Frequently Asked Questions

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Copycat Trade Copier EA

Also you may want to read the complete manual on how to set up and run the Copycat EA with examples and videos.

Important: The Copycat EA will close all opened positions in the account where you copy trades (if any). This is required for correct synchronization with the master account. Be aware that it is not recommended to manually or otherwise open positions within this account, since they will be closed automatically by the EA. In other words, copy trades only to clean trading account.

1. How to set up the EA to copy trades?

• Symbol (instrument) names are case-sensitive, so you should specify them correctly, this is crucial.
  Also make sure to use only 1 instance of the EA attached on each platform: 1 instance attached on first MetaTrader platform acting as Server (it does not matter on which chart) and 1 instance of the EA attached on the second MetaTrader platform acting as Agent. This is sufficient to copy all trades from Agent to Server. Do not forget to check that the chosen port number 30303 is not used by any other EA or program and can be accessed via firewall/router (if your MetaTrader platforms are located on physically separated computers, i.e. VPS). If you run both MetaTrader platforms on the same local computer, then you can skip this check. Licensing of the EA does not matter if you are using DEMO accounts for tests: the EA works without limitations on DEMO accounts. There is no limit on number of trades per 24h, as opposed to the Arbiter Forex Arbitrage EA.
  The settings regarding Allowed Symbol and Corresponding Symbol from Agent must be mirrored to the Server. Also, make sure to display the symbols you want to copy in "Market Watch" beforehand, both on Agent and Server and restart the platform.
  Important: be aware of volumes (lots) being copied, sometimes if you copy US Oil or other commodity you can have differences in contract size between brokers, which can lead to unreasonably large lots being traded!
  
  Example
  
  On Agent:
  Allowed Symbol(s): XAU_USD;Platinum;EURUSD;SPX
  Corresponding Symbol(s): Gold;XPTUSD;EURUSD;SP500
  
  On Server:
  Allowed Symbol(s): XAU_USD;Platinum;EURUSD;SPX
  Corresponding Symbol(s): Gold;XPTUSD;EURUSD;SP500
  

2. What are the fastest settings for copying trades?

• It depends on various factors, for example the computer power on which MetaTrader platforms are installed (the more, the better), connection speed, geographical location, etc. Generally, on modern PC with 16 Gb of RAM and SSD with high-speed Internet connection you can run flawlessly trades copying within 0.05 to 0.1 seconds - in a blink of an eye.

3. Can I copy trades from multiple accounts on the same platform/account?

• On the same platform/account - no. On different MetaTrader platform/account on same computer - yes.
  For example, if you want to copy trades from account 1111 and 2222 at the same time, you'll need to have separate MetaTrader installations on the same machine with separate accounts logged-in (account 4444 will get trades from account 1111 and account 5555 will get trades from account 2222). Just make sure to use different port number in Expert Advisor's settings for every account you are copying.

4. Can I use the Copycat EA on platforms, installed on remote (physically separated) computers?

• Yes, you'll have to open the specified port in EA settings at the firewall of those remote machines. Otherwise the platforms could not communicate with each other.
  For example, you have two computers with MetaTrader platforms, one located in Zanzibar (it's a VPS with IP address 11.22.33.44), the other is at your home. You decide to use the Zanzibar machine as Server (copy trades on this account) and you specified in EA's settings at your home MetaTrader terminal that it is an Agent (copy trades from this account) and the Server IP address is 11.22.33.44 with Port 30399. Next, you have to make sure that port 30399 is open on your Zanzibar computer (either open it in firewall, router, etc.) and the requests to IP 11.22.33.44 can be made on that port from your home computer. Keep in mind that communication between very distant machines may be slow and trade copying may not be as fast as on your local machine.

5. Can I use the EA on MetaTrader 5 "netting" account?

• Almost yes. As long as the account you use to copy trades to is also of type "netting" and if closing of positions is not partial. However, the usage of "netting" account is not recommended.

6. Can I open manually trades on the same account the EA is running on?

• Keep in mind, that you have to use the EA on a clean account (i.e. account without opened positions or pending orders) and you will have to avoid manual trading on this account when the Copycat Trade Copier EA is running. If you trade manually on the same account, this will interfere with the positions opened by the expert advisor and will lead to confusion and automatic closure of manually opened deals. The EA is strict and wants to open trades independently. Put in short, do not trade on this account manually while the EA is running.

7. Тhe account from which trades are copied is very profitable, but the second account that the trades are copied keeps losing money?

