Share:

The concept of automated trading is relatively self-explanatory; it’s the principle of using software, often referred to as scripts, algorithms, bots, expert advisors and other phrases, to automatically execute a predefined trading strategy on behalf of a trader. Automated trading solutions are used throughout the entire capital markets secretor, and the practice is used by players at every level. Retail forex traders, hedge funds, asset managers, banks, market makers, crypto traders and futures and options traders all find a use for trading algorithms.

In the past decade, traders from all backgrounds have embraced automated trading solutions to various degrees. The technical and financial barrier related to developing complex auto-trading systems has been decreasing rapidly. We’re now at a point where nearly anyone in the forex trading community has the means to build an algorithm to automate their trading strategy. 

For example, a retail trader with an account size of just a few hundred dollars can learn how to write automated trading scripts from the endless videos in YouTube and tonnes of previously addressed frequently asked questions in the many online trading forums. Once their trading algorithm is developed, they can run it on a trading platform like MetaTrader 4, which is typically provided by forex brokers for free. Retail traders may run the trading application operating their bot continuously on a VPS which may cost in the region of twenty-dollars a month. 

In contrast, a multimillion-dollar prop-trading firm with dozens of developers and analysts may create complex high-frequency proprietary trading algorithms. The firm could deploy the software on hardware that costs as much as several thousand dollars per month to lease in co-location centres such as the Equinix LD5 data centre in London, alongside the trading servers of all major banks and forex market participants. 

In this article, we’ll explore how automated trading became so mainstream in the forex industry, what the advantages of automating a trading strategy are and an overview of what the various automated trading solutions that are highly adopted in the forex community. 

How automated trading became mainstream?

Many of us have MetaQuotes to thank for their role in vastly reducing the barrier of entry to the world of automated trading. In 2005, MetaQuotes, a software developer, released MetaTrader 4, the fourth version of its financial markets trading and charting applications. MT4 introduced numerous sophisticated trading features which helped the platform gain popularity in the forex trading industry.

By 2010, MT4 had become the defacto standard trading platform for brokers providing online forex & CFD trading services. What earned MT4 so much notoriety amongst forex traders was the capabilities for developing automated trading strategies, popularised as Expert Advisors (EAs). MetaTrader 4 offered a proprietary programming language called MetaQuotes Language Version 4 aka MQL4 and an application called MetaEditor for developing the scripts. 

A large community of traders emerged as advocates of MT4. The online forum that hosts the community of MetaTrader users is one of the most visited investing websites in the world.

MT4 is by no means the only trading platform with automated trading capabilities. If you’re in the process of choosing a forex trading platform, make sure to check if the platform you're considering has algorithmic trading capabilities.

What are the advantages of automated trading solutions? 

Humans are inherently flawed by their biases, limited by their basic needs and unable to process anywhere near as much information as a computer. Just as many other industries have adopted automation to increase productivity, traders have done the same. Here are some of the top reasons why traders automate their trading strategies.

Automated trading systems eliminate human emotions

Forex trading robots eliminate human behaviour from the process of trading. Humans are susceptible to hundreds of biases that cause significant flaws in judgement. One of the most notorious behavioural anomalies traders experience is the disposition effect. The disposition effect is, in essence, the notion that people dislike losing far more than they enjoy losing. 

Translated into the context of trading and risk management, it implies that traders would rather close a position at break-even or with just a couple of pips profit, for the sole purpose of evading a loss. Even worse, some traders find themselves reluctant to close a losing position that results from a failed trade set up, because they hate the idea of losing and hope the market will pivot. If they can close the trade with just a few cents profit, it will still feel like a win, regardless of how much is won.

Similarly, traders who fall victim to the disposition effect often close profitable positions too early because they’re afraid of pullback and the thought of losing if they don’t take decisive action. When you combine the actions of letting unprofitable positions lose excessively and close the profitable positions too early, it’s a recipe for the worst ever risk-reward ratio. 

Traders use automated trading solutions to prevent their emotions from getting the better of them. An automated trading strategy can follow a strict risk-to-reward ratio and will not care how many times it wins or loses, only that it must follow the rules.

Humans can only process a limited amount of information

As the financial markets operate across all timezones, there is never a shortage of opportunities, especially in the forex market. Some traders develop systems that analyse the relationships of multiple currency pairs and even asset classes to determine trends across different timeframes. Other traders incorporate dozens of technical analysis indicators into their systems and wait for a sequence of indicators to line up and generate a signal. Dealing with this much information can be exhausting. 

An automated trading solution can process countless pieces of concurrent information and make split-second decisions twenty-four hours a day, unlike a human who needs regular breaks and many hours of rest. A trading bot can cover much more ground than its human counterpart.

Disregard for market sentiment and fundamentals

As an active trader, you’ll be paying close attention to the current economic and geopolitical news. The constant too and throw of whether there will or won’t be a Brexit deal. Or, positive coverage about positive results from COVID-19 vaccines or negative coverage about rising cases and hard lockdowns in major financial centres like New York and London may influence your attitude to the market. 

The reality is that fundamental news is almost always already priced into the market, and the price reflects sentiment. This is particularly true for the lower timeframes. Trading algorithms can ignore the external sentiment and fundamental details about the market, and focus solely on technicals and price movement. 

A drawback of automated trading systems is not knowing about the economic news events, such as the NFP and similar reports which can influence the market in the short term. It’s possible the bot will not understand the context behind the short term volatility, and it can misinterpret price action. Therefore, many automated trading strategies are programmed to disregard high-impact news announcements. 

