AT Help wanted!

[JL1900]

I am representing a group of 4 students in Sweden doing research on Automated Trading within the Forex exchange. We are currently looking at the market and the various different platforms available to pay for and for free. While I have searched through a number of the threads here I have been unable to find any comprehensive list of such services, I assume this is due to no advertising being a rule on the forum. We are simply looking to be pointed in the right direction when it comes to this area about what is available and how good it really is from both a technical and fundamental perspective. A brief list of platforms or services that do provide such a service would be extremely helpful. If of course you have any additional information regarding different types of automated trading that would be most welcome. Also any opinions regarding AT, it’s downsides, problems that occur regularly, positives etc… we would be very appreciative.

Thanks in advance, we hope you can help!

[java_guy]

Dukascopy offers a pretty good java API for free. I believe Interactive Brokers has a proprietary API that can be used as long as you have an account with them (10,000 USD minimum), but their leverage offerings are very low for forex. Most brokers offer MetaTrader 4 as a platform at no cost, which CAN be used by an external program if you know what you’re doing (if you don’t want to be limited by Meta Trader’s “Expert Advisor” framework, which sucks, in my opinion). Outside of that, capital requirements are going to severely limit you (unless you’re well capitalized, I suppose). There are some proprietary APIs at places like Oanda, but like I said it’s very expensive to use these platforms. Some brokers offer access via the FIX protocol but this is almost always very costly, as well. I don’t even know of a place where you can demo FIX based trading (at little to no cost), if anyone on here knows of something like that, please fill us in!