• There are 2 main reasons for this, if the slippage is not big issue:
  
  1. Trade execution times (in ms): it should be around 120ms;
  2. Spread during trade closing;
  
  Check and compare those in Journal tab of the platform of the broker with the values at the master account (especially for the losing trades). Sometimes brokers can introduce artificial delay when opening/closing positions (this is their way to slow down the HFT traders). Values above 150ms trade execution time and wider than usual spread will eat your profits like cookie-monster, even when the Copycat EA opens trades fast.
  
  Also, make sure you are connected to the fastest possible (lowest ping) server of the broker: check this at bottom right of the platform. Most brokers have several trading servers, some have very high ping (they are distant from you), and the MT platform have the bad habit to connect to those distant servers, instead to the fastest ones. If so, manually select the closest to you server.

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Arbiter Forex Arbitrage EA

Also you may want to read the complete manual on how to set up and run the Arbiter EA with examples and videos.

1. Does forex arbitrage still works?

The expert advisor trades when market conditions for arbitrage are present, read more about the nature of the trading strategy in this blog post.
The term "Slow broker" does not mean slow connection to the broker, it means a broker with misconfigured trading server, which can be exploited by arbitrage. Also, the term "Fast broker" does not mean fast connection to the broker, it mean a broker with properly configured trading server which offer high quality quotes to traders. It is always mandatory to have the fastest possible connection to both fast and slow broker, since this reduces the latency, which translates into greater chance of profitable trade.
When testing the Arbitrage EA, consider the couple of things:

• Make sure you have 1 fast (using LMAX, Rithmic or FIX quotes) FX broker and 1 slow broker (usually newly opened brokerage business).
• Do not focus on major currency pairs, instead trade metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper), oil (crude, wti, brent, natural gas), indices (DAX30, Dow, S&P500, Nasdaq, CAC40, Bovespa, etc.). The reason for this is the nature of quotes - when dealing with currencies the brokers get their quotes from liquidity providers (usually large banks) and there is not much room for arbitrage here, because quotes are largely in equilibrium. However, when dealing with metals, indices, oil, the brokers get their quotes from institutions like CBOE, Xetra(in Germany for DAX30/GER40), NYSE and here we have room for arbitrage, because of the different implementations of access protocols (FIX, LMAX, etc.).

In other words, some brokers use fast access protocols like LMAX or FIX to get quotes from CBOE or Xetra, others use slow access protocols and this is the Achilles heel of their whole business model, which we as retail traders can profit from.

2. How to set up the EA for trade arbitrage?

• Attach the Arbiter EA on the chart of the instrument of slow broker you want to trade in mode "SLOW broker(server)" and fill the necessary fields in settings (most important ones are "Server Port", "Server Hostname/IP Address" and "Corresponding Symbol on Server" - symbol name is case-sensitive). Attach also the expert advisor on the fast broker in mode "FAST broker(agent)" and set the same fields. Keep in mind that the server's port number must be unique for every instrument. For example, if you want to arbiter 3 separate symbols, you should attach the EA on 3 different charts on both fast and slow broker's MetaTrader platforms and specify 3 different port numbers.

3. What are the best settings for forex arbitrage?

• The settings depend on instrument, you can take a look at the User guide section. Also make sure to watch the two YouTube videos on our channel related to Forex arbitrage.
• For example on Gold (XAUUSD) you should use 450-600 points (4.50 - 6.00 US dollars price move against your position) as Stop Loss and around 210-250 points (2.10-2.50 US dollars price move in your favor) as Take Profit level.
• For DAX30 (GER30) it is fine to set 1000-1200 points as Take Profit and 3500-4000 points as Stop Loss.
  The above values assume the slow broker is 5-digit broker. General recommendation is to set Take Profit and Stop Loss according your risk management (2%-4% of account capital per trade) and ratio between Stop Loss and Take Profit to be around 3:1.
• The computer hardware on which MetaTrader platforms run (the more, the better). Generally, on modern PC with 16 Gb of RAM and SSD with high-speed Internet connection you can run flawlessly trade arbitrage within 10ms - and even lower if you run trading terminals on VPN geographically close to the brokers in question.

