EA-15979 · Trend Following

Exp_i-CAi

This EA trades based on the custom i-CAi indicator, which is a smoothed moving average crossover system. It opens buy positions when the indicator values turn upward and sell positions when they turn downward, with configurable position sizing and stop loss/take profit levels.

Open the interactive view (equity curve, symbol switch)

Key facts

RiskMedium
Blow-up riskLow
Rating★★☆☆☆
TypeTrading EA
TimeframesH1, H4, D1
Indicatorsi-CAi (Custom Smoothed MA), SMA/EMA/SMMA/LWMA/JJMA/JurX/ParMA/T3/VIDYA/AMA
Author—

Backtest results (H1, about 1 year)

SymbolP&LAnnualMax DDTradesWin rateSharpeRecoveryLosing streakPer tradeStatus
EURUSD0.00%0.00%0.00%0—————Not convertible yet
GBPUSD0.00%0.00%0.00%0—————Not convertible yet
USDJPY0.00%0.00%0.00%0—————Not convertible yet
XAUUSD0.00%0.00%0.00%0—————Not convertible yet

Why this EA never traded: no entry rule survived the conversion.

Converted from MQL5 to Python and run with the same rules for every EA. Positions use MT5 lot sizes (100,000 units per FX lot, 100 oz per gold lot) with 1:100 leverage, one order at a time, and a stop-out below 10% of the starting balance. Sharpe is computed from the equity curve. Results marked as unreliable are shown for completeness only.

Blow-up risk: No blow-up pattern found

None of the usual blow-up patterns were found in the code, and the account was not stopped out in our backtests. That is not a guarantee: any EA can lose money.

High: stopped out in our backtest, or martingale/grid sizing without a stop loss. Elevated: martingale or grid sizing with a stop loss, or several positions at once without a stop loss. What the label means and what we found →

Strategy analysis

The strategy concept is based on directional changes in the custom i-CAi indicator to identify trend reversals, making it a classic trend-following system. Entry conditions: a buy position opens when Value[1]<Value[2] and Value[0]>=Value[1], indicating the indicator has turned from declining to rising and an uptrend is starting; a sell position opens when Value[1]>Value[2] and Value[0]<=Value[1], indicating the indicator has turned from rising to declining and a downtrend is starting. Exit conditions rely on fixed stop loss (default 1000 points) and take profit (default 2000 points), while also supporting reverse signal closures — a buy signal triggers closing of sell positions and a sell signal triggers closing of buy positions. Position sizing supports five modes: free margin percentage, balance percentage, free margin with floating loss, balance with floating loss, and fixed lot size, controlled by the MM and MMMode parameters. Money management uses standardized trading functions from the TradeAlgorithms.mqh library, with slippage control (default 10 points) and independent buy/sell enable switches.

Strengths

  • Supports 10 smoothing algorithms providing high strategy flexibility to match instrument characteristics
  • Reverse signal auto-close mechanism promptly ends counter-trend positions, reducing drawdown
  • Independent buy/sell enable switches allow configuring long-only or short-only to suit market conditions
  • Five position sizing modes cover conservative to aggressive money management approaches
  • New bar detection prevents duplicate trades within the same candle, ensuring logic integrity

Weaknesses

  • Depends on the custom i-CAi indicator file; EA cannot run without it, creating strong deployment dependency
  • Default stop loss of 1000 points and take profit of 2000 points are excessively large, risking uncontrolled losses on low-volatility instruments
  • No floating loss limit or maximum position control; extreme market conditions could lead to unlimited exposure and account blow-up
  • SignalBar default of 1 causes signal lag, and value of 0 skips new bar detection potentially generating duplicate signals
  • Lacks trend filter mechanism, likely generating frequent false signals in ranging markets leading to consecutive losses

Possible improvements

  • Add a trend filter (e.g., ADX or higher timeframe MA direction) to avoid frequent entries in ranging markets
  • Add maximum floating loss limit and maximum concurrent position count to prevent excessive risk exposure during extreme conditions
  • Use ATR-based dynamic stop loss and take profit instead of fixed point values to adapt to different volatility environments

Risk assessment

Overall risk: Medium

  • Default 1000-point stop loss is excessively large, creating oversized risk exposure on low-volatility instruments
  • No maximum position limit or floating loss protection poses account blow-up risk in extreme markets
  • Dependency on external indicator file causes initialization failure without detailed error guidance

Evaluation scores

Code quality3.0
Strategy logic3.0
Risk management2.0
Robustness3.0
Innovation2.0
Documentation1.0
Overall2.3

Parameters

ParameterDefaultDescription
MM0.1Money management ratio, controls trade lot size
MMModeLOTLot calculation mode: Fixed lot or margin-based ratio
StopLoss_1000Stop loss in points
TakeProfit_2000Take profit in points
Deviation_10Maximum allowed slippage
BuyPosOpentrueAllow buy positions
SellPosOpentrueSell position opening signal mode
BuyPosClosetrueAllow close buy positions
SellPosClosetrueSell position closing signal mode
InpInd_TimeframePERIOD_H4CandlesticksBW indicator timeframe
XMA_MethodMODE_SMA_Smoothing method (SMA/EMA/JJMA, etc.)
XLength12Smoothing period length
XPhase15Smoothing phase parameter, affects JJMA/VIDYA/AMA behavior
IPCPRICE_CLOSE_Price type for indicator calculation
SignalBar1Signal bar index (0=current, 1=last closed bar)

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Backtests are historical simulations and do not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.

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