About Forex Robots Test

We placed the Most Popular Forex Robots on a head to head real time performance test from 22nd February 2009 to 10th October 2011 to reveal the Best Forex Robot. (See test results)

Test Methodology

All EA's ran on real time demo accounts with a variety of Brokers on the Metatrader platform. The prime measure of performance was a risk and trading history adjusted annualised profit calculation (TARAP). The initial deposit on each account varied depending on the type of EA, but each account is indexed to a standard deposit of $1000 to ensure a like for like comparison of performance. Data from each Forex Robot was uploaded automatically every 5 minutes from MT4i into our database for further analysis. The key performance indicators analysed for each Forex Robot on test included:

    • Account Balance
    • Annualised Equity
    • Account Equity
    • Account Free Margin
    • Risk Return Ratio
    • Profit Factor
    • Time and Risk adjusted annualised profit

    Definition of Performance Measures

    The risk/reward ratio is an expression of the system's performance in relation to its volatility (standard deviation). It prefers consistent results rather than wild swings. The figure is broadly analogous to an annualised Sharpe ratio, and figures in excess of +1 are notably good.

    The risk of ruin is a Cox & Miller projection of the probability of a fall in the account balance based on the trading history, and particularly the standard deviation of results. The method estimates the likelihood of a fall in the balance at any time in the future. (N.B. Some investors question the applicability of Cox & Miller to trading, and prefer just to view the curve as an expression of volatility. It can yield very low estimates if volatility has historically been low.)

    Annualised Equity or CAGR is a way to compare and rank EA's that started on trading on the test at different times during the year. It equalises the performance of each robot by bringing each to a common number of trading days. The formula used is (E/D)^(1/T)-1 where E=Equity, D=Deposit and T = Trading days.