The download link is sent with the email that includes the license key.  If you already have a license key then you can use this download link:

Edit: link to exe removed.

There could be two instances of Sidekick in the case of more than 5 demo accounts?  assuming more than one real account?

All of the controls you have installed in the Portfolio Tool and Sidekick make a huge beneficial change in portfolio management. You have removed a lot of the drudgery and sweat work.

Thanks a lot , Steve!

Hi Steve,

The purpose of Sidekick is to provide a "barometer" of how a strategy is performing NOW.  But your NOW is still based on past performance statistics (most recent 10 trades, which is PAST (not now) 10 trades) such as whether the strategy has meet certain level of min consecutive win etc.

So how do you know what's your strategy NOW performance? It's from PAST statistics.  So there is no such thing as NOW or Past cos the Top 10 EA list is also the NOW performance, the list contains currently (NOW) those EA that are in the Top 10 performance.  So it's also the "NOW" performance.  Using Top 10 (or whatever number) criteria is a more versatile metric cos different EA has different ave consecutive win/loss or different win/loss ratio and hence it's tough to use a blanket rule for different EA.  Cos I want to diversify my portfolio using scalper EA and intraday EA etc, so having a "blanket" rule won't be suitable for me. 

But using Top 10 EA, I'm trading with "diverse" types of EA as long as they make money to get to the top 10 list.  So EA that started to decline will then drop off from the Top 10 list and hence, this list is dynamic and current (now).

I hope you will kindly consider such option.  However I  understand you are in no obligation to do it since it's your project and you have every right to consider what you deem best and you have your own busy schedule.

I see what you mean by 'current'. The backtest or optimization is based on old data that does not reflect properly the current phase of the market.

I think we have to reoptimize on a regular frequent basis to stay current..... or a good strategy will be placed on the shelf.

NOW, at last, I am starting to grasp some other ideas you have mentioned hahaha (dumb old geezer has bright light turned on lol)

Using this approach would allow someone to trade on a much more accurate basis using fewer bars in backtest as long as optimization is current, I think. (Wow, after you mention an idea, I grasp it within 6 months or a year, cut that down to three months if I take my pills).

I see, now, why you would like to revise the optimizer.

This is great!!

Good question -- you catch on quick...

Short Answer:
No.  You can place the portfolio EA in a Real account at any time.

Long Answer:
Let's say you create a portfolio EA with 60 strategies.  You would then add it to both the Demo and Real accounts.  The Demo account is responsible for creating and maintaining the database.  Furthermore, your strategies trade unrestricted in the Demo account.  Back in the Real account, the strategies lay dormant until the policy condition has been met.

For example, let's say the policy is "2 consecutive wins".  That means a strategy remains dormant in the Real account until there are 2 consecutive wins in the Demo account.  After 2 consecutive wins in the Demo account, the next time there is a signal in the Real account then the strategy will open a new position.  If the strategy loses a trade in the Demo account then consecutive wins is set to '0' and it remains dormant in the Real account until the next time there are 2 consecutive wins (in the Demo account).

There are two main policies:  Consecutive Wins and WinRatio (most recent 10 trades).  So, if you don't like the idea of consecutive wins then you can instead use WinRatio.

An additional detail about WinRatio -- if there are 0 trades, then the initial WinRatio is set to 0.51.  The consequence of this is if you are using a policy with a WinRatio of 0.5 and if a signal first appears in the Real account then it will open a position.  In other words, you would use this if you want your strategy to begin trading right away in the Real account and don't want to wait for consecutive wins.

Using the "N consecutive wins" policy means the strategy lays dormant in the Real account until N consecutive wins occurs in the Demo account.  I mostly trade H1, so it can take a few days or a few weeks before certain strategies begin to trade.  But that's not a problem for me because, collectively, my portfolio EAs include 100's of strategies.

An additional benefit -- you no longer have to worry about pruning bad strategies from a portfolio.  If a strategy doesn't meet the conditions of the policy then it simply lays dormant.

Thanks, Blaiserboy,

Yes -- thanks to Popov's amazing software, I think Sidekick can make a significant impact on how we trade portfolio EAs with hundreds or thousands of strategies.  Only a small subset of strategies are active at any time -- the ones that are currently trading well in the Demo (or Real micro) account. 

Also, this could impact the way we optimize and back test strategies.  For example, EURUSD / H1:
It is counter-productive to use 200,000 (or even 20,000) bars for generating / optimizing.  In the case of H1, I routinely use 4000 bars (approximately 8 months).  Not only is this much faster, but also the statistics are much better. 

