• Registered: 2014-02-25
  • Posts: 26

Topic: What else does the broker know?

Hi.
At the end of last year my broker (XTB) informed that standard accounts with variable spread would not support EA in 2017. As mine is a standard account, indeed orders sent by my experts were not executed.
Now this made me thinking. If they know that an order is generated by an EA, what else do they know? Do they know our setups? The specifics of the EA? What can they see?
Trading is so hard by itself, what guaranties do I have that they, knowing about our strategy, take the other part of the trade  and take our money?
Can anyone answer this ?  Mr Popov?

Thanks.

  • Popov
  • Popov
  • Lead Developer
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  • From: Bulgaria
  • Registered: 2006-11-30
  • Posts: 8,024

Re: What else does the broker know?

Considering the fact that the brokers are those who pay for MT we can make the assumption that they have access to all info they want.

I'm surprised that this broker prevents trading via EAs. The only possible reason for that to me is that they probably loose money from the EA trading.
Another possible reason may be that they want to point the users to other types of accounts.

Popov's Website

  • Registered: 2014-02-25
  • Posts: 26

Re: What else does the broker know?

Thanks Mr. Popov.
Now that let me worried. So when they loose money, they change the rules? Well it seams we are the ones that can't make money. It smells fishy.
Does EAs orders send any kind of info that identifies its origin?

Thanks

  • Popov
  • Popov
  • Lead Developer
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  • From: Bulgaria
  • Registered: 2006-11-30
  • Posts: 8,024

Re: What else does the broker know?

Now that let me worried. So when they loose money, they change the rules?

Yes, they do that. The process can be automated with MT back-end plugins.  The usual practice is to move the successful traders to predefined groups with execution latency and filtered quotes. Some brokers close winning positions other change the commissions.

Does EAs orders send any kind of info that identifies its origin?

We don't know. The MT back-end documentation is not publicly available. But it looks like they know if you trade with EA or  manually.

Usually there are no problems with accounts less than 50 - 100k.

Popov's Website

  • Registered: 2014-02-25
  • Posts: 26

Re: What else does the broker know?

Uau. Now my confidence is even lower. I wounder if it is possible to make money. I was willing to fight with the market, but fight also with the broker? It seems Sisyphus work.
Some time ago i was trading manual and my MT froze. I was online with some traders with same broker, and their platform was ok. As I'm a very short time trader, the market changed and my SL was not executed. So i lost more money than I intended in that trade. I called them and they told me that it was a rare event. After some time they refunded me, but to me it was suspicious. Now I must rethink it all over and decide if it is worth to continue.

Thank you for your explanation, Mr. Popov.

  • Registered: 2016-05-16
  • Posts: 190

Re: What else does the broker know?

Change your broker to better one smile Use ECN broker with low spread and low ping. You can test with small real money account how they execute your orders, and what slippages they give. Also internet and forums are full of reviews. I suggest to not waste time and money with bad broker.

  • Blaiserboy
  • Blaiserboy
  • Junior Part-Time Aspiring Space Cadet
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  • From: Toronto
  • Registered: 2010-09-06
  • Posts: 2,849

Re: What else does the broker know?

I agree with Irmantas.

Move your account to a larger broker that has enough money behind them to take your trades.

There are hundreds of little MT4 brokers that are underfunded and have to grab their customers in order to survive.

Do some good research and make a decision based on the number of complaints you find and the size of the broker and the registrations of the broker.

Small brokers do not have the capital and resources to be taking deals and matching them, you need a broker that is actually in the business and has the banks to lay their deals off on.

Blaiserboy's Website