4. What are the requirements for the port number when using more than 1 instrument for arbitrage?

• Server port number must be unique for every instrument you trade. It is a communication gateway - the FAST broker platform communicates with the SLOW broker platform through this channel and sends quote-related data for the specified symbol. You can start with the default value (30303) and increase the port number by 1 after adding new instrument.
• Regarding other settings - price alignment is also important - bid/ask prices from fast broker (dotted lines) should be aligned on slow broker before trading. I recommend to align bid/ask before session start and before any trading takes place.
• Also do not try to arbitrage currencies, it is pointless, because the currency market is very efficient and cannot be easily exploited - large enough pricing gaps almost never occur. Concentrate on indices, metals, oil, gas, commodities, crypto.
• Read more about arbitrage trading at our blog (https://www.algotradekit.com/posts/post-what-is-forex-arbitrage.php)

5. How to properly adjust the initial price alignment offset between slow and fast broker?

• Since the quotes of the slow broker always try to catch-up quotes of the fast broker, we have to initially align them (set the equal starting point). This can be done automatically or manually. If quotes from the fast broker are not properly aligned with the quotes from slow broker, false trading signals may be generated, leading to losing trades. Keep an eye during the trading session on the EA and enable the "Auto Price Alignment" option of the EA. If you prefer more precise control over price alignment, disable the "Auto Price Alignment" option and adjust the alignment manually by using the green and red buttons at top right of the chart. Read more how to initially align the prices at the user guide section.

6. Are there any predefined set files for instrument XXX?

• No, the set files are not available, because even the same instrument is traded differently at a given broker, i.e. the set files cannot be universal. However, you can test and create your own set files for reuse. Follow the general recommendation regarding the position from above question.

7. Is it possible to trade instruments with different names at the slow and fast broker?

• The "Corresponding Symbol on Server" is the name of the trading symbol that should be used for arbitrage on the slow broker. The name of the instrument at the slow broker may be different from the fast broker, but it does not matter. For example, if the fast broker uses "BRENT_G1" for brent oil, the slow broker may use "XBRUSD" for the same instrument. To use arbitrage on the slow broker, you should enter "XBRUSD".

8. Can I keep the Price Alignment Offset at zero in EA settings?

• It depends - if initial prices from fast broker match those from slow one then setting the offset different than zero is unnecessary. Sometimes however you must match the quotes: observe the dotted lines from the fast broker over the chart of slow broker and try to adjust the bid/ask values from fast broker with the green/red + or - buttons as close as possible.

9. Is it possible to use Trailing Stop or Break-even with this strategy?

• The arbitrage strategy is not meant to use trailing stop - the profit targets are often inside the trailing stop range, so it is impractical to implement it. However, you can use the MetaTrader 4/5 build-in function for trailing stop - right click on already opened position and select "Trailing Stop" and set some value. If you reduce a bit your profit target, choose suitable broker for arbitrage, and use a fast VPN server geographically close to your slow broker - this will greatly improve trading profitability.

10. Can you provide a list with slow/fast brokers for arbitrage?

• Finding appropriate brokers should be conducted by experimentation, as different people might have different suitable brokers based on their geographical position or distance of their network to respective trading servers, one's hardware, reliability of the connection, etc. However, all customers with purchased license will get several brokers to experiment with. Keep in mind that this information is purely based on my own experience and I cannot be responsible for the future performance/trading conditions of those brokers, i.e. I cannot guarantee that fast brokers will remain fast or slow brokers will remain slow.

11. Is it possible to backtest the Arbiter Expert Advisor?

• No, you can't do it. The EA requires data from at least two separate brokers to transact, so back-testing is impossible.

12. Is it compulsory to rent a VPS for arbitrage?

• It is nice to have, but not mandatory. You can use the expert advisor from your home computer and since the trades are short lived, you can trade it only for couple of hours a day during the active sessions (or during news events) and yet earn a good living. It is not recommended to arbiter your broker all day long, it might put your account under review or decline to pay off your profits.

13. Is arbitrage allowed in all brokers?

• Some brokers allow forex arbitrage, some not. Read carefully the terms and conditions of your broker before trading.

14. Which broker should I trade with?

• The lower the spreads, the better, any regulated market maker or MetaTrader broker is the best option.

15. Could the broker destabilise my trading?

• Yes. Some brokers have special anti-scalping software installed on their servers, which may increase the slippage of your orders if they detect suspicious activity. If slippage becomes suddenly too high, disable trading wtih these brokers.

16. What account balance should I start with?

• As general rule, rather modest account balance is advised when starting with arbitrage. It depends on leverage mostly, but $250-$500 should be sufficient with leverage 1:100.

17. Do I have to purchase the expert advisor again if I change accounts?

• No, the purchase if one-time only and license number is valid for 5 IP addresses (if you at some point decide not to use given IP address, then inform me by email and I will replace it with another IP address of your chosing).

18. Do I need fast Internet connection for arbitrage?

• Absolutely, the faster, the better.
  Important note: slow broker does not mean slow connection to the broker, it means a broker with misconfigured trading server which leads to lagging quotes and that can be exploited with arbitrage!

