FXCM Metatrader4 User Guide to the No Dealing Desk Platform 1 P a g e
Table of Content Benefits of FXCM Metatrader 4...4 Expert Advisor Use...4 Metatrader 4 versus Trading Station II...4 Expert Advisor Best Practices...5 How to Install your Expert Advisor...6 How to Apply an Expert Advisor to a Chart...6 How to Apply an Expert Advisor for Live Trading...7 How to Adjust Trade Sizes and Other Parameters...8 How to Remove an EA...8 How to Add a Custom Indicator...9 How to Place a Manual Trade...9 How to Verify your MT4 Trade Size...10 How to Close a Trade Manually...10 How to Configure your Expert Advisor...11 How to Trouble Shoot an Expert Advisor...12 Metatrader Crashes When Attaching an EA...13 Is your EA compatible with FXCM Metatrader 4...14 FXCM Metatrader 4 NDD Configuration...14 Placing Stops and Limits on FXCM MT4...15 Partial Fills on FXCM MT4...16 Time Zone...17 Margin Calls on FXCM MT4...18 2 P a g e
What is your FXCM Read Only Reporting Login?...18 Why is your FXCM Read Only Reporting Login Important?...18 How Can You Verify the Real Time Value of your Account?...18 What is an Auto Account Sync?...18 Why does an Auto Account Sync Occur?...18 What is VPS?...19 VPS Advantages...19 How to Login to VPS.........20 How to transfer files from my local machine to the VPS...21 FXCM Programming Services.24 Advantages of Using FXCM Programming Services. 24 Customizable EA Examples: Our Top Ten List.. 24 3 P a g e
Benefits of FXCM Metatrader4 MT4 Powered by Boston Technologies Accepting All EA s, Including Scalping EA s VPS Hosting: Have your trade robot always on to capture trading opportunities 24/7 Parallel Processing: Faster order execution speed especially during news events Programming Services unit to build EAs on demand and support EA developers Expert Advisor Use We believe automated systems can be optimized when trades are executed anonymously. With FXCM's No Dealing Desk execution that's exactly what you get: anonymous trade execution with over ten of the world's largest banks and price providers. That's why we recommend MetaTrader 4 to traders who automate their trades with EAs. MetaTrader 4 was not originally designed for No Dealing Desk execution. However, we have worked with a third party (Boston Technologies) to make it compatible and to bring you the benefits of FXCM's No Dealing Desk execution Metatrader 4 versus Trading Station II FXCM's award winning Trading Station II platform was voted the best retail platform by FX Week. The platform currently supports the trading needs of over 150,000 clients and was designed in-house by FXCM to provide traders with the best environment for No Dealing Desk execution. We recommend FXCM's Trading Station II platform for all traders who are not automating their trades with EAs. Trading Station II offers the following benefits over MetaTrader 4. 4 P a g e
Expert Advisor Best Practices The FXCM MetaTrader 4 platform uses No Dealing execution, making it ideal for Expert Advisor (EA) strategies. With No Dealing Desk execution, the outcome of your trading has no effect on FXCM's profit or loss; therefore, all EA strategies are welcome, including scalping and short term trading EAs. While there is no miracle EA that can guarantee success, there are best practices and trading tools available to help you in building and running your EA to increase your probability of success. FXCM Expert Advisor Central is your one stop destination for tools and resources to help improve your EA performance. 1. NO MIRACLE EAS: UNDERSTAND YOUR EA BETTER; IDENTIFY OPTIMAL MARKET BIAS, CURRENCY PAIRS & BEST TIME PERIODS Many EAs have a bias or work best during certain market conditions such as trending or ranging markets. There is no one EA that works in all market conditions. EAs are built on rules and strategies to automate your trading. However, it's important to understand the right market conditions in which to use your EA. Whether it's a specific time of day, specific currency pair or specific market condition, you will have a higher probability of success if you use your EA appropriately. Examples: 1. Scalping EA: If your EA is designed to take small profits (e.g., 5-10 pips at a time with large stop values) don't leave your EA active during news events. The risk/reward is not optimal as the markets can break out 100 pips or more and can cause large losses. Instead, range trading pairs such as EUR/GBP and EUR/CHF are ideal for scalping EAs as they tend to move sideways intraday allowing you to capture small pips consistently. 