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Why doesn't my account trade exactly like the one at the FPA?
This question gets emailed in over and over again. These are the most likely reasons...
1. Results will vary between demo and live tests.
Even with the best brokers, there will be differences between demo and live. Demo accounts never have issues with liquidity. Demo accounts are less likely to have slippage and requotes.
2. Results will vary between brokers.
Forex is not a centralized marketplace. Different brokers should offer prices that are similar. Prices will not be identical.
3. Live account results with the same broker can vary depending on which live MT4 server an account is on.
Some brokers have more than one live server. These may be tied to different liquidity providers and they may be a pip or two away from each other in prices some of the time.
4. Results with the same live MT4 server for a specific broker can vary depending on connection speed between the MT4 platforms and the MT4 server.
This situation is most likely to cause issues with EAs that scalp. The FPA has its own private VPS with a very fast internet connection.
What do the symbols on the test page mean?
The FPA marks which tests are live and which ones are demo. In the list of tests, demos are marked with a paper airplane symbol and live accounts are marked with a dollar sign.
Live =
Demo =
Some tests are run at the FPA using a copy of the software on our VPS. Others are run by the company that volunteered and are monitored by the FPA using the investor password. Tests run here are marked in the list with a pair of tools. Tests that are monitored are marked with a computer screen. Monitored tests usually thank the company for sharing results on the performance test page.
Run here =
Monitored =
How do I know if the monitored test results aren't faked?
All information is pulled directly from the broker using a copy of MT4 running on the FPA VPS server whether the test is monitored or being run by the FPA.
The test page shows not only how long the test has been running, but also how long the FPA has been monitoring it. It is possible that some of the accounts supplied by volunteers were carefully selected from multiple accounts using different settings. For monitored tests, you should check and see if the results before monitoring began match up with the later results.
Some MT4 sharing sites allow users to upload files saved to their computers. Those files can be altered. Most MT4 sharing sites permit the owners to restart as often as they like. The FPA has implemented a plan to control restarts of all tests to reduce the chances of any abuse of the system. Click here to read the restart rules.
What are the settings for a test?
Please do not email FPA HQ asking for settings of a test. The FPA has access only to the results of monitored tests, not to any settings applied. For tests that we are running, any changes from out of the box default settings are listed on the test page. For tests we are monitoring, please contact the product seller directly with any questions about settings.
I got a margin call and your test is still running. Why?
Recently, one EA test had a large drawdown. I have heard that some accounts that started trading later have experienced margin calls. The FPA test shows the test still running with most or all of its profits taken up by a large floating loss. The previous profits made in the test displayed at the FPA were enough to prevent a margin call. Whether or not the EA gets back into profit remains to be seen. Edit: The FPA's test of that product did hit a margin call shortly after this was first posted. This failure is another reason for adding the policy that requires all EA restarts after a failure to be done on live accounts.
This situation can happen with any system that experiences a large drawdown. It can also happen during a small drawdown if your risk settings are too high.
Why aren't all the tests on live accounts?
All active Signals and Managed accounts tests are on live accounts.
The FPA has been encouraging EA volunteers to use live accounts and has just created a policy to start requiring live accounts for EA volunteers that want a restart after performing badly.
Then there are those over-promoted EAs that we buy. A few make money. Most wipe out their demo accounts. If you want to take up a collection to fund live accounts for all of those, let me know.
Are the results shown at the FPA filtered in any way?
Some MT4 sharing sites permit old results to be filtered, making the account appear to have started later than it really did. The FPA does not allow this.
Many companies have asked to have the start date of the test set later that the start date of the account. In some cases, the same account was used for a different trading method, so the earlier results are not representative. In other cases, the account suffered large losses, but is currently gaining back money after a large drawdown. Since a carefully selected start date could make a losing account appear profitable, all tests start from the initial deposit. The FPA system is designed to prevent altering the start date to hide any trades.
Some MT4 sharing sites allow trades to be filtered by other means, such as comments on the trades. The FPA does not allow this.
