Strategy Automation for the Small Guy

Hi traders & programmers,

I am up to a promising strategy, the only problem is it must be automated, eg trade 24/5. I need to find a suitable platform to do the automation. Now another problem, MT4 looks like a good choice but I need ECN. Unfortunately, MBT is the only one with ECN MT4, but MBT seems really complicated. The only option left is Dukascopy, which requires a minimum trade size of 100,000, which is suicidal for a $10,000 deposit.

I would like to get some feedback from programmers to see the feasibility of implementing my strategy in MBT. Is there anyone who have experience in dealing with customization with MBT?

My strategy is simple and straightforward. It is not up for sale. As things are only experimental at the moment, I do not want to risk huge amount of money. If the strategy is the real deal, I do not even need to have huge initial deposit (imagine $10k to $1.5mln in 2 years, only risking 0.2% NAV per trade). If you are an experienced programmer, please PM me, or ask questions here. I believe we can work something out. Please note that I will do things in an official manner, setting up partnerships etc. I am open to other options as I am still planning.

Happy trading to all

PS. I am in Adelaide, Australia at the moment. So if you happen to be in the same place, convenience gives you an added advantage. If you are Malaysian/Singaporean, you are encouraged to contact me too.

why do you NEED an ECN?
There isn't 1 single MT4 broker out there that you can use?

how long have you tested the system and is it a 1 minute scalper?

I need an ECN because I need to be able to buy/sell inside the spread. Fix spread dealers are not dependable when they spike up the spread as high as 40pips.

I can tell you that I have only tested it once. You have to see it to believe it. It is not scalping by the way. Well, I obviously don't want to waste $10k on something not promising. Changes will be made frequently to any ongoing positions as market condition changes. That's part of the reason it must be automated.

so you need an mt4 broker with straight through processing?
fxcm? or the like?

I always thought buy/sell inside the spread strategies were directly dealing with scalping....
but if you find an MT4 broker, I can help you get it programmed

Buying/selling inside the spread means buying/selling with the best bid/ask, which essentially means the trades will be filled, since they are the best price available. Best price gets filled, that is the hallmark of ECN. My trades need to be filled with the best price possible to prevent paying too much spread.

MT4 is good, though not versatile enough. I am actually looking for someone who knows how to create a custom indicator (to give the visual) & a software (to run the strategy automatically) by interfacing with the Navigator SDK from MBT. If you know how to achieve similar things with MT4 from MBT, that will be even better. I'm not sure how that might work since the MT4 from MBT is slightly different due to the changes made to accommodate the ECN model.

My ultimate choice, however, is Dukascopy. The JForex java extension will be relatively easy to program. But due to budget constraint, I have to bear with MBT for the moment, unless someone here has a better suggestion. I actually have an account at Oanda, but the cost of Oanda's API is just ridiculous. In contrast, MBT only charges $50/mth for a FIX connection.

yeah oanda's api is ridiculous..
but oanda would work even though it's not an ECN?

sounds interesting, i'm not totally sure what ur lookin for or the difference with MBT's mt4 over any other mt4 as far as MQL programming.

Oanda could still work due to lower spread, but I still prefer ECN. And you may be right about the MQL programming.

Just looked at the release notes: seems like MT4 from MBT handles trade in a slightly different way.
http://mbtrading.com/metatrader4.aspx#mbtab2

any of these work?
http://www.100forexbrokers.com/compa...rokers-spreads

i read the release notes and that doesn't seem to bad.. just handling the orders differently.
slight change in programming, no biggie