OMG! I can’t believe this rumor is true. I’m not sure if I should be thrilled to death or scared out of my pants??
I just got this official announcement yesterday which mentioned that Oanda would infact be introducing Metatrader soon. I saw some threads on their forum but assumed that was a ridiculous notion that they would never support.
Personally, I feel that Oanda’s Java platform is excellent. The only negative I could possibly say about it is that it may be only an “excellent fit” for a niche group of traders or trading styles. Scalping happens to be one of those styles.
I am a fan of Metatrader also, but it does not work as well as the Oanda platform in certain circumstances. My personal opinion is that Oanda’s Java platform is more efficient for scalping while MT is more suited to swing or position trading (due to the expansive selection of technical indicators and flexibility to customize in this area).
One negative I’ve heard people rant about regarding Oanda supporting Metatrader is that allowing Expert Advisors to trade could cause price scatter due to the volume of automated transactions (ie increase slippage for discretionary traders). Oanda does have their own API for those who can program and AFFORD it, but certainly that would be a small number as compared to Metatrader brokers (since there is no barrier to entry for EAs).
Lastly, I’m curious how smoothly they would handle Metatrader transactions, and also how reliable this would be in the grand scheme. Seems to be a bit of a Frankenstein’ing of technology. Oanda is built on a rock-solid Java platform that has direct access to their order routing system. If I’m understanding MT correctly, it is a Microsoft-based product (immediately loses reliability points) and must be translated through a bridge system in order to reach the Oanda market (in other words, orders travel from MT client-> Windows MT server-> bridging middleware-> Oanda market).
Now philosophically, if Oanda could replace the Windows-based Metatrader server with their own custom code, they could then create a direct access route that could rival the reliability of their existing infrastructure. But seems very unlikely since Metatrader is a separate proprietary platform and based in Russia.
I actually spoke to one of their reps about it a month ago and did ask if they supported MT. At that point the rep said, no, but that they were giving it serious consideration due to the popularity of MT. So, sounds like they mulled it over and are going to do it now.
Kudo’s to them if they can make it work right with their platform.
Yes the official announcement came by email as an Annual Update (I can repost here if you want).
Here is the snippet about Metatrader:
Developments in 2010
…
There will be many more exciting developments in 2011, including the imminent release of a MetaTrader 4 trading platform. This additional platform release has been eagerly anticipated by many MT4 traders, who want customizable, automated access to our low spreads.
From the Oanda FAQ - here are the differences between thier MT4 offering and the “standard” interface.
Units vs Lots — You can trade any amount with the OANDA fxTrade platform, even a single unit. On OANDA MT4, you can only trade lots (100,000 units), mini lots (tenths of a lot) or micro lots (hundredths of a lot).
Interest — At OANDA, interest is paid on a second-by-second basis. Your MT4 account will receive this interest for positions that are carry positive, but the MT4 interface does not support the display of interest payments. To view your up-to-date account balance, you can sign in to the fxTrade platform at any time.
Account Balance / Reports —Due to some fundamental differences in how the two platforms calculate balances (for example, with interest and single unit trades), we recommend that you routinely check the balance of your MT4 account by signing in to the fxTrade platform. This balance is the correct balance, and is the one used in all calculations, including margin alert calculations.
Server vs. Client — The MT4 platform runs on your computer, with a connection to the OANDA server. This means that trailing stops are not tracked if your computer is turned off, and you cannot access the MT4 platform when you are away from the computer (unless you have software to access it remotely). By contrast, OANDA fxTrade runs completely on the OANDA servers, so trailing stops are always being tracked. You can access it from any Internet browser.
“Server vs. Client — The MT4 platform runs on your computer, with a connection to the OANDA server. This means that trailing stops are not tracked if your computer is turned off, and you cannot access the MT4 platform when you are away from the computer (unless you have software to access it remotely). By contrast, OANDA fxTrade runs completely on the OANDA servers, so trailing stops are always being tracked. You can access it from any Internet browser.”
Being the doubting Thomas that I am, and I don’t believe anything unless it’s from the horses mouth and then some, so I got in touch and it’s true, they have it on demo, but nothing changes really, I will still use their platform to place trades, unless I dig out the easy interface I developed for MT4! ???
With some of that wording, it sounds like they are trying to discourage MT4 users.
I would definitely wait until the dust settles before you commit big $$ to this effort.
The description also sounds like this is a translated service… like I described above, there is probably a middleware that takes info from MT4 and translates it to the Oanda API. If that is true, the biggest potential issue would be execution time probably (because of the extra translation needed from the time you place your order).
“Server vs. Client — The MT4 platform runs on your computer, with a connection to the OANDA server. This means that trailing stops are not tracked if your computer is turned off, and you cannot access the MT4 platform when you are away from the computer (unless you have software to access it remotely). By contrast, OANDA fxTrade runs completely on the OANDA servers, so trailing stops are always being tracked. You can access it from any Internet browser.”
This is how MT4 works with any broker. You are running the platform on your computer. You need a VPS to run MT4 on and keep it running 24/7 to avoid this.
The description also sounds like this is a translated service… like I described above, there is probably a middleware that takes info from MT4 and translates it to the Oanda API. If that is true, the biggest potential issue would be execution time probably (because of the extra translation needed from the time you place your order).
I believe this is also true with any broker offering MT4.
I never got an email on this either :rolleyes: I have an Oanda account I wonder why I didn’t get the news .
Being a new trader, I just get a little spooked having the notion that as soon as I shut down my pc then my trailing stops go away. It kind of negates their purpose.
So what I am getting from you guys is that, I should find a broker that that has a VPS service. That way they can track my desired trade orders whether or not I have MT4 on? ie, stops, limits, pending orders and of course trailing stops.
Final question, who does have this VPS service that has a good reputation. Oanda and PFGBest seem to have pretty good reputations. However, if Oanda is just now supporting MT4 they may not have it.
By the way, I got out of forex.com, that news I read about them and just some quirky things with my account pretty much sealed their fate with me.
Just to be clear we are only talking about MT4 here if you set a trailing stop on Oandas java platform you can shut it down and walk away. This sort of thing varies from broker to broker and really is a function of how they have there trading platform set up. I would ask the broker directly if you have any questions.
Just do a google search for forex vps you will find plenty.
By the way a vps is a virtual computer that runs 24/7 that you log into remotely to access the trading software thats running on it. Many brokers offer this service if you meet some minimum requirements.
(I hope I am not insulting anyone here with the explanations.)
No no!, I wasn’t offended at all and I totally appreciate the info. This is the type of thing I need to know. I did know that Oanda using their proprietary platform the trailing stops would stick. I just don’t like the way it looks and feels.
I like to talk to people outside of the company to get a better feel for the broker before I jump into another one.
I just had another thought I wonder how Oanda will handle daily candles on the MT4 platform. On the Java platform the daily candles ends at midnight New York Time thats not the time most brokers use to break the day. There is a thread around here that talks about daily candle times.
I think trailing stops are one of the worst exit strategies you can get, but that’s just me, you may have a strategy that works with it.
Daily Candles - does it really matter when exactly they close, the time difference between most MT4 brokers is around 2 hrs GMT, and the daily close is around the quietest time on the whole so any daily timeframe strategy should be robust enough to take this into account.
Why would you say that? I mean, okay, you are ahead on a trade and you have your stop loss already in. The trend looks like its going to continue, why not get as much as you can rather than limiting out? Why not risk a little of your gains for more? Nothing to lose at that point right?
I know i know, rules rules rules. Maybe its my lack of control that makes me say things like this. I obviously do not have an over the top investment in place either. Maybe its small investment vs. large investment.
