Let’s face it, the majority if not all forex brokers that support the MetaTrader 4 platform are pure bucketshops. I have yet to find ONE MT4 broker which offers a true non-dealing desk trading environment. A lot of them claim this, but it is all pure bullshit, if you’ll pardon my french. If they have fixed spreads they CANNOT be a non-dealing desk broker! Any broker that offers fixed spreads by definition can’t be offering a no dealing desk trading platform. Just be aware that when there is a trading desk involved (be it human or computer operated) you are not trading in a true market environment but instead are in a “sandbox” type of trading environment where the broker has full control over your position. So how do you get around this? The solution is simple, use ECN brokers.
The thing is that some of us are somewhat attached to the MetaTrader 4 platform. I personally think it is a pretty neat and functional trading platform. The scripting abilities are excellent, and there are just so many free indicators and expert advisors available for this platform that it has become wildly popular with retail traders. However, most ECN brokers do NOT support the MT4 platform. One of the main reasons is that MT4 server/client software was never meant to operate in an ECN trading environment. Many brokers have tried to adapt it to an pure ECN trading environment and failed. So can we have our cake and eat it too? Yes, you can, but it involves a bit more work.
I’m going to tell you about some possible solutions which you can use to get MT4 to work more or less reasonably well with some ECN brokers. By the use of a specialized API (programming interface) it is possible to setup a virtual bridge between MT4 and the ECN platform. This will give you a more accurate, reliable, and less “doctored” price feed along with SPT (straight pass through) execution so your trades get routed directly into the interbank environment.
So far I know of 3 ways you can get this done:
1 - Some ECN providers offer their own custom API you can use. I only of one ECN broker that offers this solution and they’re called HotspotFX. For more details check out this link:
http://eu.hotspotfx.com/trading-software/connectivity/api-for-metatrader/
2 - You can use commercial software. I scoured the net and forex forums and there just isn’t that much relevant software out there. One that I did come across is called TradeBullet. See their homepage for more details.
3 - The free route - always my favorite. However the disadvantage to this solution is that it may not have all the capabilities or bells and whistles of commercial alternatives. The only free solution that I’ve found is called TWSLink. This solution is free, so no hand holding for you! You’re just going to have to figure out things for yourself using the documentation available. Visit this website for more details:
http://www.trade-commander.org/twslink/twslink.htm
If anyone else knows other solutions please feel free to contact me and I will gladly add it to this article with links to your site(s) and everything.
Until next time, many pips to you all!
Courtesy: Alan (http://alansforexblog.com/2008/04/23/connecting-metatrader-4-to-an-ecn-broker/)
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