Make Money while you sleep with Automated trading – Part 2 of 3
As promised, the other method which I use to make money whilst I’m sleeping is once again the same concept, automated financial trading (mainly Forex movements).
It involves the Metatrader software and a growing list of brokers support it. Click here for a list of the brokers which support it..
I think the platform is great as it’s a complete live charting program (even if you set up a demo account, you can still get live charts!) with built in indicators and lots of optional plugins and extras. There’s a huge community out there of people who build indicators and here’s the best bit.. automated trading systems!
These automated trading systems in Metatrader are called Expert Advisors and they just plug into the platform and proceed to buy and sell on your behalf. You can buy these systems and even find some free on the internet
Here are a couple which are available to purchase:
KISSfutures – claims to average +176 pips per month with little drawdown
Forex Ghost – claims to be 96% accurate
However, there are many out there so have a search on Google for “Expert Advisors”. A good site for all plugins to Metatrader is http://www.forexmt4.com/
The Expert Advisors are easily installed, all you need to do is to put them into the experts folder within the Metatrader folder.
Then close and open the Metatrader platform again.
Then if you go to Tools and Options and look for the Expert Advisor tab. To allow it to work on your account make sure the setting are the same as the below picture:
Click on ok, then if you open up the Expert Advisors within the Navigator window, right click on the Expert Advisor and Attach to Chart.
If all goes well then you should have a smiley face on the top right of your screen as below.
If not, make sure you’ve click on the Expert Advisor button as below:
Then off you go!!!
NOTE!
If you read the automated trading post last night, I mention about finding a system that’s suitable for you, some people are conservative traders, others like to take more of a risk.. you need to be comfortable with your Expert Advisor. I recommend that you firstly set up a demo account with a broker and test the Expert Advisor on it to see if it lives up to expectations. With Metatrader, there’s also a simulation mode where you can put your Expert Advisor to the test using historical data to see how it would perform. I have tested this in the past and some people optimise their Expert Advisors so that they show fantastic results, in the real world, they don’t perform as good! Don’t ask me how they do this, I have no idea.. it’s just a word of warning!
Ok, the pros and cons of automated trading this way
Pros
- You have complete control, you can turn on and off the trading system when you want. You can also manually override the system (not recommended if you have no idea what you’re doing)
- You can tweak the Expert Advisors to suit you.. you can decide how many lots to trade, set trailing stops, adjust entry/exits, set limit profits… it’s very versatile but once again, you need to know what you’re doing
- The Metatrader platform is very good and you essentially get a free live charting platform.. even you don’t use it to trade
- Huge range of Experts available for you to choose and trade with.
- Can potentially trade all currencies
Cons
- You need to leave your computer on and connected to Metatrader to run the Expert Advisor
- For UK customers only, you can’t spreadbet this so it’s not tax free. For those in the US, it makes no difference so ignore this point!
- Manual intervention is possible by user.. this can be a good and a bad thing depending if you know what you’re doing!
That’s it! Have fun!
If you have any comments or need some help with installing Experts, you can send me a comment or email me at alan@makemesomemoney.co.uk (I’ll help if I can!)
There’s one more way I use to make an automated income.. I’ll post this soon!