2. Range Trading EA: If your EA is built for range trading, don't trade GBP/USD and GBP/JPY. While they are among the most popular pairs to trade, they are volatile pair s intraday and long term and thus better suited for breakout or momentum strategy EAs. 3. Time Periods: If you're using a range trading EA then trade range trading pairs like EUR/GBP and EUR/JPY BUT trade them during U.S. and European markets as that is when spreads are tight and liquidity is excellent. Don't trade during the Asian session. 4. News Trading: If your EA was not specifically designed to trade news events, then during news events, when price action is less certain, we would recommend turning off your EA as it may not provide the optimal trading environment for your EA. Know your currency pairs and why types of strategies work best for them. Below is a guide to help you identify which currency pairs can be traded once a market bias and appropriate trading session are identified. EAs you purchase may not indicate the type of trading style but do mention specific currency pairs and time frames. Understand these currency pairs and timeframes to help you get the best performance out of your EA. 5 P a g e
How to Install an EA To install an EA into the MT4 platform, you must save the EA in the following folder: C:\Program Files\FXCM MT4 powered by BT\experts After you have saved the EA in the experts folder, it will appear in the Navigator window on the MT4 interface. This EA will remain on the navigator window until the client uninstalls the software or deletes the EA from the experts folder. How to Apply an EA to a Chart The EAs that are installed on the MT4 software can be found in the Navigator Window under Expert Advisors. Currently there are 2 EAs that are automatically installed on MT4 during the software download: MACD Sample and Moving Average To apply an EA Drag and drop the EA from the Navigator Window to the chart you want to apply the EA 6 P a g e
This will prompt a pop up to appear that allows you to select the parameters for your EA and also if you want to apply the EA for live trading. How to Apply an EA for Live Trading On the Common tab under Live Trader you can put a check in the box to Allow live trading if you want to strategy to place live trades. 7 P a g e
How to Adjust Trade Sizes and Other Parameters The Inputs tab allows a client to select the parameters for the EA that are outlined in the code. For example, a client can change the trade size by changing the value of the Lots variable. Click on OK to apply the EA to the chart you have selected. In the upper right hand corner of the chart you will now see the name of the EA followed by a smiley face if the EA is enabled to place live trades. How to Remove an EA To remove an EA right click on the chart, select Expert Advisors, then Remove. 8 P a g e
How to add a Custom Indicators Adding a custom indicator is similar to the process of adding an EA. The only difference is that a custom indicator must be saved in the indicators folder which is located inside the experts folder. C:\Program Files\FXCM MT4 powered by BT\experts\indicators Once a custom indicator has been uploaded to the appropriate folder it can be see on the MT4 interface in the Navigator window under Custom Indicators. How to Place a Manual Trade To place a trade, right click on the chart, select Trading, the New Order. The Order window will pop up. To place a trade, right click on the chart, select Trading, the New Order. The Order window will pop up. 9 P a g e
Symbol: Currency Pair Volume: Trade Size. Stop Loss and Take Profit: Must be added after execution in the Terminal Window. Type: Market Execution (Market Order) or Pending Order (Entry Order) Sell by Market and Buy by Market: Click on sell button to sell and buy button to buy pair How to verify your MT4 Trade Size 1K trade is equal to 0.01 lots 10K trade is equal to 0.10 lots 100K trade is equal to 1.0 lots 1 Mil trade is equal to 10 lots Currently micro lots are only available to clients that meet either of the following conditions: 1) The client has balance of greater than 10K on a MT4 account 2) The client has a balance of 2K or greater and has submitted a valid account statement from a competitor firm showing they currently trade micro lots on MT4 How to Close a Trade Manually To close an open trade or to adjust stops/take profits the client should visit the Trade tab on the terminal window which is located near the bottom of the platform. By highlighting the trade then right clicking a menu will appear with the options to close the trade or modify the stop/take profit. 10 P a g e