19. In which trading session it is profitable to do arbitrage?

• GER30 should be traded only during London session, XAUUSD, US30, SPX500, NAS100, USOIL, UKOIL should be traded only during New York session. No other instruments are recommended for arbitrage (even if it is very tempting to do so).

20. When and how can I take the demo of the Arbitrage EA for testing?

• You can demo test the EA at any time, just download it and use it on demo account and learh how to setup the EA on my Youtube channel. Also, detailed explanation about Arbiter EA parameters can be found on user guide page.

21. Can you provide the rules for successful arbitrage trading?

• 1. Try to trade not every day, but 2-3 days per week, during high volatility sessions and news events (that means trading DAX during London session and Gold / DJIA / SPX500 / NAS100 during New York session).
  2. Use relatively small account size, lower than 2000 USD to stay below broker's radar and do not be greedy: trade with smaller lot size.
  3. Mandatory set the Arbitrage EA in "Turbo mode" with "Gap Size (points)" parameter depending on market volatility with "Maximum Trade Duration" parameter between 3-6 seconds.
  4. Complete full KYC/MiFiD compliance at the chosen broker (pay attention to what account documents your broker ask from you, if you find those requests strange - do not give your personal details and close the account, most probably the broker is fake or unregulated).
  5. Don't be greedy, stay close and monitor how the Arbitrage EA trades - do not run the EA on autopilot, sometimes the best trading strategy is not to trade.
  6. Pay attention to "Gap Size (points)" parameter since market volatility changes during the day and you have to follow up, if there is a gap between quotes of slow and fast broker more than selected amount, a trade will be executed. Change this parameter according the symbol you trade and consider the digits after decimal point (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) of the symbol.

22. Can we have several fast brokers open at the same time sending quotes to one slow broker?

• Yes, you can run multiple fast brokers at the same time, each fast broker must use a separate (unique) port number, for example - XAUUSD(FastBroker1) uses port 30320, XAUUSD(FastBroker2) uses port 30321, etc. At the slow broker you have attach 2 Arbiter Forex Arbitrage EAs and set for each of them the appropriate port number and corresponding symbol name as usual, i.e. the slow broker will receive quotes from various sources for the same instrument and it will open a trade when valid signal is received.

23. What is the maximum drawdown and % of profit per month of the Arbitrage EA?

• There is no straight answer - regarding the drawdown - it depends on the following factors: market volatility, instrument chosen for trade, lot size, account size, broker's conditions (spread, trade execution times), EA parameters, etc. Usually on 5000$ account and really slow broker (i.e. at least 75% of the trades are profitable) with lot size of 0.5 when trading XAUUSD with margin 1:200 you can expect to gain 2000$ from about 40 trades in 2 weeks.

24. Is it enough to download and test MT4/MT5 demos and see if they are suitable for arbitrage?

• Most of the times it is enough to test the demo of the MT5 to get confirmation about possible arbitrage of particular broker, since the MT5 real and demo server reside on the same physical hardware (the technology used by MetaQuotes is such that it cannot be otherwise), so the demo and real server share the same operating system, computer memory, internet connection, server location, etc - i.e. all parameters which are important for the broker's performance.
  Now, for the older version - MT4 - this is not the case - the demo and real server are not the same and they can be (and actually are) physically separated machines - with their own hardware, operating system, internet connection, execution times, server location, etc. Of course, the best option is to perform tests on real account, because this way you can get an idea of real execution speed and slippage of particular broker.

25. Is an MT4/MT5 LMAX account required to use the software and access fast broker quotes, or is there a built-in connection to a fast broker within the EA?

• The Arbiter Forex Arbitrage EA gets its prices from a broker chosen by the user and doesn't have a built-in connection to a specific quotes provider. It's not mandatory to use LMAX as the fast broker, as there are other brokers with similar quality prices and easier account opening requirements for individuals.

26. When the Arbiter EA is attached on chart what does the color of each line (white, green, red) mean?

• The green line indicates that a buy position will be initiated if the fast broker's price (white line) goes above it. Conversely, a sell position will be triggered if the fast broker's price falls below the red line. Essentially, the green and red lines represent the GAP size in points, indicating the amount of price difference required to open a trading position.

27. Is it possible to pass the challenge of prop-firms like FTMO or MFF with the Arbitrage EA?

• The short answer is yes, if and only if, your fast broker is faster than the prop-firm's trading server.

28. Do you pass tests/challenges of prop-firms on behalf of clients?

• Currently I do not provide such challenge passing service since I do not have time, but in the past I've passed the challenges of First Class Forex Funds on behalf of my clients. Basically the challenge of any prop-trading company which uses Eightcap as introducing broker can be passed without problems in a week.

