Good/Bad Idea? MetaQuotes Waives Test Period for Selling Trading Signals

by Ron Finberg
  • In what looks like a bid to promote new strategies added into its signal marketplace, MetaQuotes has announced that it is waiving the 30 day ‘test period’ for new signals to be approved for sale.
Good/Bad Idea? MetaQuotes Waives Test Period for Selling Trading Signals
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MetaQuotes, Technology Provider behind the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platform, has announced that it is waiving the test period requirement for selling signals on its strategy marketplace. Prior to the news, MetaQuotes required signal providers to submit their strategies for a one month test period. During this time, a minimum of five trades needed to be executed, as well as the strategy not enduring a 70% drawdown from its initial value to be considered for approval in the signal marketplace.

mq signals

Theoretically, the test period was created to filter against terrible strategies, as well as providing at least a monthly minimum track record of performance for clients to review before subscribing. Without the test period, signal providers will be able to sell their strategies immediately to MetaTrader 4 and 5 traders.

On the surface, removing the test period would appear to be an overall negative for traders, as it removes a filter of the worst strategies. However, the ultimate effect of the news may be minimal as very few customers are attracted to signals that don’t have any track record. But, it now makes them vulnerable to new volatile strategies that may only be experiencing a one or two week ‘hot streak’. On the other hand, for MetaQuotes, by removing the test period, it makes the signals marketplace more appealing to existing signal providers who are self-Marketing their strategies and have created performance records in the past.

On the broker side, there is an operational benefit of removing the test period. Among brokers with affiliate driven businesses, there is an added pressure to deliver trading volumes to create commissions Introducing Broker (IB) partners. Some IBs also work with traders and money managers who are recommended to clients and are referred to trade for them. In terms of the MetaTrader platform, MetaQuotes allows brokers to enter their own filters in which signal providers will appear to their clients. As such, by removing the test period to become a new paid signal provider, it allows for more efficiency when adding new strategies that a broker may want to introduce to their customers.

MetaQuotes, Technology Provider behind the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platform, has announced that it is waiving the test period requirement for selling signals on its strategy marketplace. Prior to the news, MetaQuotes required signal providers to submit their strategies for a one month test period. During this time, a minimum of five trades needed to be executed, as well as the strategy not enduring a 70% drawdown from its initial value to be considered for approval in the signal marketplace.

mq signals

Theoretically, the test period was created to filter against terrible strategies, as well as providing at least a monthly minimum track record of performance for clients to review before subscribing. Without the test period, signal providers will be able to sell their strategies immediately to MetaTrader 4 and 5 traders.

On the surface, removing the test period would appear to be an overall negative for traders, as it removes a filter of the worst strategies. However, the ultimate effect of the news may be minimal as very few customers are attracted to signals that don’t have any track record. But, it now makes them vulnerable to new volatile strategies that may only be experiencing a one or two week ‘hot streak’. On the other hand, for MetaQuotes, by removing the test period, it makes the signals marketplace more appealing to existing signal providers who are self-Marketing their strategies and have created performance records in the past.

On the broker side, there is an operational benefit of removing the test period. Among brokers with affiliate driven businesses, there is an added pressure to deliver trading volumes to create commissions Introducing Broker (IB) partners. Some IBs also work with traders and money managers who are recommended to clients and are referred to trade for them. In terms of the MetaTrader platform, MetaQuotes allows brokers to enter their own filters in which signal providers will appear to their clients. As such, by removing the test period to become a new paid signal provider, it allows for more efficiency when adding new strategies that a broker may want to introduce to their customers.

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