MetaTrader5 Tutorial

The year 2010, saw the release of a new trading platform from the house of MetaQuotes Software Corp. Compared to Metatrader 4, this updated version, cleverly called MT5, has some new features, and it still supports expert advisors, custom indicators, and scripts. But it also has a better Strategy Tester, news events objects, a built-in market for trading products, and benefits from far a more flexible development environment. Spend a few minutes reading this article, and you’ll have enough information to make an informed decision when looking for the best MT5 Forex brokers.

The name behind Metatrader 5

MT5 is a platform that was developed by Russian software company MetaQuotes Software Corp, and is one of the MetaTrader family of online trading platforms. The company specializes in developing software for the financial markets. While it is registered in Cyprus, the company itself was founded and is based, on the whole, in Russia.

The Forex trading market has been its main focus, and the Metatrader software is used by hundreds of brokerage companies and banks, across the globe.

MetaTrader 5 was released in 2010, and expanded the number of products that could be traded. No longer was it just Forex, but stocks and commodities were included. It also features a new programming language called MQL5.The number of MT5 Forex brokers is still comparatively small when compared with MT4. And it currently doesn’t look to be increasing at any notable rate.

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What can MetaTrader 5 offer?

While it was developed to replace MT4, this latest version from MetaQuotes seems to be experiencing lower than expected interest from brokers. It is generally offered alongside MT4, and clients are left to decide which platform they prefer.

As well as trading in the Forex market, clients can also trade in futures, options, and stocks. MT5 has 82 tools including graphic objects along with technical indicators. And some of you will be excited to learn that more than 100 charts can be opened at one time.

Four types of order execution are possible:

Instant – A dealing desk may send re-quotes
Market – At the best market price
Request – Acceptance pending
Exchange – Order matching amongst traders

There are a number of different orders on offer:

Market – This type of order is executed immediately it’s been placed
Pending – When a pending order is placed the trade will take place as soon as the market meets certain conditions
Stop orders – This type of order is useful for minimizing losses and taking profits

It’s very easy to place orders using the Metatrader platform. It can be done with the help of hot keys, placed via the quotes dialog, or from the chart of a financial instrument. A lot of information is available to traders, including all the orders along with prices, volumes, stop orders, and whether a profit or loss is registered on a specified position.

While the MT5 user interface is new, fundamentally it’s not all that different from its predecessor. Anyone who has used MT4 will have no problems finding their way around

What improvements make MT5 Forex brokers better?

There have been some major improvements made by MetaQuotes with the MetaTrader 5 platform. And we’re really quite surprised it hasn’t taken off as well as everybody was hoping. Although humans tend to prefer to stick with what they know, so maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised. But let’s look at some of the advantages and you can make up your own mind as to which trading platform you’d prefer.

MT5 offers 6 types of pending orders, and 2 types of stop orders, whereas MT4 only has 4 types of pending orders.

MT5 Forex brokers offer more markets, but the choice varies depending on the broker. Traders can choose between commodities, equity CFDs, and indices.

There are additional chart time frames compared to MT4.

There is a built-in economic calendar tab that helps with releasing schedules, levels of impact, market consensus, and previous data.

MT5 has an integrated MQL Forex market products tab for Expert Advisors.

MT5 also has a wealth of extra technical indicators, graphical objects, and 22 analytical objects.

There is also an improved strategy tester for expert advisors, and an agent manager for remote optimization.

Which is the best platform for Forex traders to use?

It really depends on your own particular preferences. Just because it’s new, doesn’t mean it’s going to be better for everyone. The MT4 platform is far more straightforward, but that isn’t what everyone is looking for. Some traders prefer flashy new features, and a menu of options as long as your arm. In which case MT5 is the platform for you.

We feel it only fair to point out that systems coded using MQL4 are not compatible with MQL5 or MT5. Which means if you want to switch from one platform to another the entire code will have to be rewritten is you’re using an Expert Advisor. Programmers have so far been reluctant to change. And who’s going to to blame them? If it ain’t broke why worry about fixing it.

Many Forex brokers offer a choice between MT4 and MT5, so it’s really up to individual traders to make the decision, and there is no definitive answer. Both have their own advantages and downsides, and it’s really a question of trying each one for size. Which is one good reason why a great place to start your Forex trading adventure is with a demo account.

MetaTrader 5 Forex brokers offer versatility, which means greater opportunities to make more money and execute more transactions. It is the perfect platform for ambitious or aggressive traders, and an MT5 Forex broker can provide access to a wide range of trading platforms around the world. MT5 has a lot to offer Forex traders, and while it may not be the most popular platform yet, we’re pretty hopeful that in time it is going to catch on.