How to recognize the Best FOREX EA

First off I know there are many people out there who say that a "best forex robot" is like a contradiction in terms. Their opinion is that all Forex Robots are garbage. They are of course entitled to that opinon but I would question their wisdom, being a long term trader myself, if they truly believe there is safety in manual trading.
A Forex EA or Forex Robot - the terms are interchangeable - is nothing more than a software program based on a Forex trading strategy. Now, of course the program will only be as good as the strategy behind it, and there are a lot of questionable EAs out there.

How can you tell a great forex robot from a bad one? Here are a couple of pointers:

1. Is the software creator confident enough to offer you a money back guarantee? - a profit guarantee of course is even better.
   Whereas it is a general good business practice to offer a money back guarantee - in Forex trading this is particularly important.
   You want to make sure the company stands behind their robots and will not only offer you great customer service but also help you in set-up and can knowledgeably answer any questions you have. Of course if the company offers a profit guarantee - that really would be awesome.
2. The EA is customized to no more than two or three currencies.
   Each forex currency pair has its own distinct personalities. That has to be accounted for to create a good Forex strategy. I dare you to show me an EA that can trade the GBP/JPY and the EUR/CHF with the same presets! It is simply impossible! Doesn't exist. So, you can group some currencies as scalping currencies together and trade them in a similar fashion - but if the robot promises to work on ALL currencies in all market conditions run for the hills.
3. The software company offers different robots for different strategies - and they have created more than one robot.
   This goes hand in hand with the previous point. Each type of currency and each market - London, New York, Asia - requires careful tweaking in strategy. A do-all approach will lead only to losses. Your EA creator no doubt has to have different solutions for different markets. Also, be aware of EA creators who seem to offer too many robots. If they have found a strategy that works, why would they go on creating so many different robots? You are looking for a software company that created a handful of EAs and took years to develop them with real-time testing on live accounts and back testing over several years as well.
4. Your EA developer can answer questions - and offers customer support.
   In case you need assistance you need to be able to get in touch with your EA developer. Especially if you are a FOREX beginner - questions will come up and should be answered with real trading knowledge.  You want "real" traders with real experience behind the development of your product - not just some software geeks, who churned out a quasi system they have never traded on a live account.
5. Price is not a indication of quality.
   Unfortunately that is very true in the Forex world. Just because a Forex Robot is expensive is does NOT mean that it will trade better. I have seen some real hack-jobs in my time. Be very careful if the software company tells you outright that there are no returns. Like I said in my first point: a real company stands behind their product.  I for one believe it is important to offer a robot at a decent price and leave enough money in your pocket so that you can actually set up an account and trade well.
6. Be careful with exaggerated promises of "1000% returns", "Doubles your money in one month" "Never a losing trade"and other stupid quotes.
    A real Forex trader - who should be the person behind developing your Forex robot and therefore your Forex strategy - should know that the growth of your account is relatively slow and steady. I said "relatively" slow because compared to other forms of investment it is actually at breakneck speed - but it should not involve risking too much of your margin and put you at the constant danger of wiping out your entire account. Let's get real here - 1000% profit IS ridiculous and CANNOT be guaranteed - however 200% over a year is more than any other investment can offer you and sounds a lot more reasonable and therefore interesting. Look for robots that offer a believable return and do not promise things that seem too good to be true - because they usually ARE!

Happy Trading!

Stanley