As you have probably noticed, there is not much traffic here under the Autotrading thread. If I remember correctly, there was much more on the C2 and FXDD forums. It seems that autotrading sites like C2 and FXDD are losing popularity. I suspect it might be because many more people are losing than winning with them. As I have read so many times on so many FX forums, 99.99% of all EAs and systems are losers. I don't agree with that number, but I do agree the majority of them are. If we find a system that we like such as TAB, for example, I think they will send the signals directly to your trading platform, for execution with the broker of your choice. There is a monthly fee for that though. Please keep us posted on the progress and performance of your EAs and portfolio.
Ok, I'm going to have to correct myself again here. You CAN auto-trade via C2 to IB, but you need to use Bulldog FX. I'm not sure on this complete process, but it will be something I'm looking into once I have 10k or more to put with IB.
Hi, It is not 99.99% of systems are losers, it is the traders using them. Let us assume a hypothetical question. Is a system that makes 3000 pips a year guarantee profitability?
BulldogFX is a MM broker, so I don't see how you could trade through them to IB. You might be thinking of Trade Bullet. I think if you have that software, you can trade from C2 to IB. Are you sure 10k is the minimum for a forex account on IB? I am pretty sure it is much less. If memory serves, which it might not, it seems that it was 2 or 5k.
I agree that traders have a small part in the success or failure of systems, just as the brokers do also. However, the systems themselves have the largest part. After all, the systems are doing all of the trading, not the trader. I don't understand your hypothetical question. Please explain.
I agree with this statement . . . for the most part. If you look at my original post I point the finger at the trader (again for the most part). I have nothing against fx-auto as I have yet to use their services, but I do know that most of the systems on they offer are indeed garbage. The classic arguement that seems to come up in all forums is that fx-auto does not represent the maximum drawdown INTRA-trade. Any system can have 3,000 pips profit in a year if it gives its losing trades long enough to come into profit or back near break even. This doesn't mean that numerous accounts (regardless of leverage) were whiped out before that. All these reasons are why I've chosen TAB. They take money management into account and it is the reason they continue to be successful. We'll see how it goes . . .
You're probably correct, I read a review where someone was saying they were having orders routed to IB and I assumed it was through Bulldog. As far as IB's minimums, you are also probably right there too. I'm just not going to go through the hassle of setting up all the needed requirements until I've tested my TAB portfolio live and have a decent profit (assuming that's the outcome).
The trader is at fault if and only if they constantly change their systems and/or manually intervene with the positions. If they do not do these things, then the trader has no part of the system performance at all. Which is how it is supposed to be. Yes, system drawdowns do not get the same attention as their gains do. DD is my primary criteria for selecting a system. I prefer a low DD over any other criteria. Another thing mentioned on many forums is that most systems do poorly during news events or high volatility. That is another thing to consider when selecting a system. I was following some trader's autotrading journals on a few forums, and all of them suddenly ended after a few months. I guess they eventually got wiped out too. I cut my losses short, before being wiped out, and have not autotraded since, but I would still like to IF I find a worthy system. The search continues... Keep us posted on TAB.
Thats funny. I JUST NOW added the NZD.JPY pair on Ideal pro and I entered an order sze of 35000. That was accepted with a margin of $3200. So this must be a 20:1 Leveraged instrument.
The latest information DIRECT FROM IB's Website http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/minimumDeposits.php?ib_entity=llc