If someone trades 7 different systems on an account, chances are that one or more will make some profit. Some MT4 sharing sites allow the account holder to select which set or sets of trades to display and which to hide. This can make an overall losing account seem profitable. The FPA displays all closed trades. The total floating profit or loss from open trades is always displayed whether or not the open trades are shown.
Will the FPA share the Investor Password with me?
The FPA does not share investor passwords for accounts. The reason for this is that someone could use investor access plus a trade copier to copy the trades to their own account or even to redistribute them to other accounts without proper permission of the company selling the product or service. If a company wants the investor access password to be publicly displayed, they can let the FPA know and then it will be shown on the test page. So far, no company has requested that we do this.
Does the FPA endorse these products?
No. The FPA takes volunteers for testing. The FPA also buys other products for testing if they look interesting to us or if many members ask us to test them. You can check the list of stopped tests and see how many volunteers and purchased products wiped out their accounts.
The FPA does not charge companies to test products. The FPA does not accept payments from companies to test products. Performance Testing is a free service.
A profitable test means that you may want to consider a product, but is not an endorsement. A profitable live test would be a better test of a product's potential, but is still not an FPA endorsement. A losing test can serve as a warning.
What does the FPA recommend?
If you see a product being tested and want to use it, the FPA recommends that you check the test statistics carefully and read the reviews first. Check the price. Check and see if there is a refund policy. If there is, check to see if it is conditional or unconditional. Check how long it is for. Make certain that the test performance and purchase terms seem reasonable to you or not. The decision on whether or not to purchase a product is yours to make.
The FPA recommends that you test any new trading system on demo to make sure that it is set up correctly. If you have it running correctly and if it is showing profit, then you can decide to try it on a small live account. If that works well, then it is up to you to decide if you want to use it with more money.
Some people will ignore these recommendations. Some will buy without checking out a product. Some will immediately place it on a large live account. Many of these people will lose a lot of money.
The final decision whether or not to buy is up to each individual trader. The final decision about when to go live and how much money to use in a live account is up to each individual trader.
This question gets emailed in over and over again. These are the most likely reasons...
1. Results will vary between demo and live tests.
Even with the best brokers, there will be differences between demo and live. Demo accounts never have issues with liquidity. Demo accounts are less likely to have slippage and requotes.
2. Results will vary between brokers.
Forex is not a centralized marketplace. Different brokers should offer prices that are similar. Prices will not be identical.
3. Live account results with the same broker can vary depending on which live MT4 server an account is on.
Some brokers have more than one live server. These may be tied to different liquidity providers and they may be a pip or two away from each other in prices some of the time.
4. Results with the same live MT4 server for a specific broker can vary depending on connection speed between the MT4 platforms and the MT4 server.
This situation is most likely to cause issues with EAs that scalp. The FPA has its own private VPS with a very fast internet connection.
What do the symbols on the test page mean?
The FPA marks which tests are live and which ones are demo. In the list of tests, demos are marked with a paper airplane symbol and live accounts are marked with a dollar sign.
Live =
Demo =
Some tests are run at the FPA using a copy of the software on our VPS. Others are run by the company that volunteered and are monitored by the FPA using the investor password. Tests run here are marked in the list with a pair of tools. Tests that are monitored are marked with a computer screen. Monitored tests usually thank the company for sharing results on the performance test page.
Run here =
Monitored =
How do I know if the monitored test results aren't faked?
All information is pulled directly from the broker using a copy of MT4 running on the FPA VPS server whether the test is monitored or being run by the FPA.
The test page shows not only how long the test has been running, but also how long the FPA has been monitoring it. It is possible that some of the accounts supplied by volunteers were carefully selected from multiple accounts using different settings. For monitored tests, you should check and see if the results before monitoring began match up with the later results.
Some MT4 sharing sites allow users to upload files saved to their computers. Those files can be altered. Most MT4 sharing sites permit the owners to restart as often as they like. The FPA has implemented a plan to control restarts of all tests to reduce the chances of any abuse of the system. Click here to read the restart rules.