The goal is to train strategies to recognize patterns and, so, it makes sense that more bars is better.  But this comes at the expense that it is more difficult to fit your algebraic formula (i.e. the strategy) to the data, and the statistics are poor.  So, instead of using 20,000 bars it is better to divide that data horizon into 5 smaller data horizons (4000 bars each) and create 5 strategies.  These 5 strategies share the same indicators, but because the indicator constants are different then they are really 5 different strategies.  They each will have good statistics for certain chunks of data and patterns.

So, now you add the 5 strategies to your portfolio EA and use Sidekick.  At any one time, only one strategy is actually trading (the one that likes the current data) and the other 4 remain dormant until they see a chunk of data that they like.

Blaiserboy -- I know you understand this since you were the one who last year posted a comment that turned on a light bulb in my brain -- to think of strategies as mathematical formulas.  And as a software developer that's exactly how they are implemented.  I'm mostly elaborating in case others are interested.

Sorry to spoil your dinner plans -- did you have to settle for "Cup-of-Noodles"?

Portfolio EAs (and their strategies) trade unrestricted in the Demo Account -- always.  The Demo Account is used to create a shared database.  The database is used by a Real Account.

The same portfolio EAs and strategies are running in both the Demo and Real Accounts.  When a strategy in the Real Account generates a signal it checks the database to determine whether or not to open a new position.  If the strategy meets the policy condition (e.g. 2 consecutive wins in the Demo Account) then it will open a new position in the Real Account.  Otherwise, the signal in the Real Account is ignored.

The Demo and Real Accounts can have multiple portfolio EAs and hundreds or thousands of strategies.  Adding another indicator will not solve anything.

Again -- the purpose of the Demo Account is to serve as a barometer.  It lets the corresponding strategies in the Real Account know how that same strategy is currently trading in the Demo Account.

Hi GD,

Can you explain further about this History Chart indicator and where to locate this indicator (in FSB?)

Thanks
Hannah

I'm familiar with the History Chart indicator.  It is a nice indicator that displays account information.  MT4 Sidekick also collects account information -- that is how it creates and updates a shared database.

To be honest, I'm not interested in making Sidekick more complex.  By the time you add your portfolio EA (and strategies) to an account we are done with statistics.  The fact the strategy survived your testing and was added to your portfolio means it is a quality strategy.  There is no need to continue torturing it.  The only thing that matters now is whether or not the strategy wins or loses.  If it is currently winning then you want it to open new positions.  If it is not winning then you want it to lie dormant until market conditions change and it likes the incoming data and can successfully recognize patterns.

The idea really is quite simple -- it doesn't need to be made more complicated.  No more stats...

I do not do well with a lot of stats and analysis, too confusing for the brain that has misfunctioned with onsetting dementia.

This SideKick is making things quite to my liking as it diminishes the decision making.

I have no problem running the generator and developing different strategies, however gathering statistics for analysis does not work well.

There can be a lot of stress associated with trading, as well as a lot of time involvement. Simplification, to me, is really beneficial.

Popov's project, to develop his products for us, have greatly reduced time involvement and stress. For that I am really grateful.

Dear Steve,

My apologies if my suggestions or feedback is deem as disrespectful to you.

I did think of how I can use Side Kick, however as I mentioned before in my previous post, I've a diversified portfolio and hence it's very difficult for me to apply a "blanket" rule such as min 2 consecutive win etc, unless I have to go through the trouble to identify each EA, which market it belongs (or in sync with) to separate them into different groups to apply different rules but I thot the purpose of Side Kick to have a "suitable" filter to do away from manual selection.

Hence, I thought it was out of respect that I give you my feedback as a potential end user the difficulties I face in trying to implement Side Kick into my portfolio.  Thus my intention is not to side track your goal for Side Kick but to give added perspectives of how other traders may encounter in their process of wanting to implement Side Kick, etc.

Kindly then ignore all my feedback if you deem it as any sign of "disapproval" or negativity. 

Cos You are one of the few person here in the forum that I deeply respect and hence it's never my intention to cause you any grief.

You are one of the few person who ever "advance" FSB users' EA development and speed up our processes.  No amount of words could utter my deep sense of gratitude to what you have done to the community and hence, I will thus refrain myself from commenting or add suggestions to your projects as I don't want you to misunderstand it as a sign of disapproval or disrespect towards you.

Thanks once again for coming up with so many complementary software that really adds value to our trading experience tremendously.

Best Regards
Hannah