Facts and Myths bout Expert Advisors

I've used an expert advisor only once since I started trading (and by once I mean one expert advisor over the period of several months) and it was with varied success. In the end I gave up on the idea and decided that I preferred to trade manually. I suppose I could've tried with another one, but I preferred to have full control over my trading decisions.

I know this post is a little bit old but I just want to give a perspective you guys haven't talked about. Maybe it's just that you haven't experienced creating a successful EA and wanting to sell it.

''Why would anyone who creates a successful EA sell it?''
That's pretty simple actually, at least for my situation. If it works & makes money, it is good enough to be sold & have your name on it. + If you are in a bad financial position regardless if the EA makes 50-150% a yr, you are not going to make a living for yrs if you start with 500$. So selling the EA can be an opportunity to make a living as your trading account is growing.

''Trading manually is better because you can make better decisions''
Well... why is no one considering the fact that the EA can be just a tool for your trading? Why is no one considering that you can still manage the trades and close them when you think it's the right time? I still have control over the trades & when I see it might be a better choice to close a trade early or even not let the EA enter the trade, I do it, it's not like my EA gets made at me... I do however regret it afterwards and rememeber why I created EAs to trade my strategy for me without emotions lol :D

I wonder if anyone has considered the possibility that the reason why most traders are losing money all the time is because they are using old indicators & strategies in a market enviroment that is run by algorithmic trading software. The difference between a winning trader and losing trader is that the winning trader knows how to manage his losing trades ;) <--- just a sentance I heard that got me thinking out side of the box and brought me to this point.

I hope my perspective gives a better understanding on this issue.

The paradox.


buyers want autopilot profits ( no work on their part)
seller wants stable profits (updates, improvements)

You just can't have both.

If you want a robust strategy(automated) it will take parameter adjustments, market know how, and smart money management to make profits over the long term.

A hardcoded black box will fail over the long-term ( doesn't adapt).
A system with customization requires an experienced trader to maintain a market edge.
 

Thanks for your thread, man. It helps to sort out many things due to which I was in doubts.

I have very mixed feelings on expert advisors. On one hand I've seen people make excellent profit using them, on the other hand still feel very mistrustful. I don't like that something else makes my decisions for me.

From my experience , if you understand the strategy, and you are the one programming it, than you have no reason to not trust your own code. Just like with any programming, you have to test and debug until it does what you demand of it.

According to owners and exowners of EAs, one can rely on such programs no more than for a few months, so if this is true and you consider buying it, consider also expected ROI for a few months and whether it worth that.