SMART HEDGER PLUGIN
SMART HEDGER PLUGIN
A PLUG-IN FOR AUTOMATICALLY MANAGING RISK IN MT4 SERVER
This fully automated tool allows the MetaTrader broker to systematically cover the sum-total of the un-hedged risk-adding customer positions and minimize the risk of loss to the broker. Our smart hedging algorithm manages your total risk without any dealer intervention. Save time and cost of manual dealer control over your overall position, and maximize your profit using smart cover logic!
SMART HEDGER LOGIC OVERVIEW
- Smart Hedger is designed for hedging ‘toxic’ clients (for example, successful scalpers, or trend-followers)
- We provide automated tools for identification of such clients (upcoming)
- Hedging is carried out by the targeted opening of the offsetting broker positions on the Liquidity Provider side, which offset the loss caused by the client positions
- Smart Hedger continually monitors the overall broker position and the market conditions
- Smart Hedger instructs MetaTrader Server to open Cover positions in the Liquidity Provider account (hedges) based on two requirements:
- Risk reduction partAdvanced mathematical modeling is used to accurately forecast possible losses of the broker due to client positions (this quantity is referred to as Value at Risk, or VaR)If overall VaR of the position exceeds custom-set limit, Smart Hedger makes smart Cover trades to reduce the risk. Each broker can set loss limits suitable for his or her own operating conditionsWe consider the transaction cost of opening the Cover trades, so as to minimize the spread-crossing cost to the broker
Cut-loss part
Smart Hedger monitors instantaneous mark-to-market PnL of the overall broker position in each currency
In the unlikely case that currency PnL is negative Smart Hedger finds the optimal currency pair to produce a Cover tradeThis Cover trade plays a role of the hedge against any further adverse moves in the currency price
TECHNICAL DETAILS OF SMART HEDGER
The following diagram shows the basic workflow of the Smart Hedger integrated in the MT4 Server:
- Smart Hedger is a plugin to server-side MT4 which has the following forms of communication with MT4:
- Smart Hedger seeks to maximize Total Broker PnL via smart (but minimal) Hedging in the Cover account
- AutoDealer is used to auto-confirm client orders that fall within tolerance level of the current LP price
- Safety features:
STUDY SMART HEDGER PERFORMANCE
IN TRADING SIMULATIONS
We study the expected performance of the Smart Hedger by simulating customer orders generated against real historical currency price market data. To accumulate stable statistics, we use over 3 months of historical market data.
To simulate bid/ask prices shown to the customers we take historical bid/ask prices show by our Liquidity Provider and add a spread of 0.5 pips to them*.
We simulated Hypothetical Customer Orders, assuming that the majority of the customers guess the market moves correctly (successful Trend Followers or Scalpers), thus earning positive PnL.
* In principle a broker can increase his or her PnL by further widening the spreads, but this may lead to lower customer trading activity
Characteristics of the simulation:
- Total of 500 lots traded each day (open trades)
- All toxic clients – one of the two following cases:
- Each client trade has a high chance of generating a positive PnL for the client
- Broker adds 0.5 pips to LP spreads
Table below shows average daily client order volumes (open trades) and spreads shown to clients by the broker:
CURRENCY PAIR | VOLUME (MM, BASE CURRENCY) | SPREAD (PIPS) |
---|---|---|
EURUSD | 21.5 | 1.3 |
GBPUSD | 6 | 1.5 |
USDJPY | 5.5 | 1.3 |
AUDUSD | 5 | 1.7 |
EURJPY | 2.5 | 1.3 |
USDCAD | 2.5 | 2.8 |
EURGBP | 2 | 1.4 |
USDCHF | 1.5 | 2 |
NZDUSD | 1 | 3.3 |
EURCHF | 1 | 1.7 |
GBPJPY | 0.5 | 1.4 |
EURAUD | 0.5 | 1.5 |
GBPAUD | 0.5 | 1.6 |
EURCAD | 0.5 | 2.1 |
GBPCHF | 0.5 | 1.8 |
Example 1: Trend Followers
We use historical market data to generate customer buy orders that catch the up-trend of the market prices or sell orders that catch the down-trend (successful trend-following behavior)
Assumptions of the Simulations:
Average Customer PnL/trade | 15 pips |
Average Percentage of customers Winning | 95% |
Average Profit of Winning Trade | $ 2,000 |
Average Loss of Losing Trade | -$ 500 |
Average Position Duration | 2 hrs |
Average Position Size | 1 lot |
Number of Simulations | 1000 |
Results Summary (average daily results for all simulated days of trading)
Average Total Smart Hedger PnL | $ 7,000 |
Total Customer PnL Range | -$20,000 to -$35,000 |
Max Smart Hedger PnL Drawdown | -$ 700 |
Average STP PnL | $ 5,700 |
Average Cover Traded Volume (vs LP) | $ 65 mm |
Average STP Traded Volume | $ 125 mm |
Result: For Trend-Following customers Smart Hedger increases broker PnL by 20% and decreases volumes traded versus LP by ~50%
Sample one trading day activity for the Trend-Followers
Compare Smart Hedger versus STP hedging:
Smart Hedger PnL @ Close | $ 9,033 |
Customer PnL @ Close | -$ 33,700 |
Max Smart Hedger PnL Drawdown | -$ 900 |
STP Heding Method PnL | $ 6,430 |
Smart Hedger Cover Traded Volume (vs LP) | $ 70 mm |
STP Hedging Method Traded Volume (vs LP) | $ 128.7 mm |
Broker loses money on his customer orders (top graph, reg), but Cover account PnL compensates for the losses on the Customer Orders (top graph, black).