How to Configure your EA Open your MT4 terminal. Check out the configuration settings of EA on MT4 by following these steps: Make sure the appropriate boxes are checked off. Now, all you need to do is add your expert advisor to the preferred chart and activate it. You can also change some input parameters for the advisor in the Inputs tab. Before adding the EA to the respective chart refresh the chart by clicking on M1, M5,, MN Make sure the Expert Advisors button is turned on GREEN. Finally, check out following options. And you should see your EA added on top right corner of your chart with a smiley face. 11 P a g e
How to Trouble shoot an EA 1. EA doesn t have smiley face: This likely problem is that Allow Live Trading isn t checked either on the Expert Properties Common tab or the MetaTrader platform at Tools/Options/Expert Advisors. 2. EA not trading but there may be data on the chart: Make sure there is a smiley face on the chart. Are the conditions right for the EA to trade? Some EAs will evaluate the market for a while waiting for the correct entry. This might take a couple of days or longer for some EAs. You can find more information on the following site: http://www.fxcm.co.uk/ea-central.jsp A. Make sure lot sizes in EA settings are compatible with your FXCM account, i.e. not trying to use micro lots on an account that doesn t allow that small of a lot size. Please contact FXCM for more information on your live account. You can find contact information on the following site: 12 P a g e
http://www.fxcm.com/contact-fxcm.jsp B. Make sure ticks are coming into the platform and the platform is online. Is the clock time over the MetaTrader terminal changing to denote data is being received? C. If using any Time features, is it within the Start Time to begin trading? D. If running with other EAs and the EA has a Max Draw Down variable, is the Max Draw Down already greater than the EA default? E. Does your EA have any specific parameters? 3. EA not trading without data on chart (there should be data there): Sometimes it helps to do what we call the 'wake-up' procedure. Do this by changing the chart timeframe to something different, and then change it back to the original timeframe. You can also try removing and reloading the EA or shutting the platform down and bringing it back. Make sure tick data is coming in. 4. MetaTrader4 Crashes When I Attach an EA or a Custom Indicator If you are encountering this problem then the odds is that the build of your MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is not the latest one. Theoretically if you restart MT4 it should prompt you to upgrade to the latest build. If it doesn t then you are most probably encountering one of the following cases: Your demo account has expired. FXCM Metatrader 4 demos expire after 60 days. 13 P a g e
You are running MT4 in Windows Vista. You need to disable User Account Control from Windows Security Center and then restart Windows. When you start MT4 it will hopefully prompt you to upgrade to the latest build. You may be forgetting to put the DLL that s comes with your EA into the experts libraries folder (not all EA s have a dll), or placing it in the wrong folder. 5. Is your EA compatible with FXCM Metatrader 4? Partial Closings: Partial closings are currently not available, but there are solutions you can incorporate into your EA to integrate with FXCM MT4. Break up the entry into separate tickets for scaling out of positions. Adding Stops and Limits: Market execution requires the stop and limit to be added to the trade after it is has finished execution. Fractional Pips: FXCM offers prices in tenths of a pip to provide lower spreads; however, MT4 recognizes the last digit as a whole pip. To correct this, increase the pip amount by a multiple of 10. For example, 1 pip in MT4 would be written as 10. FXCM Metatrader 4 No Dealing Desk Configuration In order to integrate MetaTrader 4 No dealing desk execution, some MetaTrader 4 behavior related to deal desks is not available. The following list describes certain functions of MetaTrader 4 and how they behave differently with No dealing desk. Maximum Deviation 14 P a g e
FXCM Metatrader 4 does not have a maximum deviation option. Placing Stops and limits on FXCM MT4 FXCM MT4 Powered by BT will not allow you to place Stops/Limits pre-execution. In the image below the stop and limit feature in the order window is grayed out. You will need to execute your trade > right click on the order in the terminal window > Click on Modify or Delete Order> Add Stop/Limit. See the two images below for a visual on what to click on and the windows that appear: 15 P a g e Clicking on the Modify or Delete Order option will open the following window for you to add a stop and limit.
