This is not investment advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product.
Using MetaTrader for successful stock trading means using the platform's tools in a structured way. The platform offers a rich set of features (charting, indicators, automated trading, risk management), and the trader who uses them in a disciplined way has an edge over the trader who uses the platform as a basic order execution tool.
The success on MetaTrader is not a function of the platform itself; it is a function of the trader's strategy, the trader's risk management, and the trader's discipline. The platform is the vehicle for the strategy, not the source of the edge.
The charting for success
The MetaTrader charting is the trader's primary analytical tool. The trader should set up the charts with the time frames and the indicators that match the strategy. A trend-following strategy uses a longer time frame (1-hour, 4-hour, daily) for the trend and a shorter time frame (15-minute, 5-minute) for the entry. A mean-reversion strategy uses a short time frame (5-minute, 1-minute) for the entry and a medium time frame (1-hour) for the context.
The trader should use the indicators that are relevant to the strategy and ignore the rest. A trend-following trader uses the moving averages and the MACD; a mean-reversion trader uses the RSI and the Bollinger Bands; a momentum trader uses the volume and the ATR. The trader who uses too many indicators produces a cluttered chart and a low signal-to-noise ratio.
The indicators for success
The MetaTrader library includes more than 50 built-in indicators, and the trader should use a small number of them that work together. The trader should test the indicators on historical data (backtesting) before using them on a live account, and the trader should track the performance of the indicators over time.
The most commonly used indicators among successful MetaTrader traders are the moving averages (for the trend), the RSI and the stochastic (for the oversold and overbought levels), the MACD (for the trend and the momentum), the Bollinger Bands (for the volatility and the mean reversion), and the Fibonacci retracements (for the support and resistance levels). The trader should also use the Volume indicator (for the trading volume) and the ATR (for the average true range).
The automated trading for success
The Expert Advisors (EAs) are the MetaTrader's automated trading tool. The EA is a script that runs on the MetaTrader platform and places the trades according to a predefined strategy. The EA can be set up to run 24/5, and the EA can monitor the market and execute the trades when the conditions are met.
The most successful MetaTrader traders use EAs for the mechanical part of the strategy (the entry, the exit, the stop loss, the take profit) and for the risk management (the position size, the daily loss limit, the maximum drawdown). The trader does not need to be at the desk for the strategy to work, and the trader can focus on the strategy development and the optimisation.
The trader should backtest the EA on historical data, forward-test it on a demo account, and run it on a small live account before scaling up. The EA that performs well on historical data may perform poorly on live data.
The risk management for success
The MetaTrader platform offers several risk management tools. The stop loss and the take profit levels can be set at the time of the order, and the platform executes the stop and the take profit automatically. The trailing stop can be set to follow the price as the position moves in the trader's direction.
The trader should use the stop loss on every trade, with the level determined by the strategy's invalidation point. The take profit should be set at a level that produces a favourable risk-to-reward ratio. The trailing stop should be activated once the position is in profit by a specified amount.
The discipline for success
The discipline is the most important factor for success on MetaTrader. The trader should use a trading plan that defines the strategy, the risk management, and the position sizing, and the trader should follow the plan consistently. The trader should also keep a trading journal to track the performance and to identify the areas for improvement.
The trader should also avoid the common pitfalls: overtrading (placing too many trades without a strategy), over-leveraging (using too much leverage for the account size), and emotional trading (deviating from the plan based on fear or greed).
Common questions about MetaTrader success
How long does it take to learn MetaTrader? The basic features (charting, order placement, indicators) can be learned in a few hours. The advanced features (automated trading, Expert Advisors, custom indicators) take weeks or months.
Do I need programming skills for MetaTrader? The MetaTrader scripting language (MQL4 for MT4, MQL5 for MT5) is required for writing custom indicators and Expert Advisors. Pre-written EAs are available from the MetaTrader marketplace.
Can I use the same MetaTrader account on multiple devices? Yes, the MetaTrader account can be used on the desktop platform, the web platform, and the mobile app simultaneously. The positions and the settings are synced through the broker's server.
Related resources
Where to start
If you are evaluating MetaTrader for stock trading, the most useful first step is to download the platform, open a demo account, and test the charting, the indicators, and the automated trading. Our broker comparison lists the MetaTrader brokers and the available products, which together tell you what the platform looks like before you open a live account.