It's because he chose the MetaTrader 4 platform which does not support futures.
And remember, with the typical bucket shop supporting MetaTrader 4, you're money is safe -- safe from you withdrawing it.
Trading Index Futures via MetaTrader 4
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And remember, with the typical bucket shop supporting MetaTrader 4, you're money is safe -- safe from you withdrawing it.
It's because he chose the MetaTrader 4 platform which does not support futures.
And remember, with the typical bucket shop supporting MetaTrader 4, you're money is safe -- safe from you withdrawing it.
Ahh that is right, now I recall. He'd just need MetaTrader5 for that.
Yes, OK. We know. Did you know there is a MetaTrader5? It goes beyond that? Sheesh! Stop copy-pasting the marketing bumpf for decade-old software.
Thursday / February 24, 2022 / 8:40 AM PST
This is going to be a very short journal indeed, since it is already clear to me that I like this particular means of trading the index futures quite a lot. It's an extremely easy way to earn lunch money each day…
And I would imagine that on those days when I happen to catch a good trend, the returns are likely to rival a modest daily salary—not to mention that it is much simpler and straightforward than attempting to accomplish the same task using NADEX Call Spreads or Knockouts.
And even a mere twenty bucks a day would offer me a significant amount of relief with respect to my monthly budget.
The only drawback is… it reintroduces the old problem of having to relocate to another country to take advantage of it, given that we are not permitted to trade CFDs here in the USA. Nonetheless, it might be worth it for me to do so at some point in the future.
This is going to be a very short journal indeed, since it is already clear to me that I like this particular means of trading the index futures quite a lot. It's an extremely easy way to earn lunch money each day…
And I would imagine that on those days when I happen to catch a good trend, the returns are likely to rival a modest daily salary—not to mention that it is much simpler and straightforward than attempting to accomplish the same task using NADEX Call Spreads or Knockouts.
And even a mere twenty bucks a day would offer me a significant amount of relief with respect to my monthly budget.
The only drawback is… it reintroduces the old problem of having to relocate to another country to take advantage of it, given that we are not permitted to trade CFDs here in the USA. Nonetheless, it might be worth it for me to do so at some point in the future.
rb7 seemed somewhat puzzled as to why I would trade CFDs if I wished to learn about trading index futures. Part of the reason is right here... using the MetaTrader 4 platform rather than trading index futures directly, there ARE no commissions, data feed costs, nor platform costs. There is only the spread, and of course, the Swap... but ONLY if I remain in a given position until the next day (with regard to the latter) which I almost never do.
Can we still use Metatrader4 as some users of this forum saying that there are MetaTrader5 in the market and why you are talking about metatrader4?
What is the advantage of MetaTrader 5? For the retail trader, the main advantage is that in addition to forex, it can offer futures, options, stocks and bonds. But with respect to index futures at least, my experience is that the market is made available through CFDs, and it might be the same for other asset classes as well. But here in the USA, we are not allowed to trade CFDs, so for any broker operating here, there is no point to switching to MT5. Consequently, they do not offer it!
And according to FinanceMagnets.com, there are additional reasons why MT4 remains relevant...
One broker stated that "we're still finding that MT4 is the leading platform across the industry as there is a constant and overwhelming demand from clients to continue its use."
Another existing broker who has little difficulty in offering MT5 alongside MT4 found that the majority of existing clients choose MT4.
Consequently, new brokers who have an unknown brand to establish, and have no choice but to use MT5 (because MetaQuotes no longer allows new brokers to offer MT4 and has removed its vanilla MT4 version from the marketplace entirely, not to mention that support for MT4 has been discontinued) can find it tough to break into the industry, offering a software that most traders do not want as of yet.
As for an existing MT4 broker, it it wants to make the plunge and move over to MT5 or offer both options to its client base, it has to pay for a full new license.
And finally, you have this...
MetaQuotes might be its own worst enemy. With the emergence of MT4 as the industry standard, the monopoly that it enjoys ironically works against it now directly and indirectly.
Of note, traders are comfortable with using MT4 - complicating this fact is the trend that human nature is to avoid change. It is stable, it is available, and it works. MT4 is also already installed on millions of computers globally.
Indirectly, it is the periphery of 'extras' that MT4 spawned that have become an addictive drug for the retail trader, and probably the biggest reason slowing the retail move. Copy trade solutions are mostly MT4 based. The number of electronic advisers (EAs or algorithmic trading bots) available is astounding.
Custom indicators for MT4 litter trading forums and community boards. The problem these add-ons pose cannot be ignored because they cannot just be taken off their MT4 charts and slapped onto MT5. They have to be redeveloped from scratch.
Interestingly, some of the most reluctant to move to MT5 are the very same coders who develop for MT4. Brokers feel this pain too. "Unlike MT4, we're facing challenges related to the lack of reliable third-party solutions or plug-ins; brokers need these additional features to customize their service," Ziad Melhem went on to say.