Due to the change in how the stop and limit orders are placed, you will need to make sure your EA adds the stop and limit after the order has been executed. Please click here for more information on modifying your EA to incorporate post- execution stops and limits. Please note that because FXCM offers fractional pricing a point value of 5 denotes.5 pips, while a point value of 50 denotes 5 pips. For example: A 200 point stop will be triggered at 20 pips. Partial fills on FXCM MT4 Please be aware that FXCM MT4 Powered by BT does not support partial fills on close orders. A 3.00 (300k) order has to be closed in its entirety. If you wish to partially close positions, then you should open your position in multiple tickets instead of one ticket for the entire amount. This will allow you to add stops and limits to individual tickets for those specific amounts. The FXCM Trading Station II offers the capability to partially close positions. Please click here for more information. 16 P a g e
Time Zone FXCM MT4 Powered BT time zone is GMT + 1. Margin Calls FXCM MT4 Powered by BT Margin Call policy is to close all open positions simultaneously if a Margin Call should occur. Please consult your FXCM Account Statement to verify if a MC has occurred. You can access your statement at myfxcm.com. What is your FXCM Read only Reporting Login? Metatrader accounts receive two different logins. The first email will be your login for reporting purposes and will include your FXCM account number. The second email will be the login to access the Metatrader platform and is used for trading purposes exclusively. Why is your Read Only Reporting Login Important? The reason your FXCM reporting Read only login is important is because the FXCM reports are the accounting record of statement and will always serve as the best real-time value of your account. The FXCM reports are used to make sure trades placed on MT4 are getting executed at FXCM How can you verify the real time value of your account? You can log into MYFXCM.com in order to check the accounting record of statement and verify the real time value of your account My FXCM is an interactive website designed exclusively for existing FXCM clients. The site enables you to quickly and easily perform administrative functions and access account information/reports My FXCM requires no special software and can be accessed on any computer via your Internet browser. Please click on Account Statement under Account Reports, choose your time frame, and click on Get Report. The reporting login may also be used to log into the FX Trading Station. The benefit of logging into the FX Trading Station is to view additional details for trading including the pip cost, margin, and trade rollover. 17 P a g e
Click on the following link to download the FX Trading Station: http://www.fxcm.com/softwaredownload.jsp What is an Auto Account Sync? An Auto Account Sync is a function that is used to update the MT4 platform to accurately reflect your FXCM Account. Most of the time you will find that no actual funds were either added or deducted from your account since the Account Sync is likely just reconciling your MT4 platform with your FXCM balance. The Account Sync is used to make sure that the balance on MT4 exactly equals the FXCM balance. The reason an Auto Sync is needed is because the MT4 platform is just a user interface, and your FXCM account is the actual statement of record and always serves as the best realtime value of your account. It is important to remember an Auto Sync can show either a credit or deduction in your MT4 trading platform. Why does an Auto Account Sync Occur? Any time you deposit or withdraw funds to your account this will show up as an Auto Sync. Rollover will also appear as an Auto Sync because MT4 does not display rollover. To view rollover you will need to check your read only Trading Station. Rollover is found in the Simple Dealing Rates window in table form, or the Advanced Dealing Rates window. Positive rollover will show up as a credit in the form of a positive Auto Account Sync. Negative rollover will show up as a deduction in the form of a negative Auto Account Sync. 18 P a g e
You will also see an Auto Sync if there is a discrepancy in the profit or loss between your MT4 and FXCM Account. For example, if your FXCM account has a balance of $1,000 and your MT4 interface shows $998, the Auto Sync will add $2 to the MT4 interface. However, if your FXCM account shows $998 and the MT4 interface is $1000 the Auto Sync will subtract $2 from the MT4 interface. All Metatrader accounts receive an email with an FXCM account number that can be used for reporting purposes to verify your FXCM balance. If you are unsure why an Auto Account Sync has taken place on your account, please login to www.myfxcm.com with your FXCM(Read Only Reporting Login) account number. What is VPS? VPS or Virtual Private Server allows you to log onto a separate server on your desktop that is solely devoted to your Metatrader4 account. VPS is like a mini computer system within your own computer and has its own hard disk space and RAM. The purpose of a VPS is that your trades will execute even if your computer is shut off or even crashes. You can turn off your computer and keep your EA trading and are protected from power outages that affect your computer. VIRTUAL PRIVATE SERVER ADVANTAGES Flexibility: Turn off your computer and continue to have your Expert Advisor run. Dedicated Server: The server is dedicated to EA trading with no other application running on it. Remote Access: Log into your platform from any computer, even if MetaTrader 4 is not installed. 19 P a g e
