I justed wanted to chime in and remind everyone of the vast difference between Demo and Live trading. I have been trading with EA's for a few years and can assure you that the results are always profoundly different, especially for the scalper EA's like FAPT
The data fed into the broker's live platform is usually way different to the demo platform - usually it is much less volatile or appears 'filtered'. Add to that slippage, requotes and wider spreads and you are trading in a completely different ballpark.
I would like to see the FPA transition the 'demo profitable' EA's they are testing to live accounts of at least 1K after a period of say 1 month or so.
The FPA is in effect promoting some EA's based on profitable demo performance (particularly to newcomers to forex who do not know better). I wonder how many newbies have bought an EA and slapped it straight on a live account based on the slick marketing of their promoters and the 'independent' demo test results at FPA.
It's time for the FPA to pony up on some of these EA's and really put them to the test.
Amusing, which of these "demo profitable" EA's were you suggesting they put on live 1K accounts, and who is going to put up the funding for these accounts? Unless of course you are suggesting that the FPA throws thousands of dollars down the toilet for this project?
Most of these EA's are not capable of being profitable long term, and even the ones that appear to be profitable on a demo account are rarely as capable on a live account, or through any of the different market changes. The few that are capable, or seem to be capable, are well discussed in the forums, and there are people with live accounts who are willing to post their results. I really doubt that the FPA is going to put up thousands of dollars to live test these, even if there were one or two they thought were worthwhile. Mostly public demo testing like this allows us to examine how these EA's trade without the developers and marketers hype and interference. Even on a demo account I can see the trading style, the way it handles drawdowns and loses, how it enters and manages trades, and whether its something I would be interested in working with further.
As far as the newbies go, everyone is on their own in this business. The sooner they learn to think for themselves the better. The market is pretty much the same for everyone. Everyone needs to go through the same search, and the same learning proccesses, before they can begin to understand and find their place in this game. However, some people need more time, or need to lose more money, before they realize whats going on, and of course some people never will. Thats just the way of the markets, and has more to do with individual psychology than knowledge. The best that you can tell any of them, is not to lose all their money at once. Survival is key to learning and mastering this business.