How to get started with automated trading?

If you’re interested in getting started with automated trading in the forex market, you’ll be pleased to know there are numerous free to use platforms and resources to get you started. Popular trading platforms such as MetaTrader 4, as mentioned earlier in the article, have all the resources traders need to build EAs and custom indicators. cTrader, another popular forex trading platform offered by Scandinavian Capital Markets, has outstanding capabilities for developing, testing and running cTrader Robots, aka cBots.

Besides having to code your own EA or cBot, other methods of taking advantage of automated trading systems are to automatically copy the trades of other trading strategies in your own account using a popular copy trading service like Myfxbook. 

For more sophisticated traders, they may choose to build a completely custom trading system which is independent of any trading platform and connect it to various brokers via the FIX API. 

However you want to automate your trading strategy, we’ll have a solution suitable for you at Scandinavian Capital Markets. 

Any reviews, news, research, analysis, prices or other information contained in this article is provided as general market commentary, does not constitute investment advice and may undergo changes from time to time. Trading the Financial and Currency Markets on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as to your favor. Before entering trading Financial and Currency Markets, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of some or more of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money which you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Financial and Currency Markets trading, and in case you have any doubt, rather seek advice from an independent financial advisor. Scandinavian Capital Markets AB, its owners, employees, agents or affiliates do not give investment advice, therefore Scandinavian Capital Markets AB assumes no liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may be suffered directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information. Scandinavian Capital Markets AB strongly encourages consultation with a licensed representative or financial advisor regarding any particular investment or use of any investment strategy.

Follow us on Telegram

Stay updated of all the news

Join Telegram

Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD consolidates around 1.0760 ahead of US CPI Premium

EUR/USD consolidates around 1.0760 ahead of US CPI

EUR/USD is consolidating near 1.0750 and the DXY holds above 104.00. The cautious market mood helps the US Dollar remain steady as investors gear up for crucial macroeconomic data releases and central bank meetings. The US Consumer Price Index is due on Tuesday.  

EUR/USD News

GBP/USD steady around 1.2550 as attention turns to US inflation

GBP/USD steady around 1.2550 as attention turns to US inflation

GBP/USD rebounded after finding support at the 1.2540 area and climbed toward 1.2570, on a quiet session. October labor market data from the UK and November inflation data from the US will be released on Tuesday ahead of the Fed's and the BoE's policy meetings.

GBP/USD News

Japanese Yen erases a major part of last week's gains, slumps to mid-146.00s against USD

Japanese Yen erases a major part of last week's gains, slumps to mid-146.00s against USD

The Japanese Yen drifts lower for the second straight day against the US Dollar. Diminishing odds for an imminent shift in the BoJ’s policy shift undermine the JPY. The USD draws support from reduced bets for early interest rate cuts by the Fed. Investors look to the US CPI and the FOMC decision this week for a fresh impetus.

USD/JPY News

Follow us on Telegram

Stay updated of all the news

Join Telegram

Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD consolidates around 1.0760 ahead of US CPI Premium

EUR/USD consolidates around 1.0760 ahead of US CPI

EUR/USD is consolidating near 1.0750 and the DXY holds above 104.00. The cautious market mood helps the US Dollar remain steady as investors gear up for crucial macroeconomic data releases and central bank meetings. The US Consumer Price Index is due on Tuesday.  

EUR/USD News

GBP/USD steady around 1.2550 as attention turns to US inflation

GBP/USD steady around 1.2550 as attention turns to US inflation

GBP/USD rebounded after finding support at the 1.2540 area and climbed toward 1.2570, on a quiet session. October labor market data from the UK and November inflation data from the US will be released on Tuesday ahead of the Fed's and the BoE's policy meetings.

GBP/USD News

Gold extends daily slide toward $1,980 Premium

Gold extends daily slide toward $1,980

Gold price remains under heavy bearish pressure and trades at its lowest level in nearly three weeks at around $1,980. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield is up more than 1% on the day, weighing on XAU/USD ahead of this week's key macroeconomic events.

Gold News

Bitcoin price backtracks to $40,000 as whales move to sell $671 million worth of BTC

Bitcoin price backtracks to $40,000 as whales move to sell $671 million worth of BTC

Bitcoin price crashed on Monday for the first time in nearly three weeks. The market was expecting a bullish continuation until the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) approves a spot BTC ETF in January 2024. 

Read more

S&P 500 Forecast: Index produces new 2023 high

S&P 500 Forecast: Index produces new 2023 high

The S&P 500 index launched itself just barely to a new high for the year on Monday. In its second hour of trading, the index reached 4,620, which was just above the earlier annual high of 4,607 from July 27. 

Read more

RECOMMENDED LESSONS

7 Ways to Avoid Forex Scams

The forex industry is recently seeing more and more scams. Here are 7 ways to avoid losing your money in such scams: Forex scams are becoming frequent. Michael Greenberg reports on luxurious expenses, including a submarine bought from the money taken from forex traders. Here’s another report of a forex fraud. So, how can we avoid falling in such forex scams?

What Are the 10 Fatal Mistakes Traders Make

Trading is exciting. Trading is hard. Trading is extremely hard. Some say that it takes more than 10,000 hours to master. Others believe that trading is the way to quick riches. They might be both wrong. What is important to know that no matter how experienced you are, mistakes will be part of the trading process.

Strategy

Money Management

Psychology