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Rules
Specification
I am looking for an experienced MQL5 developer with strong knowledge of quantitative trading and strategy development to create a profitable and frequently active intraday Expert Advisor for XAUUSD on MetaTrader 5.
TRADING ENVIRONMENT
Platform: MetaTrader 5
Broker currently used: PUPrime
Symbol: XAUUSD / XAUUSD.s
Initial reference balance: €1,000
Leverage: 1:500
Main trading session: approximately 09:00–21:00 broker/server time
The EA must be suitable for continuous execution on an MQL5 VPS.
MAIN OBJECTIVE
I want an EA that trades regularly and accumulates profit over time.
I am NOT looking for an extremely selective strategy that produces excellent statistics but remains inactive for several consecutive trading days.
My desired target is approximately €50 average profit per trading day, with approximately €350–400 per week being an ideal objective.
I understand that these returns cannot be guaranteed. They are development targets, not guaranteed acceptance criteria.
I do not require every single day to close in profit. For example, +€20 one day, +€70 another day, +€40 another day and occasional losing days are perfectly acceptable. What matters is positive cumulative profitability and regular trading activity.
TRADING FREQUENCY
This is one of the most important requirements.
Ideally, the EA should execute at least one valid trade on approximately 80% or more of normal XAUUSD trading days.
I do NOT want a strategy that produces only a few trades per month.
However, trades must not simply be forced to satisfy this requirement. Frequent trading must come from statistically valid setups with positive expectancy.
Multiple trades per day are acceptable and there is no requirement to artificially limit the EA to one trade per day.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Maximum lot size: 0.10.
Every position must have a Stop Loss.
Every position must have a Take Profit or a clearly defined algorithmic exit.
Dynamic position sizing is acceptable.
I am willing to accept moderately higher risk if the statistical results justify the additional return.
Maximum simultaneous exposure must remain controlled.
NO martingale.
NO grid trading.
NO unlimited averaging.
NO increasing lot size simply to recover previous losses.
NO uncontrolled recovery systems.
The objective is aggressive capital growth, but through a strategy with positive statistical expectancy rather than uncontrolled risk.
EXISTING BENCHMARK
I have already tested several experimental XAUUSD strategies.
The best useful benchmark obtained so far on a €1,000 initial balance produced approximately:
Test period: 01 June 2026 – 08 September 2026
Net profit: +€513.74
Total trades: 231
Profit Factor: 1.68
Maximum equity drawdown: approximately 8.65%
Winning trades: approximately 54.5%
This strategy was profitable but did not provide sufficient trading-day coverage for my objective.
Therefore, I am NOT simply asking for more trades.
I want a better combination of:
- Frequent trading
- Positive expectancy
- Higher cumulative profit
- Acceptable drawdown
- High percentage of active trading days
The developer does NOT need to reproduce my existing strategy. A completely different strategy is acceptable if it produces better validated results.
BACKTEST REQUIREMENTS
The strategy must be tested using realistic MetaTrader 5 trading conditions and high-quality historical data.
The developer must provide the complete Strategy Tester report showing at least:
Net profit
Total number of trades
Profit Factor
Maximum balance drawdown
Maximum equity drawdown
Winning percentage
Average winning and losing trade
Expected payoff
Number of trading days tested
Number and percentage of days with at least one trade
Number of profitable days
Number of losing days
Average trades per active trading day
A strategy based on a very small number of trades will NOT be considered sufficient.
Optimization results alone are NOT sufficient.
The final strategy and parameters must also be validated on an out-of-sample period that was not used for optimization in order to reduce curve fitting/overfitting.
FORWARD DEMO VALIDATION
Before final acceptance, the EA must be capable of running correctly on an MT5 demo account.
It must:
Open and manage positions automatically.
Correctly recognize broker symbol suffixes such as XAUUSD.s.
Work correctly when synchronized with MQL5 VPS.
Correctly restore operation after MT5/VPS restart.
Prevent accidental duplicate entries.
Correctly manage spread and execution conditions.
DELIVERABLES
I require:
Complete .mq5 source code
Compiled .ex5 file
Recommended .set configuration
Explanation of the important input parameters
Complete Strategy Tester report for the final configuration
Installation and VPS instructions
The final source code must compile in the current MetaEditor with ZERO compilation errors.
No external DLL should be required unless explicitly agreed before development.
ACCEPTANCE
The project will NOT be considered completed simply because the EA compiles and opens trades.
Before acceptance, the developer must demonstrate that the EA:
Operates correctly on MT5.
Trades with meaningful and regular frequency.
Maintains positive expectancy on the agreed validation tests.
Respects the agreed risk-management rules.
Does not use martingale, grid or uncontrolled recovery techniques.
Produces reproducible Strategy Tester results.
Profit targets such as €50/day or €350–400/week are development objectives and NOT guaranteed acceptance thresholds.
The historical test periods, out-of-sample periods, spread assumptions, modelling method and measurable acceptance criteria must be agreed in the Requirements Specification before development begins.
DEVELOPER EXPERIENCE
Please apply only if you have real experience with MQL5 Expert Advisor development, XAUUSD/Gold trading systems, quantitative strategy research, MT5 Strategy Tester and out-of-sample validation.
In your application, please answer the following:
- How many MT5 Expert Advisors have you developed?
- Have you developed profitable systems specifically for XAUUSD?
- How would you validate this strategy against overfitting?
- Will you provide the complete MQ5 source code?
- Can you provide statistics showing the percentage of active trading days?
- What backtest and out-of-sample methodology would you use?
- What maximum drawdown would you consider reasonable for this objective?
- What development and validation time do you estimate?
I am looking for measurable and reproducible results. I am NOT interested in guaranteed-profit claims or unrealistic marketing promises.