Challenge automated trading using MT4!! Let's get started! EA Life | Episode 11: How to evaluate and select an EA (Part 2) [Shinsei Kakizawa]
Masanao Kakizawa Profile
Kakizawa Masanobu. Since 2009, he has developed automated FX trading systems and has provided numerous automated trading systems to securities firms and users, starting with EasySniper and MultiAgent. At the automated trading service "Strategy Trading 24" by Invast Securities, the provided strategy MultiAgent achieved an overwhelming performance and evaluation in the 2016 Annual Awards. Also, at Himawari Securities’ automated trading service "EcoTrade," the provided strategy "Hikae Venus" maintained the top number of users for more than a year from 2013 to 2014. The number of users has exceeded 700. He is currently offering Dream Agent FX, an evolution of MultiAgent.
In this series, we focus on FX automated trading systems, specifically EA that operate on MetaTrader 4 (MT4). We will have professional trader Masanobu Kakizawa guide you through the knowledge and know-how needed to operate them. If you are considering using an EA or are already using one, please refer to this.
*This article is a reprint/re-edited version of an article from FX Tactics.com, April 2019 issue. Please note that the market information written in the text may differ from the current market.
Judging EA performance by two methods
Hello everyone. Following up from the last article, I would like to explain how to evaluate and select EAs. Last time I described the characteristics of EAs in detail; this time it’s about their performance.
There are two ways to check EA performance, as mentioned briefly at the end of the last article:
- Forward testing
- Backtesting
As explained previously, forward testing means running the EA in real-time to observe trades and movements, while backtesting means performing simulations using past market data.
I will defer the details of backtesting to later, and this time I will use forward-test performance reports to explain how to read the EA’s performance. For those who have read the basic material, there may be overlapping parts, but please join me as a refresher.
Image ① is part of a report that can be output with MT4’s standard features. Now, let’s look at items ①–⑥ in order.
