Everybody needs a robot – something I have always said.
Everybody needs a friend who’s got shiny metal head.
Everybody needs a robot, even if you’ve found someone.
Now and then you need a friend with hormones made from Mobil 1.

Everybody needs a robot on the dashboard of their car.
If you try to drive yourself you won’t be getting very far.

These lines from a popular song are exactly about Forex trading. Once we need robots to help us in many ways today, to let them earn instead of us may be a good idea.

The big question is, whether robot traders may replace human beings on financial markets.

Robot traders (also known as expert advisers) are special software that fulfills a range of functions on Forex market. In the MetaTrader trading terminal robot traders are based on the MQL programming language. They enable to automatically implement a well-tried trading strategy. Does this mean that a man may launch robots and relax watching them getting profit?

On specialized Forex forums there is no broad consensus. Some are skeptical about such a golden goose. Others talk about ideal expert advisers which enable successful automatic trading.

Type ‘expert adviser’ in an indexing service and you will see thousands of juicy advertisements: Buy Expert Advisers, The Ever-Best Expert Adviser, 500% Profits. Going to buy? Hold the horses. Robot traders have both strengths and weak spots.

Forex newcomers often tend to lose their deposits as they act hot-blooded and are short of experience in trading. They can neither analyze each and every market fluctuation, nor bear in mind tens of trading instruments. And that is not something unusual: no man cans. Every human being needs time to take measured decisions.

In contrast, expert advisers are not human beings, and everything human is alien to them. They are prompt and multifunctional. They manage to control any number of currency pairs, respond immediately to market fluctuations, and instantly make accurate calculations. More importantly, robot traders have no emotions.

However, don’t be exited to download and launch a robot trader immediately. Although bait is much to use oeuvres of professionals, without knowledge you risk to go down like a lead balloon. What is a robot trader, after all? It is a reflection of someone’s trading strategy. Examine this strategy carefully before you follow it.

Moreover, no expert adviser guarantees profits without losses. It neither is responsible for outcomes of your trading, nor protects you against financial losses.

Even their strengths may turn to drawbacks. A strict strategy excludes any flexibility. A robot will never be able to deviate from what it has been programmed for. It has no intuition, reads no news and knows nothing about human psychology.

Although robot traders accurately fulfill a number of functions in Forex trading, they still need a certain portion of human control. A rational way is to practice semi-automated trading: work out a strategy and then develop a robot trader, or simply get it developed for you. At least you will know exactly how it should work. Whether you choose to use expert advisers or not; if you choose to use robots, test and adjust any of them before you start trading. A folk wisdom says: put your trust in robot but keep your powder dry.

Added by Tatyana Makhina,
InstaForex Clients’ relationship manager