Strategy Testing

Symbol and period

Select the main chart for testing and optimization. Symbol selection is required to provide the triggering of OnTick() events contained in Expert Advisors. Also, the selected symbol and period affect special functions in the Expert Advisor code that use current chart parameters (for example, Symbol() and Period()). In other words, the chart to which the Expert Advisor is attached should be selected here.

Date

Select the testing and optimization period. You can select one of predefined periods or set a custom time interval. To set a custom period, enter the start and end dates in the appropriate fields to the right.

The specific feature of the tester is that it additionally downloads some data preceding the specified period (to form no less than 100 bars). This is required for a more accurate testing and optimization. For example, if you test on a one-week timeframe, two additional years are downloaded.

If there is not enough history data for forming additional 100 bars (it is especially significant for the monthly and weekly timeframes), for example, when specifying a start of testing close to the start of existing history data, then the start date of testing will be automatically shifted. An appropriate message is added to the Strategy Tester journal.

Forward

This option allows you to check the results of testing in order to avoid fitting to certain time intervals. During forward testing, the period set in the Date field is divided into two parts in accordance with the selected forward period (a half, one third, one fourth or a custom period when you specify the forward testings tart date).

The first part is the period of back testing. It is the period of Expert Advisor operation adaptation. The second part is forward testing, during which the selected parameters are checked.

Execution

Strategy tester enabled the emulation of network delays during an Expert Advisor operation in order to provide close-to-real conditions for testing. A certain time delay is inserted between placing a trade request and its execution in the strategy tester. From the moment of request sending till its execution the price can change. This allows users to evaluate how trade processing speed affects the trading results.

In the instant execution mode, users can additionally check the EA's response to a requote from the trade server. If the difference between requested and execution prices exceeds the deviation value specified in the order, the EA receives a requote.

Please note that delays work only for trades performed by an EA (placing orders, changing stop levels, etc.). For example, if an EA uses pending orders, delays are only applied to order placing but not to order execution (in real conditions, execution occurs on the server without a network delay).

No Delay

In this mode, all orders are executed at requested prices without requotes. The mode is used to check how an EA would perform in "ideal" conditions.

Random Delay

The Random Delay mode allows testing an Expert Advisor in conditions maximally close to real ones. The delay value is generated as follows: a number from 0 to 9 is selected randomly - this is the number of seconds for a delay; if a selected number is equal to 9, another number from the same range is selected randomly and added to the first one.

Thus, the possibility of a delay for 0-8 seconds is 90%, possibility of a 9-18 second delay is 10%.

Fixed Delay

You can select one of the predefined delay values or set a custom one. The platform measures the ping to the trade server and allows you to set that value as a delay in the tester so that you are able to test a robot in the conditions that are as close to the real ones as possible.

Tick generation mode

Select one of the tick generation modes:

• Every tick — the most accurate but the slowest mode. All ticks are simulated in this mode.
• Every tick based on real ticks provides conditions close to real ones. Testing is performed using real ticks of financial instruments, accumulated by brokers. No simulation is performed. Due to a large size of tick data, downloading them from a broker's server during the first testing run may take a long time.
• 1 minute OHLC — in this mode only 4 prices (Open, High, Low and Close) of each minute bar are emulated.
• Open prices only — in this mode OHLC prices are also modeled, however only the open price is used for testing/optimization.
• Math calculations — in this mode the tester does not download history data and information on symbols, as well as does not generate ticks. Only functions OnInit(), OnTester() and OnDeinit() are called. Thus a tester can be used for various mathematical calculations where the selection of parameters is required.

For more information about tick generation, please read the appropriate section.

Profit calculation in pips can speed up the testing process while there is no need to recalculate profit to deposit currency using conversion rates (and thus there is no need to download the appropriate price history). Swap and commission calculations are eliminated in this mode.

Please note that margin control is not performed in this mode. You should only use it for quick and rough strategy estimation and then check the obtained results using more accurate modes.

