What Is Algorithmic Trading?
Algorithmic trading — also known as algo trading or automated trading — is the use of computer programs and mathematical models to execute trades in financial markets. Rather than relying on manual discretion, an algorithm follows a strictly defined set of rules: when to enter a trade, how large the position should be, where to place the stop loss, and when to exit. This removes emotion from the equation and ensures every trade is executed with precision and consistency.
At Forex Algo Trading, we specialise in developing expert advisors (EAs) for MetaTrader 5 that target high-probability setups in the FTSE100 index, major forex pairs, and commodities like gold (XAUUSD). Our systems are built on statistically validated edges — not intuition or indicator stacking.
Opening Range Breakout (ORB) Strategies
The opening range breakout is one of the most well-documented and consistently profitable edges in short-term trading. The principle is simple: the first 15 to 30 minutes of a major trading session — particularly the London Stock Exchange open at 08:00 UK time — establishes a price range. When price breaks out of that range decisively, it tends to continue in that direction.
Our research on 6 years of FTSE100 M15 data (over 144,000 candles and 1,586 LSE opens) identified four independently profitable strategies based on the London open. These include a Wednesday long bias, a Thursday short bias, a first-candle scalp that has been profitable every single year from 2020 to 2026, and an overnight gap fade triggered when the gap exceeds 20 points. Combined, these four strategies produced over 4,280 points across the data set with no losing years on a combined basis.
The key insight from this research is that structural edges exist at specific times and on specific days of the week — and that simple mechanical rules consistently outperform complex indicator-based filters at the London open.
Expert Advisors on MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the industry-standard platform for algorithmic trading. Expert advisors are MQL5-coded programs that run directly inside MT5 and can monitor markets, calculate signals, manage positions, and execute orders automatically — 24 hours a day, five days a week.
A well-built EA handles far more than just entries and exits. It must account for broker time offsets (summer BST vs. winter GMT), dynamic position sizing as a percentage of equity, spread filters to avoid trading in thin-market conditions, news filters to skip high-impact macro events, and hard time exits to ensure positions are closed before the end of the trading session.
We develop fully automated EAs as well as semi-automated trade management tools — like our Trade Compounder, which allows traders to build multi-leg positions with one click and manage all legs with synchronised stop losses and take profits.
Risk Management in Algorithmic Systems
No trading system is complete without robust risk management. Our expert advisors use fixed fractional position sizing — risking a set percentage of account equity per trade — so that position sizes automatically scale up with profits and down with drawdowns. This is one of the most important features for long-term account survival.
Each strategy also enforces a maximum of one trade per session per strategy, ensuring there is no compounding of intraday risk. Hard stop losses are always set before the trade is opened, and a hard time-based exit at 16:00 London time ensures no position is held overnight unless the strategy explicitly requires it.
For prop firm traders operating under challenge rules, our systems can be configured with daily drawdown limits, maximum lot size restrictions, and news avoidance rules — all designed to keep trading within the boundaries required to pass evaluations and retain funded accounts.
Backtesting, Optimisation, and Walk-Forward Analysis
Building a profitable algorithm is only half the work. Verifying that it is robust — and not merely curve-fitted to historical data — is the other half. Our development process includes rigorous backtesting over multi-year data sets, followed by out-of-sample walk-forward analysis to confirm that the edge persists in data the strategy has never seen.
We also analyse strategies across multiple market regimes: trending years like 2020 and 2025, mean-reverting years like 2023, and volatile macro-driven years like 2022 and 2024. A strategy that performs well only in one regime is not deployable. We target systems that demonstrate consistent profitability — or at worst, near-flat performance — across all market conditions.
If you have an existing strategy or trading idea you would like developed, optimised, or rebuilt as a professional MT5 EA, our team can handle the full development lifecycle — from initial specification through to final delivery with documented backtest results.
Custom EA Development and White-Label Solutions
Beyond our own proprietary systems, we offer a full custom development service for individual traders, trading groups, and prop firms. Whether you need a bespoke strategy coded from scratch, an existing EA rebuilt to a higher standard, or a white-label product you can sell under your own brand, we deliver production-quality MQL5 code with full documentation.
Our white-label packages include licence protection so that your EA cannot be reverse-engineered or redistributed without authorisation, a branded installer, user documentation, and ongoing technical support. If you are building an algorithmic trading business, we provide the full technical infrastructure so you can focus on marketing and client relationships.
Disclaimer: Forex Algo Trading is not authorised or regulated by the FCA or any financial regulator. We do not provide investment advice. Trading involves risk and past performance does not guarantee future results.