There comes a time, very early on in a new trader’s development, when thoughts will turn to the subject of automation. While automating trades can have many benefits, which we’ll cover in this article, traders must be absolutely 100% sure that they’re fully committed to and have absolute unwavering confidence in the method element of their overall trading strategy before taking the plunge with regards to automation. And this confidence and commitment should be perfectly illustrated in their trading plan before committing to automation. For more information on our robot Patrex Pro, check out this blog: https://godloveuniversity.com/the-next-big-thing-in-robotic-trading-patrex-pro-ai-edition/
The biggest issue and barrier with automation is that it requires a completely different approach to trading than trading manually. Your discretion is completely overruled by a newer set of rules to replace the old ‘manual rules’. You’ll be entering trades based on your high probability of a set-up occurring, and one of the drawbacks is that markets often evolve and change far more quickly than we adapt, and there’s very little in the way of adaptability we can attach to a form of automation that is designed to trigger once a certain set of conditions are met. Therefore, while we think we’ve developed an automated method that we simply have to repeat again and again and just watch our account balance grow, automation does require a far greater degree of constant vigilance than many traders would imagine.
Where can I find help with automation?
There are many resources on the web that offer help with automation. Check out our blog on how to choose the best forex robot in 2024 your ultimate guide to smart trading. The most relevant would be the forums linked to MetaTrader, which is the most used platform when it comes to automation. The owners of the site and forum offer a free service to code what we term expert advisors. Expect advisors are the coded instructions you’ll input into your platform in order to trigger your specific instructions regarding entries, exits, and the manipulation of your stops—trailing or hard stops. If you’re looking for something more advanced, there are a number of ‘coders’ who may be prepared to offer up free help. While there are also some on these forums who will code up an expert advisor for a small and generally reasonable fee, with the advent of payments, ‘wiring’ someone for a small fee has never been easier.
Automation replaces a manual system that works; it doesn’t make money by itself
It’s very important that traders don’t imagine that simply moving from manual trading to automation immediately provides an opportunity for profitability. It can’t be stressed enough that we’re looking to migrate our already successful trading method to automation; thereafter, we’re looking for slight enhancements. The automation doesn’t make a poor trading system better. It could make your trading easier and more fluent, and you’ll develop a more relaxed attitude towards trading, but you must have reached a reasonable level of competency and profitability before you fully automate.
It would be reckless and naive to simply buy an off-the-shelf automated strategy, ‘plug’ it into your trading platform, and then keep your fingers crossed that it will work because you’ve been seduced by some marketing spiel promising riches beyond your wildest dreams. It’s important that you know every nuance regarding your strategy, as early on, when moving over to automation, you may make mistakes as you become familiar with the process. Trying to cope with someone else’s expert advisor that you have very little understanding of, other than a fantasy level of returns, while you’re learning the ropes of automation could lead to a severe drawdown. And while on that subject, many of the expert advisors available for purchase employ gambling methods to achieve truly fantastic returns.
Automation will lead to marginal increases in profitability, but a more efficient way of managing time and capturing profits
Once we move our successful manual trading method to automation, we can then begin to tweek our trading system for profit enhancement. We may pinpoint our entries to be executed to the pip, and likewise our exits. We can programme platforms such as MetaTrader 4/5 to execute our high-probability set-ups at any time of the day; we never need to miss our set-up should it occur during times we’re not in front of our monitors. The efficiency and time management benefits this offers can be a considerable leap forward for traders.
You have to have confidence in your broker
Naturally, traders considering automation need to ensure that their brokers can cope with the complexity of using expert advisors; there are brokers who don’t have access to platforms such as MetaTrader. Therefore, the suggestion would be to talk with your broker to understand how your automation, your expert advisor, and the platform will ‘match up’. At Godlove University, we’d be delighted to answer whatever questions our clients may have with regards to automation, and with that in mind, please feel free to pick up the phone or send us an email with your inquiries.
3 Responses
It’s so important to emphasise the synergy between a trader, his strategies and utilising Automation AI. If you can get this right you have the potential to substantially enhance your Forex trading and maximise profitability on your trades. Thank you for the insight.
That is true @Dean
Looks like the future is inevitably in the hands of the robots.
It is always still important to know what is happening and the decisions you are making before putting full trust into a machine. Would you let your car drive you by itself and trust it enough to go to sleep ?
What i mean is, great technology is advancing but we should also do our correct risk management practices to mitigate major catastrophies
Thank you for the informative blog. This page is always making interesting articles. I find myself always coming back to read. Thanks for teaching me something new today.
I haven’t used a robot before. It’s all been manual. But with the insight you dropped here in mind, i’m sure to do better as i try automation for the first time with Patrex Pro.
Thank you very much for the insight. I’ll always come in here to grab knowledge.
Christal