Trading robots are sold with screenshots, equity curves, “verified” badges and testimonials. This checklist helps you read such material critically. It is not a recommendation to buy or use any system.
Red flags
- Promises of a fixed monthly percentage or of “no losing months”.
- Only backtests, or only demo accounts, are shown.
- Track records that are short, recently started, or restarted after losses.
- Very high win rates with no information on average loss size.
- Grid or martingale behaviour described as “smart recovery”.
- Pressure to buy now, countdowns, or limited “licences”.
- No clear identity of who built it and who is responsible for it.
Metrics worth looking at
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | The largest fall from a peak — a better sense of risk than the return figure. |
| Profit factor | Gross profit divided by gross loss. Values barely above 1 leave little room for higher costs. |
| Average win vs. average loss | Explains whether a high win rate is meaningful. |
| Number of trades | More trades give more confidence that results are not luck. |
| Holding time & open exposure | Reveals hidden floating losses that closed-trade statistics can hide. |
| Track-record length | Several years across different market conditions say more than a few good months. |
Independent verification
Third-party trade-tracking services can show a live account’s history, but they can be set up selectively: an account may be one of many, may be a demo, or may have deposits and withdrawals that distort the curve. Read the details, not just the headline number.
Regulation
Check whether the broker you would use is authorised by a recognised regulator in your country, and remember that a robot vendor is usually not regulated at all. In the United States, retail forex brokers are overseen by the CFTC and must be members of the NFA.
Risk reminder. Trading foreign exchange and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for every investor. You can lose more than your initial deposit. Past or simulated performance of any trading system, including automated Expert Advisors, does not guarantee future results.