Initial deposit and leverage

Specify the amount of the initial deposit used for testing and optimization. The deposit currency of the currently connected account is used by default, but you can specify any other currency. Please note that cross rates for converting profit and margin to the specified deposit currency must be available on the account, to ensure proper testing. Only symbols with the "Forex" or "Forex No Leverage" calculation type can be used as cross rates.

Next select the leverage for testing and optimization. The leverage influences the amount of funds reserved on the account as the margin on positions and orders.

Quick jump to EA editing

If you have the source code of the selected Expert Advisor, you can click this button to switch to its editing in MetaEditor.

Managing testing settings

Use this menu to manage tester settings: save sets of settings for various Expert Advisors in ini files and access them in a couple of clicks later. Current testing settings can also be copied to the clipboard by pressing Ctrl+C. You can edit them in your preferred text editor, then copy and upload them to the tester using Ctrl+V.

From the same menu, you can quickly select the last used programs, last chart settings and testing periods.

Furthermore, you can quickly access any of the previous optimization results, as well as the settings with which the result was achieved.

Custom symbol settings for testing

You can change the settings of the main trading instrument used for testing/optimization. Almost all specification parameters can be overwritten: volumes, trading modes, margin requirements, execution mode and other settings.

Advanced testing settings

Set your own trading account parameters when testing strategies, such as trading limits, margin settings and commissions. This option enables the simulation of different trading conditions offered by brokers.

Visual testing

The visual testing mode allows to visualize exactly how the Expert Advisor performs trade operations during testing on historical data. Each trade of a financial instrument is displayed on its chart.

Risk management model: OTC and Exchange, netting or hedging.

When this level is reached, the account switches to the Margin Call state.

When this level is reached, all orders are canceled and all trading positions are closed. These levels can be indicated in money and in percentage. In the former case, they are determined as the account's Equity value. If "In percent" is selected, levels are defined as the account "Margin level" value (Equity/Margin*100).

The method of accounting for the current floating profit/loss in the free margin calculation is specified here:

• Do not use unrealized profit/loss — do not include profit/loss of open positions in the calculation.
• Use unrealized profit/loss — include open positions' profit/loss in the calculation.
• Use unrealized profit — include only profit.
• Use unrealized loss — include only loss.

The method of accounting for the trader's daily realized profit/loss in the free margin calculation is specified here:

• Use daily fixed profit/loss — include in the free margin profit and loss received during a trading day.
• Use daily fixed loss — include only loss received during the trade day. During the day, the obtained profit is accumulated in the special account field ("Blocked"). At the end of the trading day, the accumulated profit is released (reset) and is added to the account balance (included in the free margin).

Release fixed profit at the end of day — this option becomes available only if the option "Use daily fixed loss" is selected. If it is enabled, the accumulated profit will be released (and thus included in the free margin) at the end of the day. Otherwise this profit amount will remain blocked.

Enable the option to use current trading account commission settings instead of custom settings specified below.

Specify the name of the symbol for which you are configuring commissions. Several settings can be added for each symbol. Thus, you can set up multi-level commissions that depend on the deal volume or turnover.

Commission can be charged immediately after each trade, or it can be accumulated during the trading day or month and then charged in one operation:

• Instant — commissions are charged instantly during execution of each deal. The instant commission size is displayed in the Commission field of deals. In the instant mode, only commission in volume can be specified (not in turnover).
• Daily — the commission amount is accumulated during a day in a special account state field "Blocked". At the end of the day, the accumulated amount is debited from the account in a separate balance operation (a deal of the Daily commission or Daily agent commission type).
• Monthly — the commission amount is accumulated during the month in a special account state field "Blocked". At the end of the month the accumulated amount is charged from the account with a separate balance operation (a deal of the Monthly commission or Monthly agent commission type).

Also, commission can be charged depending on each deal volume or on daily/monthly turnover. The selected option determines the entity whose volumes are indicated in the "From" and "To" fields: deal or turnover.