The Total PnL for the brokers using Smart Hedger equals (Cover Account PnL + Customer Accounts PnL) (bottom graph, black). Smart Hedger returns 30% more profits than the STP method (bottom graph, blue).
Smart Hedger allows broker to reduce trading volume in the Cover account due to customer order netting.
Example graph: EUR 1 day exposure without netting
Green – total Customer EUR exposure for buy orders (above zero) and for sell orders (below zero). Blue – total EUR exposure of the Cover account.
Example graph: EUR 1 day, after netting
Green – net total Customer EUR exposure. Blue – total EUR exposure of the Cover account. Cover account exposure is almost a mirror image of the net Customer exposure.
Example 2: Scalpers
We use historical market data to select customer trades that generate small profits over short periods of time (successful scalping behavior).
Assumptions of the Simulations:
Average Customer PnL/trade | 2 pips |
Average Percentage of customers Winning | 80% |
Average Profit of Winning Trade | $ 25 |
Average Loss of Losing Trade | -$ 10 |
Average Position Duration | 1 min |
Average Position Size | 1 lot |
Number of Simulations | 1000 |
Results Summary (average daily results for all simulated days of trading)
Average Total Smart Hedger PnL | $ 6,100 |
Total Customer PnL Range | -$5,000 to -$8,000 |
Max Smart Hedger PnL Drawdown | -$ 500 |
Average STP PnL | $ 5,900 |
Average Cover Traded Volume (vs LP) | $ 69 mm |
Average STP Traded Volume | $ 135 mm |
Result: For Scalping customers Smart Hedger increases broker PnL by 10% and decreases volumes traded versus LP by ~50%
Sample one trading day activity for Scalpers
Compare Smart Hedger versus STP hedging:
Smart Hedger PnL @ Close | $ 6,300 |
Customer PnL @ Close | -$ 5,600 |
Max Smart Hedger PnL Drawdown | -$ 450 |
STP Hedging Method PnL | $ 5,820 |
Smart Hedger Cover Traded Volume (vs LP) | $ 68 mm |
STP Hedging Method Traded Volume (vs LP) | $ 138 mm |
Broker loses money on his customer orders (top graph, reg), but Cover account PnL compensates for the losses on the Customer Orders (top graph, black).
The Total PnL for the brokers using Smart Hedger equals (Cover Account PnL + Customer Accounts PnL) (bottom graph, black). Smart Hedger returns 10% more profits than the STP method (bottom graph, blue).
ADVANTAGES OF SMART HEDGER
OVER THE STP METHOD
METRIC | SMART HEDGER | STP |
---|---|---|
Profitability | 10 to 20% higher than STP (*) | Tied to extra spread over LP spread |
Speed of Client Order Execution | Instantaneous | from 500ms to 1 sec |
Volume of Trades vs LP | Decreases by up to 50% compared to STP (*) | |
Broker Risk | Broker sets acceptable Risk Level | Zero |
Spread | Variable spread, which is on average lower than STP spread (**) | Pre-set extra spread over LP |
Customized Hedging Methodology for Different Client Groups | Custom Heding setup for: | Not available |
Client Flow Forecasting | Available, to optimize held inventory to upcoming customer orders (**) | Not available |
Short-Term Price Movement Forecast | upcoming | Not available |
Performance Analytics Metrics | Not available |
(*) – according to simulations
(**) – upcoming feature
SMART HEDGER GUIDED TOUR with UPDATED FEEDS
Please check out our latest informational video for the features of Smart Hedger with updated feeds:
http://metafxsmarthedger.com/SmartHedger-general/