MetaTrader 4(MT4) is perhaps the most popular and widely used trading platform for the majority of financial markets, including the foreign exchange market.
All this hype is not without its reasons. That is why in this article we want to take a closer look at MetaTrader 4, see what exactly it is, what features, advantages, and disadvantages are.
What Is the MetaTrader 4 Trading Platform?
MetaTrader 4 is a well-known trading platform that is mostly used by forex traders. It provides a great platform for trading, analyzing data, and also the application of automated trading methods and tools, including expert advisors.
This trading platform comes in many formats in order to be accessible by desktop users and also mobile users in order to provide on the go access to the foreign exchange market.
A key component of MetaTrader 4 is the high flexibility that it provides to all users. This means MetaTrader can be used by users who have a lot of experience and knowledge of trading in addition to traders who are novice and only new to the market.
There are two sections in the program that offer great functionalities to traders. One of them is called Signals. This functionality allows traders to copy other traders’ trading strategies – something that is known as copy trading.
The other functionality is the Market. This feature enables traders to have access to a wide variety of automated trading tools, including expert advisors, and also tools for technical analysis, i.e. indicators.
MetaTrader 4 is also a suitable platform for those who want to apply their own personalized trading approach and strategy.
As mentioned above, MT4 is not only used for foreign exchange market but also for other financial markets, including the stock market and the commodities market.
Key Features Available on MetaTrader 4
Key Features Available on MetaTrader 4
There are so many features that are offered to traders on this trading platform. Here, we are going to discuss a few of them together.
- First – what all traders need to analyze the market according to the data that they receive is the market chart. As such, MetaTrader 4 has a very useful charting platform that can provide valuable data and information to traders in order to analyze the market and find strong signals, including entry points.
- Second – at the heart of it all is the trading terminal. The trading terminal that is provided to traders on this platform is one of the most highly functional trading terminals. It enables users to place their orders and have their orders being executed according to their directives. It runs smoothly and it is easy to use.
- Third – one key feature that certain trading platforms offer is the flexibility to users to create their own strategies and tweak the existing ones. This is provided in the MetaTrader 4 through the practical programming language of MetaTrader that is known as MQL4.
- Fourth – last but not least, the community of any platform is just as important as its own features and capabilities. Precisely because of the popularity and prevalence of MetaTrader 4, it has a large and quite active community of users. Through this community of users, you can discuss ideas related to trading and share your strategies with each other.
What Are the Advantages of MetaTrader 4?
We have already discussed some of the features that are offered by MetaTrader 4. In this section we want to specifically focus on the pros of this trading platform and see why it has been able to become the most popular trading platform among traders.
- It is quite useful and easy to use for novice traders. So if you are new to trading and do not have enough experience dealing with various trading platforms, making a choice might be difficult. But MetaTrader 4 is designed in a way that even amateur traders can easily learn how to work with it.
- On the other hand, this trading platform is also suitable for advanced and experienced traders. Even though MetaTrader 4 is easy to use and also easy to learn, it has quite intricate and complex tools that are applicable by expert traders. These include tools for backtesting, adding automated trading tools, expert advisors, creating your own strategy and applying it to the trading chart, and a whole array of analysis tools.
- Furthermore, MetaTrader 4 is quite easy to download and install. The process is of course easy enough that anybody can follow and have it installed. In addition, it does not require much technical specifications from the computer. So this means no matter what kind of computer you have, you can install and use this program.
- Perhaps another reason as to why this trading platform has become so popular can be seen in the fact that it is offered across so many devices. This includes desktop and mobile phones, and also across various operating systems – this includes Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
What Are the Disadvantages of MetaTrader 4?
What Are the Disadvantages of MetaTrader 4
Of course there are always limitations and constraints for any platform. So, let’s take a look at some of the limitations of MetaTrader 4:
- An important feature of any trading platform is the capability it offers to traders to backtest strategies and automated trading programs. For example, you can add an expert advisor and run it through the backtesting feature to see how it functions under experimental conditions. A certain limitation of MetaTrader is the lack of extensive historical data for this purpose. Such data are absolutely crucial to obtain more detailed results from backtesting.
- Although the trading terminal of MetaTrader 4 can be part of its strengths, there is a downside to it. The execution of trades and orders is not as fast as other platforms. For this reason, MetaTrader 4 is not the most ideal trading platform for fast paced trading strategies – this includes high frequency trading or HFT.
- Similar to most other trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 also has a web-based version. Unfortunately, the web-based version of the platform does not cover automated trading tools.
How Safe Is MetaTrader 4?
In order to provide an adequate degree of safety to users, MetaTrader 4 is programmed to be safe and secure against hacking attempts and cyber-attacks. This is carried out through advanced encryption mechanisms that are put in place.
Furthermore, to provide an extra layer of protection, because MetaTrader 4 is supported by an extensive number of brokers around the world, it is by extension covered through the legal coverage that is given to the brokers themselves in various legal jurisdictions.
How Is the Customer Service of MetaTrader 4?
The trading platform itself has an extensive educational material section that can answer many of the frequency asked questions by users. You can also learn how to work with the platform if you are a beginner.
As far as customer services is concerned, that would be directly related to the broker you have chosen. Of course, if you have chosen the right broker, then customer service would be one of their top priorities.
Conclusion
MetaTrader 4 is among the biggest names when it comes to trading platforms for various markets, including the forex market and the stock market. It offers many functionalities that make it suitable for both novice and also experienced traders.