29. Why don't you arbitrage currency pairs?

• The FX currency market is very efficient nowadays and pricing gaps almost never occur between brokers, therefore we as retail traders cannot profit from price discrepancies with arbitrage.

30. What type of broker allows arbitrage trading with EA?

• Forex arbitrage involves taking advantage of price discrepancies between different forex markets or brokers, often through the use of automated trading systems or expert advisors (EAs). In some cases, brokers may prohibit or restrict such trading practices, so it's important to research and select a broker that is open to this type of strategy by reading the terms and conditions on the broker's website.
  When choosing a broker for forex arbitrage trading, some important factors to consider include:
  - Regulatory compliance: Look for a broker that is properly licensed and regulated in your jurisdiction to ensure that your funds are protected and that the broker operates in a transparent and ethical manner.
  - Execution speed and reliability: Because forex arbitrage relies on rapid trade execution, you'll want to select a broker with a fast and reliable trading platform and order execution system.
  - Market access and liquidity: Ensure that the broker offers access to the markets and currency pairs you want to trade, and that there is sufficient liquidity to support your trading volumes.
  - Trading costs: Be aware of the broker's fees and commissions, as these can affect your profits when engaging in high-frequency trading strategies like forex arbitrage.

31. Can you provide a real account statement/investor password for real account?

• Investor password access cannot be provided for the following reasons:
  1. Every real account at particular slow broker exist for limited period of time, often less than 3 months in order to stay bellow broker's radar;
  2. The list of slow brokers, suitable for arbitrage is part of the purchase of the Arbitrage EA - if I provide such list, or even 1 broker from that list - then selling the software becomes pointless, because the most valuable part is the information, not the software.
  
  I know what you are thinking - there are other expert advisors which claim to perform great on demo account - and you are correct - demo trading is not the same as trading on real account, simply because the broker's demo trading server works without slippage and deal confirmation. And in case of MT4 - it is completely separate server. In MT5 demo and real account server is physically one hardware machine, that's why I recommend testing on demo accounts on MT5 only platform - this way you will be sure that the trade execution will be the same before trading on real account.

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Algotradekit Finati EA

Also you may want to read the complete manual on how to set up and run the Algotradekit Finati EA with examples and video.

Important: Be aware that it is not recommended to manually or otherwise open positions within this account.

1. Which are the supported instruments by the Algotradekit Finati EA?

• The EA supports GBPUSD, GBPCAD, USDCHF, USDJPY, EURCAD, EURUSD, EURGBP, CADJPY, NZDJPY, AUDJPY, CHFJPY, EURJPY, GBPJPY, NZDCAD, AUDCAD, USDCAD, NZDCHF, CADCHF, US30 (Dow Jones index), SPX500 (S&P 500 index), GER30 (German DAX index), EUSTX50 (Euro Stoxx 50 index) only. This is due to nature of mean reverting algorithm and backtesting results.

2. What are the best symbols for trading by the Algotradekit Finati EA?

• Most of the symbols have results with P/L ratio between 75% and 92% over the period of 12+ years, but the best performers are FX crosses with Japanese Yen (USDJPY, CADJPY, NZDJPY, AUDJPY, CHFJPY, EURJPY, GBPJPY). The machine-learning algorithm is optimized heavily to work with those particular instruments.

3. How often the Algotradekit Finati EA execute trades?

• Most of the time the EA stays away from the market and on average there can be 1~3 trades per week. Most of the trades are closed within 7~30 days. I.e. this is low-frequency trading bot, suitable for any MT5 broker and any trading conditions (fast or slow connection, high or low spreads, etc.), without the fear of being banned by the broker because of the particular trading style.

4. Are there any predefined *.set files for Algotradekit Finati EA?

• Yes, the demo version comes with couple of *.set files, the full version comes with 19 optimized *.set files and unlimited trading on real accounts. The demo version expires after 30 days of usage.

5. What is the profitability of Algotradekit Finati EA?

• If you use all 19 supported symbols with recommended lot size of 0.1 per symbol per every 10K of free margin in your account, you can expect around 6~8% on average per instrument per year with very low drawdown - usually below 10% from account size.

6. Can you provide investor login details of trading account which uses Algotradekit Finati EA?

• Yes, contact me for those details.

7. Is it possible to backtest the Algotradekit Finati EA?

• Yes, use the MT5 backtester, the default settings of the EA are optimized for USDJPY. The EA trades on H8 timeframe only.