Forex Set and Forget - First endorsement!

Check it out! My first endorsement for FSaF. It comes from Cynthia's Forex Support Trading Web Site. If you don't know about Cynthia, I recommend you get acquainted with her because she evaluates alot of trading robots and brokers. She will save you so much time and money with all of her research. Cynthia will only promote products that she has personally tested and had success with. If you are not on her mailing list, I recommend you get on it.

--> www.cynthia-recommends.info/robotsupport.php

To see her endorsement for Forex Set and Forget, go to the above site and look on the right for "From the Forex Millionaire Maker" [that's me :-) ]

New FSaF video posted on YouTube

If you are a user of Forex Set and Forget you have probably noticed that it tends to experience more losses than usual during ranging markets. I have created a new video to show you how you can virtually eliminate risk during these times. Click to watch the latest video...

Forex Set and Forget: Protection from Losses

Current version of Forex Set and Forget is 1.06. Version 1.07 will likely have this "protection mode" automated.

Clearing up some confusion about FSaF

I received the following message this morning about someone having problems with Forex Set and Forget. It seems I overlooked an important detail in my documentation. Here is the message, followed by the response.

Tony

Have been running FSAF with your recommended settings on all pairs. Already has blown up four $10000 demo accounts in 1 week. The settings you are recommending do not make money.
Also, ran the optimization backtest and start using the best settings from the optimization on forward test, but it also blew up the account.

Do not know what else to do.

Unless maybe you have any other settings that might work or recommend the days and times to use FSAF ea?

Too bad, really wanted this ea to work.

Here is my response...

The recommended settings are to be used on a SINGLE PAIR. If you run on multiple pairs at the same time you will get a margin call very quickly. If you do want to run on multiple pairs, you will need to change "scaleDivisor" for all pairs. At the minimum, you want to multiply the number of pairs you will be running on by 1000 and use that number for scaleDivisor. For example, if you are running on 6 pairs at once then set scaleDivisor=6000. This is the lowest value you should have in this case. Higher values are even safer.

Now a little info about scaleDivisor. But first a little tutorial about "trading rounds" and "virtual trades"...

Forex Set and Forget (FSaF), using the included preset files, places trades 10 at a time and waits for all 10 trades to be closed before even looking for another opportunity. A trading "round" represents those 10 trades from open until close of the last trade. All of the trades are the same size and represent a single "virtual" trade. So for example, FSaF places 10 trades of 0.01 lots. That set of 10 trades is considered a single "virtual trade" of 0.1 lots.

So now back to scaleDivisor...

The scaleDivisor parameter determines when to increase trade size. It is critical that it is set correctly. The way it works is this; Divide your Account Equity by scaleDivisor. That becomes the scaling factor for your trade size. For example, if your account equity is $3000 and your scaleDivisor=1000 then 3000 / 1000 = 3. Multiply minTradeSize by 3 and that becomes the size of your next set of trades. If your minTradeSize=0.01 then your trade size will be 0.03 next time a trade is placed.

With that in mind, 10 trades of 0.03 lots represents a virtual trade of 0.3 lots. If your account equity is 3000 then that represents about 10:1 leverage, which is high but should be safe to run Forex Set and Forget. So now, let 's see what our friend did in the above message...

• Starting balance: $10000
• minTradeSize=0.01
• scaleDivisor=1000 <--- UH OH!
  
• Number of currency pairs: 10

This means each chart running the EA was placing virtual trades of 1 full lot. That's ok with just one chart running. However, if you get 5 charts with trades open at the same time then (unless you get very lucky) it's just a matter of minutes before you get a margin call. Either way, your account will be drained very quickly with these settings. So how do we fix this? I'll show you...

• Starting balance: $10000 (unchanged)
• minTradeSize=0.01 (unchanged)
• scaleDivisor=10000 (factor of 10 difference)
• Number of currency pairs: 10 (unchanged)

So now what happens? Here's the calculation.

• Starting balance (10000) / scaleDivisor (10000) * minTradeSize (0.01) = 0.01

That means each virtual trade will be 0.1 lots instead of 1.0 lots. BIG difference. Now your account can withstand at least 100 consecutive losing rounds and still survive.