How to login to VPS You will find a VPS IP address, a windows login number and a windows password in your VPS welcome email. To login to your VPS please access your Remote Desktop Connection. This is typically found by clicking on the Start button on the bottom left hand corner of your computer screen, Programs, Accessories, and then Remote Desktop Connection. Enter IP address of VPS Use the credentials shown in the welcome email to access the VPS 20 P a g e
How to transfer files from my local machine to the VPS Before you login to the VPS, click on Options In local resources tab, click on More 21 P a g e
Make sure you know where on your local drive you have stored your EA Click OK and then Connect Once you are logged into the VPS, please navigate to My Computer. 22 P a g e
Copy and paste files or EA s from your local drive into your VPS drive. FXCM Programming Services FXCM has rapidly grown its MT4 trading community, many of who use EAs in their trading. FXCM has created a team of expert programmers that are knowledgeable in several programming languages, including MQL4. Our programming services department is able to leverage its experience and expertise to help you build and modify your EA. The team of programmers can take your trading concepts or strategies and convert them into an EA that you can trust and one that we can support. Just as important, the team will be available in case you experience any difficulties with the EA they have coded for you. ADVANTAGES OF USING FXCM PROGRAMMING SERVICES: Build EAs On Demand: We can build any EAs based on your trading concepts or strategies so that you can automate your trading. Full Support: FXCM has a fully staffed team ready to assist our EA developers and users. Flexibility of the EA: We code the EA so that it can be flexible and so that traders can have the ability to tweak their EA setting as they deem necessary. Expert Integration with No Dealing Desk Execution: Our staff of programmers fully understands the No Dealing Desk execution model and can code any EA to be fully compatible with our system so you can take advantage of No Dealing Desk execution in your trading. CUSTOMIZABLE EA EXAMPLES: OUR TOP TEN LIST 1. Dynamic Dashboard: We have created dashboards that display any input related to your EA and updates in real time on your trading chart. 2. Custom Alerts: We can create custom alerts on the trading charts that allow you to be aware when any action as part of your strategy is activated. Such as when an order triggers, a price triggers, a technical formation is formation, etc. 23 P a g e
3. Pre-Defined Entry Time Frames: Many EAs should only be on during specific time periods or trading sessions to avoid low liquidity or only trade when there is high volatility. We have programmed EAs to be aware of these specific conditions and denote them on a chart so a trader knows when to turn on/off his EA. 4. Enable Trader Intervention: Not all strategies that allow traders to intervene in the opening or exiting of trades are coded. We have coded EAs that do allow traders to take more control. 5. Custom Scripts: We can create any custom script related to order execution. For example, we have coded scripts that can scan all open trades and close only positions with current profits of ""X"" pips. 6. Custom Indicators: We can create any custom technical indicator for a client. 7. Multi-Time Frame Trading: You can have coded EAs that trade across four different time-frames at the same time. 8. Money Managers EAs: We have coded EAs for Money Managers that allow them to protect their intellectual property by locking there EA to a specific account number or password field, or to work only on demo accounts. Also have customized PAMM set-ups that integrate with MT4. 9. EA Developers: We have helped EA developers, who needed help with more robust coding, perfect their EAs. 10. E-mail and SMS alerts We have coded the ability for e-mail and SMS alerts to be sent when your EA has performed a specific action. This allows you to be aware of your EA activity 24 hours a day. EA DEVELOPERS If you are an EA Developer, contact us and we can help you fully integrate your EA with our No Dealing Desk system, or help you to add more robust coding. Our programming services team can assist in almost any of the coding aspects of your EA. GET STARTED Contact our Programming Services Team: Simple Programming Project: $300 Complex Programming Project $600 Promotion: Open an MT4 Account with $25,000 and get five free billing hours. E-mail: consulting@fxcm.com Fill out a Request Form: http://www.fxcm.com/programming-services-form.jsp Read more information: http://www.fxcm.com/strategy-consulting-landing.jsp 24 P a g e
Resources Free FXCM Expert Advisors Commercial EA s Open an MT4 Account MT4 VPS 25 P a g e