• Volume — commission levels are set based on the volume (amount of lots) of each deal executed in a trading operation. For example, if you set levels as 0 — 10 and 12 — 20, a 15-lot deal will be subject to the second level commission. This option is used in modes Daily, Monthly or Instant.
• Overturn Money — commission levels are set based on turnover in money over the selected period (day or month). For example, the levels are set as 0 — 500, 501 — 1000, and commission is charged on a monthly basis. The first-level commission will be charged until the total cost of operations exceeds 500 units. As soon as the money turnover exceeds the value of 500, all further trades will be subject to the second-level commission.
  By default, the money turnover is calculated in the deposit currency: the price of each trade is calculated and converted into the deposit currency. For example, the price of Buy 1 lot EURUSD with a contract size of 100 000 is 100 000 EUR. If your deposit currency is USD, the position price is converted to EURUSD at the time of the transaction (in this case, it is the deal price).
• Overturn Volume — commission levels are set based on the volume of trading operations (amount of lots) over the selected period (day or month).

In the daily and monthly mode, commissions are charged for deals in both directions (when opening/increasing a position and when closing a position or part of it). For instant commissions, trade direction can be set manually.

For reversal deals with the in/out type, "In" means that commission is only charged on the volume of the newly opened position, "Out" means commission on the closed volume. The following rules shall apply for Close By deals:

• No commission is charged on Close By deals when "All" or "In" is selected, since the commission is charged on two original deals. For example, a commission of 1 USD is charged on each deal. When a trader performs an entry Buy 1.00 EURUSD deal and an entry Sell 1.00 EURUSD deal, a commission of 2 USD will be charged. When the 1.00 EURUSD position is closed by the Sell 1.00 EURUSD position, the client will not be charged additional commission.
• If "Out" is selected, commission on both Close By deals will be charged, and the total commission value will be written to the main exit deal (in which profit/loss is specified). For example, a commission of 1 USD is charged on each deal. When a trader performs an entry Buy 1.00 EURUSD deal and an entry Sell 1.00 EURUSD deal, no commission will be charged. When the 1.00 EURUSD position is closed by the Sell 1.00 EURUSD position, a commission of 2 USD will be charged. A commission of 2 USD will be specified in the first 'out by' deal, and a zero commission will be specified in the second deal.

The minimum deal volume (turnover) from which the commission will be charged. The ranges must not overlap. Otherwise, the commission will be charged for all the ranges, in which the operation falls.

The maximum deal volume (turnover) from which the commission will be charged. The ranges must not overlap.. Otherwise, the commission will be charged for all the ranges, in which the operation falls.

Commission fee amount. Commission units depend on the commission calculation method selected in the Mode field.

Minimum commission amount. Value units depend on the selected calculation mode (in the base currency, group currency, points. etc.). If you do not want to limit the minimum commission amount, set the 0 value.

Maximum commission amount. Value units depend on the selected calculation mode (in the base currency, group currency, points. etc.). The maximum commission value cannot be less than the minimum commission. If you do not want to limit the maximum commission amount, set the 0 value.

Commission fee calculation units:

• Deposit currency — commission is calculated in the deposit currency specified for the group.
• Base currency — commission is calculated in the base currency of the traded symbol.
• Profit currency — commission is calculated in the profit currency of the traded symbol.
• Margin currency — commission is calculated in the margin requirements currency specified for the traded symbol.
• Points — commission is calculated in price points of the traded symbol. The point value is calculated as the profit of a position in the same direction, with the volume of 1 lot and the difference between the open and close prices is equal to 1 pip (point).
• Percents — this calculation method allows charging commission in % of the actual cost of the deal/turnover. The cost is calculated in the base currency of the symbol as the product of its price, contract size and volume in lots (for futures and options symbols: volume in lots * Tick Size / Tick Price). By default, deal/turnover value calculated in the base currency is converted to the deposit currency; then the final commission (the specified percent) is calculated based in the resulting value.

Commission charging type:

• Per deal — commission will be charged for each conducted deal.
• Per volume — commissions are charged per lot (volume) of executed deals. Only the executed volume of trade requests is taken into account.