MT4 and M5 cover every possible need that may arise in this regard. The listed platforms offer a wide range of automation-related features. This is one of the reasons why some traders prefer brokers that support one or more of the mentioned trading platforms. Some brokers feature proprietary trading platforms that may or may not offer automated Forex trading. The best-known and most popular such platforms are: Most modern trading platforms offer some type of automation. Broker-based Automated Trading Platformsĭifferent Forex/CFD brokers support different trading platforms. The user selects a trader, sets the system to “follow” or “copy”, and his/her account automatically executes the trades of the copied person, until manually stopped. Most copy trading platforms automate this process. Copy TradingĬopy trading is about finding an experienced trader and copying his/her trades. The trader manually executes trades, based on such signals. A trading signal comprises information about the entry/exit price, TP/SL, timing, etc. Signal generators derive trading signals from technical analysis. Robots allow human intervention through settings concerning lot size, take profits, stop losses, and various other risk-managing parameters. Such systems are also known as trading robots. There are three basic types of trading automation.įully automated trading systems derive their trading signals and they execute the trades. You do not have to be a scripting language expert to use automated Forex trading.Ĭommunities, such as the MQL community, support virtual market places, where you can discuss, order, and buy ready-made or customized automated traders. Whatever you can represent in a scripting language like MQL and EasyLanguage, you can automate. Such systems are available on Demo accounts, so the trader does not have to risk any real money on them.Ī reasonable starting point for auto trading is to automate the trading strategies you already use manually. Most platforms that support this type of trading allow back-testing.īack-testing is the process of running an auto-trader with past price data and assessing its ability to turn a theoretic profit. You can create/buy an auto trader and put it to the test. You do not have to take anyone’s word regarding automated trading profitability. For someone looking to make a living trading, automation is a necessity. As mentioned, institutions have been using algorithmic trading for quite some time now. Does Automated Trading Work? Is it Profitable?Īutomated trading works. Python and R are suited for the programming of automated Forex trading systems as well. EasyLanguage is TradeStation’s version of a simple coding language for auto traders. There are trading platforms like MetaQuotes’ MT4 and MT5, and TradeStation, which allow traders to build automated traders (so-called Expert Advisors, or EA’s) based on a rule-set rooted in technical analysis. The program can then buy and sell this currency without human intervention. The trader also sets the program to sell the same currency once its price gains a certain amount of pips. This is true even trading of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or Ethereum.Ī simple example of an automated trader would be the following: a trader codes a program, instructing it to buy a certain currency against another when a shorter-term moving average moves above a longer-term MA. Despite the increasing complexity of the technology involved, automated forex trading mostly makes use of technical analysis.