How an Expert Advisor Works
The technological revolution spares no sector, and the world of trading is obviously no exception to this general trend. If the high-frequency trading algorithms used by professional traders are widely talked about, other types of computer programs, more discreet, but just as formidable, deserve to be highlighted: Expert Advisor.
Key Takeaways
•Just as it is extremely difficult to select the “best-trading strategy”, it is difficult to elect the “best Expert Advisor”.
•It is indeed impossible to navigate Expert Advisor correctly when new events occur.
•Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
What is an Expert Advisor? How to install an Expert Advisor on MT4? Who are the best MT4 Expert Advisors? Here are our answers to your questions.
What is an Expert Advisor (EA)?
An Expert Advisor also called a “Robot Advisor” is a computer program used to invest in the financial markets. Depending on the perimeter attributed to this term, the latter can designate a simple automated alert system or a much more sophisticated trading system.
Used by individuals and professionals alike, these computer programs are in fact more or less complex algorithms. Depending on the parameters defined by the user and the variables observed on the financial markets, Expert Advisors carry out actions (sending a message to the Trader, placing a stock-market order, or even complete management of the investment strategy).
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How to Install an Expert Advisor on MT4
Despite appearances, installing an Expert Advisor on MT4 is not rocket science. Indeed, if the program has already been developed, the Trader just has to install it as he would add a file to one of his folders.
Once Expert Advisors are registered in your MetaTrader account, all you have to do is open the chart of the asset you want to trade in the time frame of your choice. All you have to do is click and drop from the Expert Advisor to your graphics window. A window appears at this time to allow you to adjust the various parameters of the Expert Advisor, and voila!
The presence of a small smiley face at the top right of your chart will confirm the proper functioning of the Expert Advisor launched. And if your MT4 account is indeed linked to a broker, your orders will then be executed for good when the defined conditions (setups) are met.
How to Start an Expert Advisor
Start by opening your MT4 trading platform. On the left, you must have a “Navigation” column. In it is a file named “expert consultant”.
In this folder should be the expert you just installed. Then click on the small + symbol on its left to display the different expert advisors installed on your platform. Once selected, drag it to the price chart. A window like this opens:
Check the Allow Live Trading box, then go to the second tab “Input Settings”. This window will then appear
Here you can modify the parameters of your expert (batch size, TakeProfit, Stoploss…)
Once you have finished, click on Ok.
Click on “Expert Advisor” in the task bar.
Choose the Best Expert Advisor
Just as it is extremely difficult to select the “best-trading strategy”, it is difficult to elect the “best Expert advisor”. However, a few criteria will allow you to choose a reliable Expert Advisor adapted to your investor profile.
First of all, it is better to avoid resorting to the famous “black boxes”, that is to say to all the Trading algorithms whose code is not visible and whose operation you do not understand. Indeed, one of the key principles of investing will always remain to fully understand the functioning of the products and the tools that one uses.
Even if the performance history of an Expert Advisor seems excellent to you, take the time to fully understand the levers of this performance. Indeed, past performance is no guarantee of future performance, and it is quite possible that the algorithm has only taken advantage of an atypical and temporary configuration in recent years.
As many developers are looking for the perfect algorithm, they sometimes tend to optimize their Expert Advisors based on past data, which cannot be guaranteed to be stable over time. So, beware of parameters that have no other reason to exist than their past good performance.
The choice of an Expert Advisor should above all be made on the basis of your investor profile. The latter must indeed respect your level of risk aversion while being able to achieve your goals. Depending on the market in which you want to launch your Expert Advisor and the type of strategy you want to set up, you can then opt for a particular category of algorithms.
Finally, one of the best solutions might be to program your own Trading algorithm yourself using the MT4 language: MQL4. In this way, you will be sure to understand the Expert Advisor you will be using and can adjust its parameters as you see fit in order to best suit your investor profile.
Be careful, however, if this is your choice, don’t forget to test the algorithm before launching. A “bug” caused by a small error left in your code could be expensive!
Advantages and Disadvantages of Expert Advisors
Despite the increasing use of trading algorithms, the debate around Expert advisors still divides the trading community. Here are the main arguments of the opposing forces.
On the side of the defenders of Expert advisors, Traders generally highlight the time savings linked to the partial or total automation of Trading tasks, as well as the freedom to go about their own business while the Expert Advisor follows the market by itself.
The impartiality of Expert Advisors also allows them to avoid being victims of psychological bias, the real Achilles heels of independent traders. The rules of Money management being followed to the letter by the algorithms, trading performance is then more constant and predictable.
On the side of opponents to Expert Advisors, Traders highlight the machine’s lack of thought and creativity. As this is always forced to look “back” (on the price history), it is indeed impossible for it to navigate correctly when new events occur.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. How do I Add an Expert Advisor to MT4?
- Open your MT4.
- Select ‘File.’
- Click on ‘Open Data Folder’ to bring up a new folder panel.
- Select the ‘MQL4’ folder, followed by the ‘Experts’ file.
- Drag and drop your EA file(s) into this folder.
2. How do I Use Experts in MT4?
- Open your MT4.
- Select ‘File.’
- Click on ‘Open Data Folder’ to bring up a new folder panel.
- Select the ‘MQL4’ folder, followed by the ‘Experts’ file.
- Drag and drop your EA file(s) into this folder.
- Reset your MT4.
3. How Does MT4 Expert Advisor Work?
Expert Advisors (EAs) are programs that run on the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform, used to monitor and trade financial markets using algorithms.
Final Thoughts
As is often the case, the path to wisdom may well lie in the right measure. Without systematically rejecting Expert Advisors, but without adulating them either, more and more Traders are using them as real tools, of which they remain the masters.
Depending on their strategy and their investment ideas, they can then choose one Expert Advisor rather than another and set it up in such and such a way so that it performs as well as possible on the markets.
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