Compare MetaQuotes to Microsoft. When Microsoft released a new version of Windows back in the 1990s and early 2000s, paying customers clamored for the latest version. Stores could not keep up, turning Bill Gates into a billionaire. (MT5 is free for the individual trader, but in contrast, customers paid happily for the newest versions of Windows.)
Why does MetaQuotes struggle to give away MT5 to retail traders? Customers eagerly paid for the newest version of Windows because it was faster and better for them, the end users, while MT5 has been designed to benefit the middleman – the broker. MT5 does not exist primarily to help the millions of mom and pop traders clicking away, generating trade volume flow for their brokers. MT5 is first and foremost an improvement for brokers.
Imagine a scenario where MT4 is permanently turned off, and all those EAs no longer have a home. Then imagine just a little further ahead where an ambitious organisation builds an MT4 clone that runs those homeless EAs. The king could be usurped by a cheeky upstart offering a platform for millions of EAs floating around in cyberspace. It is not an impossible scenario.
No doubt this is true! For example, I recently got fed up with Microsoft, and as a result, I was motivated to search online until I found a substitute for it—WPS Office—which I downloaded for FREE, and converted all my Microsoft documents seamlessly. So, I no longer have to hassle with the way Microsoft tries to nickel-and-dime me out of every penny it can get, nor with the way they repeatedly interrupt my service due to glitches on THEIR end, which I was unable to resolve the last time it happened because the company CEASED TO ALLOW CUSTOMERS THE OPTION OF CONTACTING A REPRESENTATIVE BY PHONE!
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Saturday | 11, 2022 | 11:30 AM PST
I've been an itinerant trader for the past three months or so, which means I haven't been able to trade my system in my live account due to the fact that doing so properly demands the constant monitoring of my positions.
Consequently, my focus has been on attaining the clearest of understanding regarding every aspect of its functioning and on optimizing its application--tasks that are essentially completed so that I will be 100% prepared to resume live trading with my next influx of funds on Wednesday, if only I can rectify my commuter status and begin trading full-time.
So in the meantime, I plan to take the "clearest of understanding regarding every aspect of its functioning" in the Forex market and see what happens if I attempt to slap it on the index market.
UPDATE: It slaps on very nicely. So, next week I'll want to explore trading Nadex index Knock-outs in addition to the Forex Knock-outs.
I've been an itinerant trader for the past three months or so, which means I haven't been able to trade my system in my live account due to the fact that doing so properly demands the constant monitoring of my positions.
Consequently, my focus has been on attaining the clearest of understanding regarding every aspect of its functioning and on optimizing its application--tasks that are essentially completed so that I will be 100% prepared to resume live trading with my next influx of funds on Wednesday, if only I can rectify my commuter status and begin trading full-time.
So in the meantime, I plan to take the "clearest of understanding regarding every aspect of its functioning" in the Forex market and see what happens if I attempt to slap it on the index market.
UPDATE: It slaps on very nicely. So, next week I'll want to explore trading Nadex index Knock-outs in addition to the Forex Knock-outs.
Sunday | June 12, 2022 | 3:40 PM PST
No doubt, just about everyone is aware that the stock market has gained significantly over the course of its history, and there is the argument that you must be in the market all the time to take advantage of this fact, because one never knows when the gains most responsible for it will manifest.
The Forex market likewise tends to move in a series of fits and starts, doing so on even a daily basis, which is why I see the need for me to be fully engaged during the roughly 12+ hours constituting the London and New York sessions.
However, with nothing left to do now…that is…between today and Wednesday (the day I would ideally like to return to my live account) I've decided I should turn my full attention to focusing exclusively on taking the lessons learned demo trading foreign currency pairs, and apply them to demo trading U.S. index derivatives Monday and Tuesday, within the narrower time frame that the U.S. stock market is open; the reason being to carefully look at what kinds of returns price changes in the Dow, S & P and Nasdaq generate, to determine if it might not be possible to realize the same amount of profit during the more concentrated hours of trading, in which case, limiting my trading to a handful of hours in the morning becomes a realistic possibility and practical alternative after all.
No doubt, just about everyone is aware that the stock market has gained significantly over the course of its history, and there is the argument that you must be in the market all the time to take advantage of this fact, because one never knows when the gains most responsible for it will manifest.
The Forex market likewise tends to move in a series of fits and starts, doing so on even a daily basis, which is why I see the need for me to be fully engaged during the roughly 12+ hours constituting the London and New York sessions.
However, with nothing left to do now…that is…between today and Wednesday (the day I would ideally like to return to my live account) I've decided I should turn my full attention to focusing exclusively on taking the lessons learned demo trading foreign currency pairs, and apply them to demo trading U.S. index derivatives Monday and Tuesday, within the narrower time frame that the U.S. stock market is open; the reason being to carefully look at what kinds of returns price changes in the Dow, S & P and Nasdaq generate, to determine if it might not be possible to realize the same amount of profit during the more concentrated hours of trading, in which case, limiting my trading to a handful of hours in the morning becomes a realistic possibility and practical alternative after all.