authors and gurus more than happy to provide misleading and often downright fraudulent information by promising traders riches while making forex trading 'easy'.

Well I'll let you in on a little secret: there is nothing easy about trading currencies. If you don't believe me then stop by Warren Buffet's office and ask him how he could lose $850m betting on the dollar or ask George Soros why his short yen bets cost him $600m not once but twice in 1994. What's wrong with these guys, don't they read FX books?

In reality, the average client's trading approach combined with the unscrupulous practices of some brokers make spot FX trading more akin to the games found on the Vegas strip than to anything seen on Wall St. The FX market is littered with the remains of day traders and genius 'systems,' and to survive in the long-run traders have to realize that they are playing a game where the cards are clearly stacked against them.

Have you ever had your stop hit at a price that turned out to be the low/high for the day? Bad luck perhaps? Maybe. What if it happens more than once? Do you ever feel like the market is out to get you? Well guess what, in this Zero Sum game it absolutely is.

Covering the day-to-day mechanics of the FX market and the unsavoury dealings going on, Beat the Forex Dealer offers traders the market-proven trading techniques needed to side-step dealer traps and develop winning trading methods. Learn from an industry insider the truth behind dirty dealer practices including: stop-hunting, price shading, trading against clients and 'no dealing desk' realities.

Detailing the dealer-inspired trading techniques developed by MIGFX Inc, consistently ranked among the world's leading currency trading firms, the book helps turn average traders into winning traders; and in a market with a 90% loss rate winning traders are in fact quite rare! More than just a simple manual, Beat the Forex Dealer brings to life the excitement of the FX market by delivering insights into some of the greatest trading triumphs and highlighting legendary disasters; all written in an easy to read style.

Make no mistake about it there is a lot of money to be made in currency trading, you just have to know where to look. Sidestepping simple dealer traps is one way of improving your daily p&l, but it is surely not the only one. Successful trading comes down to taking care of the details, which means skipping the theoretical stuff and providing only up-to-date, real-life examples while sharing the FX trading tips that have proved so profitable over the years. By stripping away the theory and getting down to the core of trading, you too will find yourself on the way to beating the forex dealer.

Review

"...could help novices avoid much of the pain...a brutall honest appraisal of how currency markets work." (Investors Chronicle, April 24th 2009)

From the Back Cover

The foreign-exchange market is often referred to as the Slaughterhouse where novice traders go to get "chopped up". It is one of egos and money, where millions of dollars are won and lost every day and phones are routinely thrown across hectic trading desks. This palpable excitement has led to the explosion of the retail FX market, which has unfortunately spawned a new breed of authors and gurus more than happy to provide misleading and often downright fraudulent information by promising traders riches while making forex trading "easy".

Well I'll let you in on a little secret: there is nothing easy about trading currencies. If you don't believe me then stop by Warren Buffet's office and ask him how he could lose $850m betting on the dollar or ask George Soros why his short yen bets cost him $600m not once but twice in 1994. What's wrong with these guys, don't they read FX books?

In reality, the average client's trading approach combined with the unscrupulous practices of some brokers make spot FX trading more akin to the games found on the Vegas strip than to anything seen on Wall St. The FX market is littered with the remains of day traders and genius "systems" and to survive in the long-run traders have to realize that they are playing a game where the cards are clearly stacked against them.
Have you ever had your stop hit at a price that turned out to be the low/high for the day "Bad luck perhaps" Maybe. What if it happens more than once? Do you ever feel like the market is out to get you? Well guess what, in this Zero Sum game it absolutely is.

Covering the day-to-day mechanics of the FX market and the unsavoury dealings going on, Beat the Forex Dealer offers traders the market-proven trading techniques needed to side-step dealer traps and develop winning trading methods. Learn from an industry insider the truth behind dirty dealer practices including: stop-hunting, price shading, trading against clients and "no dealing desk"realities.

Detailing the dealer-inspired trading techniques developed by MIGFX Inc, consistently ranked among the world's leading currency trading firms, the book helps turn average traders into winning traders; and in a market with a 90% loss rate winning traders are in fact quite rare! More than just a simple manual, Beat the Forex Dealer brings to life the excitement of the FX market by delivering insights into some of the greatest trading triumphs and highlighting legendary disasters; all written in an easy to read style. By stripping away the theory and getting down to the core of trading, you too will find yourself on the way to beating the forex dealer!

About the Author

One of the pioneers in foreign-exchange trading, Agustin Silvani developed one of the first retail-oriented currency programs and currently leads the team of professionals at MIGFX Inc, consistently rated among the top-ten currency traders as ranked by Barron's, Futures, and Currency Trader Magazine. Mr Silvani's experience in FX ranges from the interbank to the retail sector, helping manage portfolios ranging from $1 million to more than $10 billion in size, and is a regular contributor to the financial press.

Beat the Forex Dealer: An insider's look into trading today's foreign exchange market (Wiley Trading) Click here to read amazon customer reviews and rating