Heads up, system traders! I’ve rounded up the SEVEN mechanical forex strategies right here to see how they stack up against each other.
I’ve got a neat systems snapshot table for their latest performance down below, but keep in mind that the time periods and some trading assumptions vary among my fellow FX-men.
SMA Crossover Pullback
Robopip’s newbie-friendly SMA Crossover Pullback trading system is as simple as its name suggests. This strategy features an SMA crossover method to gauge the trend and a stochastic pullback entry signal on the 1-hour charts of EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/JPY.
The system bounced back from earlier losses with a 74-pip or 0.49% win for the week and trailing stops on remaining positions locking in at least a hundred pips and counting. Read more.
Short-Term Bollinger Reversion Strategy 2.0
This Short-Term Bollinger Reversion Strategy 2.0 is one of Robopip’s newest creations and is currently being tested on range-bound pairs like CAD/CHF and USD/CAD.
No wins or losses for this strategy in the past few days! There was one signal that popped up for CAD/CHF later in the week, though. Read more.
Inside Bar Momentum Strategy 2.0
Another tried-and-tested system is Robopip’s Inside Bar Momentum Strategy 2.0 which monitors purely candlestick price action, free of any technical indicators, on the 4-hour charts of GBP/JPY and USD/JPY.
Just the one signal for this mechanical trading strategy also, and unfortunately it didn’t turn out so well as it snagged a 10-pip loss on an early exit. Read more.
Cowabunga System
This good ol’ classic Cowabunga System (that’s been raking in pips since ’07!) looks at the 4-hour chart for the main trend and the 15-minute chart to catch entries. It also makes use of EMA crosses, along with RSI, MACD, and stochastic indicators.
Pip Surfer had a rough week as he faced a heavy loss from three long trades, chalking up a 53-pip dent so far. Read more.
HLHB Trend-Catcher System
The Huck Loves Her Bucks mechanical system uses a simple EMA cross method, combined with the RSI and ADX indicators, to catch short-term trends on the 1-hour charts of EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY.
In this week’s update, Huck’s dream of another winning streak was pushed back when a fakeout wiped out the system’s intraweek gains and forced a loss of 22 pips (-0.07%). Read more.
Happy Hunter Trading System
Happy Pip has recently ventured into mechanical trading strategies and has since come up with a day-trading system that uses HHHL, LHLL, and IB candlestick patterns for entries.
Her system comes in two flavors:
- The Happy Hunter Price Action System 4.0 (Fixed TP Variant)
- The Happy Hunter Price Action System 4.0 (Trailing Variant)
The Happy Hunter is currently being forward-tested exclusively on GBP/NZD. Also, each and every trade generated by her system incorporates a fixed 12-pip spread to simulate real-world trading conditions on a fixed spread broker.
And both Variants had another good run this week, with the Fixed TP Variant up by 0.37% for the week and the Trailing Variant up by 1.44%. Read more.
Forex Systems Summary
| Mechanical Trading System | Time Period | P/L in pips | P/L in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| HLHB Trend-Catcher System | Sept. 24-28 | -22 | -0.07 |
| Happy Hunter Trading System (Fixed TP Variant) | Sept. 24-28 | – | +0.37 |
| Happy Hunter Trading System (Trailing Variant) | Sept. 24-28 | – | +1.44 |
| SMA Crossover Pullback System | Sept. 18-25 | +74 | +0.49 |
| Short-Term Bollinger Reversion Strategy 2.0 | Sept. 20-27 | 0 | 0 |
| Inside Bar Momentum Strategy | Sept 19-26 | -10 | – |
| Cowabunga System | Sept. 24-28 | -53 | – |
In case you missed it, check out how the Forex Mechanical Systems Showdown turned out last week!