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Originally Posted by Hyperdimension  I think I'd simply use the EA on a non NFA regulated broker. |
Agreed!
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Originally Posted by Hyperdimension But how then do EA developers develop and optimize their EAs? They need historical data, so in that sense, historical data is essential, and backtesting over that data is an essential part of the development process. Would you buy an EA that was never backtested, not even once? Maybe some people would if it was forward tested for some time. But that forward testing time may be too short, i.e. not enough to produce statistically significant results if they are all you have to go by. |
They can start by backtesting ... like I used to do ... but then they need to forward test on a live account, and on multiple brokerages, and for a long time. That is the only legitimate way to get real results. So I would really only trust a robot which i have seen forward tested for 6+ months.
So yes, it seems like we are on the same page. I also searched around for historical data and found pretty much what you are finding now. All in all, however, I realized that I was not a good enough programmer, so I stopped trying to make my own robots, and I stopped trusting backtests, and only wanted to see forward tests. That's why I started this site really, to share my findings with others.
