Is MT4 used by big instituitons like Hedge Funds?

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Is MT4 used by big instituitons like Hedge Funds?
 
No, I think it's not so. I know definitely, that Intarbank trading contragents use own platforms with special functions and security parametrs. With big money it's important. Probably with hedge funds "history" is the same.
 
sayfuji:
No, I think it's not so.

The lack of other responses to this post pretty much confirms this.


MT4 is a fantastic piece of kit for running automated trading systems, but there's any number of factors which make it unsuitable for institutional use. A small, personal selection goes as follows:

  • The backtesting is weak, in a number of ways. Once you ask a question such as "Where's the Sharpe ratio?", all sorts of things about the backtesting start to unravel.
  • Most, if not all, MT4 brokers pose an unacceptable level of counterparty risk, particularly in the current paranoid climate.
  • Spreads and/or liquidity aren't optimal.
  • Order placement is too slow.
  • Or, putting the broker issues another way, you can't use MetaTrader to trade through the mainstream prime brokerage houses.

 
Then the question becomes, why do we bother using it for ourselves if it is not good enough for the masses? What are the alternatives? The only other trading system I am aware of is Trade Station, I tink it is called.
 
LEHayes:
Then the question becomes, why do we bother using it for ourselves if it is not good enough for the masses?

Er, because you and I don't have the $100,000,000+ under management which lets you negotiate institutional services and rates?


I perhaps came across as unintentionally negative in my previous post, so I'll try to address that:

  • MT4 is a fantastic piece of kit for running automated trading systems.
  • It's free.
  • It's very, very stable.
  • The spreads offered by most brokers on e.g. EURUSD compare perfectly well with things like the spread on the equivalent futures contract plus normal retail commission.

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