What are the settings for a test?
Please do not email FPA HQ asking for settings of a test. The FPA has access only to the results of monitored tests, not to any settings applied. For tests that we are running, any changes from out of the box default settings are listed on the test page. For tests we are monitoring, please contact the product seller directly with any questions about settings.
I got a margin call and your test is still running. Why?
Recently, one EA test had a large drawdown. I have heard that some accounts that started trading later have experienced margin calls. The FPA test shows the test still running with most or all of its profits taken up by a large floating loss. The previous profits made in the test displayed at the FPA were enough to prevent a margin call. Whether or not the EA gets back into profit remains to be seen. Edit: The FPA's test of that product did hit a margin call shortly after this was first posted. This failure is another reason for adding the policy that requires all EA restarts after a failure to be done on live accounts.
This situation can happen with any system that experiences a large drawdown. It can also happen during a small drawdown if your risk settings are too high.
Why aren't all the tests on live accounts?
All active Signals and Managed accounts tests are on live accounts.
The FPA has been encouraging EA volunteers to use live accounts and has just created a policy to start requiring live accounts for EA volunteers that want a restart after performing badly.
Then there are those over-promoted EAs that we buy. A few make money. Most wipe out their demo accounts. If you want to take up a collection to fund live accounts for all of those, let me know.
Are the results shown at the FPA filtered in any way?
Some MT4 sharing sites permit old results to be filtered, making the account appear to have started later than it really did. The FPA does not allow this.
Many companies have asked to have the start date of the test set later that the start date of the account. In some cases, the same account was used for a different trading method, so the earlier results are not representative. In other cases, the account suffered large losses, but is currently gaining back money after a large drawdown. Since a carefully selected start date could make a losing account appear profitable, all tests start from the initial deposit. The FPA system is designed to prevent altering the start date to hide any trades.
Some MT4 sharing sites allow trades to be filtered by other means, such as comments on the trades. The FPA does not allow this.
If someone trades 7 different systems on an account, chances are that one or more will make some profit. Some MT4 sharing sites allow the account holder to select which set or sets of trades to display and which to hide. This can make an overall losing account seem profitable. The FPA displays all closed trades. The total floating profit or loss from open trades is always displayed whether or not the open trades are shown.
Will the FPA share the Investor Password with me?
The FPA does not share investor passwords for accounts. The reason for this is that someone could use investor access plus a trade copier to copy the trades to their own account or even to redistribute them to other accounts without proper permission of the company selling the product or service. If a company wants the investor access password to be publicly displayed, they can let the FPA know and then it will be shown on the test page. So far, no company has requested that we do this.
Does the FPA endorse these products?
No. The FPA takes volunteers for testing. The FPA also buys other products for testing if they look interesting to us or if many members ask us to test them. You can check the list of stopped tests and see how many volunteers and purchased products wiped out their accounts.
The FPA does not charge companies to test products. The FPA does not accept payments from companies to test products. Performance Testing is a free service.
A profitable test means that you may want to consider a product, but is not an endorsement. A profitable live test would be a better test of a product's potential, but is still not an FPA endorsement. A losing test can serve as a warning.
What does the FPA recommend?
If you see a product being tested and want to use it, the FPA recommends that you check the test statistics carefully and read the reviews first. Check the price. Check and see if there is a refund policy. If there is, check to see if it is conditional or unconditional. Check how long it is for. Make certain that the test performance and purchase terms seem reasonable to you or not. The decision on whether or not to purchase a product is yours to make.
The FPA recommends that you test any new trading system on demo to make sure that it is set up correctly. If you have it running correctly and if it is showing profit, then you can decide to try it on a small live account. If that works well, then it is up to you to decide if you want to use it with more money.
Some people will ignore these recommendations. Some will buy without checking out a product. Some will immediately place it on a large live account. Many of these people will lose a lot of money.
The final decision whether or not to buy is up to each individual trader. The final decision about when to go live and how much money to use in a live account is up to each individual trader.
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