Here is a shortcut to help you determine how to set scaleDivisor.

• scaleDivisor = (number_of_charts * 1000)

In other words, if you are going to have FSaF running on 3 charts, then EACH chart must have scaleDivisor=3000 at least! Larger numbers will make it even safer to trade.

New videos posted on YouTube

Here is the one that shows you how to apply Forex Set and Forget to your chart and configure it to run.

Trading Log is back

I had to get rid of the old trading logs that I had on my links because I pretty much destroyed that account with all the experiments I was doing while developing Forex Set and Forget. So now there's a new trading log that I put on EAResults.com. I am running on an FXDD standard demo account with $1000, on GBPUSD, using the parameters as they are set in the "gbpusd.set" file that comes with Forex Set and Forget. GBPUSD is ranging something terrible right now so I don't expect any winning trades right away. But hopefully a trend will pick up and the EA will make up any losses and be in profit soon.

Forex Set and Forget is live!

I'm actually very excited about this particular launch. Forex Set and Forget represents the next generation of Automated Trading Robots. It's not neural networks or anything fancy like that. It is a simple trend follower that has a peculiar trade management scheme. At the most conservative settings it can generate profits between 20% and 70% per month depending on the pair. But if you "crank up the heat" it can produce 1000% or more gains in a single month.

So what makes this one different from the AME Cross Trader? Like the AME Cross Trader, Forex Set and Forget is a trend follower that uses Moving Average Crosses to determine trend, but that's where the similarities end. The new EA places and manages multiple trades. It uses pending orders instead of market orders to virtually eliminate slippage. It has much lower drawdown and can run unattended for months. However, to get the most value from it you should monitor trades after they are placed, especially if a trade is placed near a support or resistance level.

Anyway, the Forex Set and Forget site will tell you everything you need to know. Go check it out. If you have a ClickBank account then get your Affiliate Link and start sending visitors to the site, and you'll pick up a nice commission for each sale you refer.

I'll be publishing some youtube videos soon on things like "how to install", "how to configure", "how to optimize" and maybe even "how to crank up the heat" :-) and will keep you posted when the videos are available.

Interbank FX switching to fractional pips

I got this email a little while ago. It seems IBFX is switching to fractional pips (5 decimals instead of 4). If you are running the AME Cross Trader on InterbankFX, you will now have to change your "limitPips" value. Simply multiply the current value by 10 to get the correct value. Example: If currently you have limitPips=40, you will have to change it to limitPips=400.

Here is the email message I received.

Interbank FX is introducing 5th decimal pricing!

As part of our continuing commitment to delivering the optimal customer experience we are introducing 5th decimal pricing on our currency pairs. The 5th decimal prices will be available on our demo servers on Sunday afternoon at 6pm EST on April 12th, 2009 and will be available on the live trading servers on Sunday afternoon at 6pm EST on May 17, 2009.

Why 5th decimal pricing?
Adding the 5th decimal point can reduce the spread, or difference between the buy and sell prices of a currency pair. You may notice tighter spreads as we enable the 5th decimal pricing on our trading platforms.

How will this effect Expert Advisors (EAs)?
Most EAs will be affected by the introduction of the 5th decimal point. Please make sure that you have adjusted all pip value related parameters, such as take profits or stop losses, to allow for the additional decimal point. For instance, if you are currently using a stop loss level of 20 on a four decimal pair, you would have to change the value to 200 to get the same execution on a pair with a 5th decimal. Please be aware that some EAs will need fundamental changes to ensure that they will work as you expect. We would suggest that you use your EAs on our demo accounts before using them on your live account to ensure they are working properly.

How does this effect Stop Losses, Take Profits and Maximum Deviation?
All take profit, stop loss and maximum deviation values that are expressed in points should be multiplied by 10. For example, if you would like to enter a Maximum Deviation of 5 pips, you would enter 50 into the Maximum Deviation field.

How does this effect the profit / loss values expressed in the Trade tab in the Terminal?
All profit & loss values already incorporate the 5th decimal place adjustment when they are expressed as Points in the Profit column under the Trade tab in the Terminal window in MetaTrader.

Does this effect Trailing Stops?
Yes. When you are setting a trailing stop value you will multiply it by 10.