Some of you may or may not know Mark McRae. For those that do not, he is the publisher of the Sure-Fire Forex Trading System and the Traders Secret Code. I am a subscriber to his Forex newsletter and once in a while he sends e-mail letting his subscribers know about new Forex trading systems and products. No doubt he is getting a commission for promoting these products, but for the most part I found that he does not promote junk. So as I was saying, today I read his newsletter and he introduced to his readers some new 100% manual trading system called Forex Assassin. On first sight it seems quite interesting and I’m really, really, tempted to buy it. What I like best about it is that it’s a purely price driven system, no moving average crossover and any of that technical analysis voodoo. Furthermore it requires only 1-10 minutes of your time per week to setup your trades. Like I said, it is an entirely price-driven people and this is perfect for us poor folks like me who still have to hold a regular 9 to 5 job. I must admit this is what originally attracted me to the product. I’m quite busy and my time is precious but I still want to get a piece of the Forex market action.
Here are the main features of this mechanical trading system (quoted from the author’s website):
- Only requires 1 minute per week of your time
- Was designed for 9-to-5′ers with little capital and even less time
- Has been proven to generate as much as $800 from a single trade
- Is a ‘price driven’ system. In other words, uses absolutely NO indicators whatsoever
- Can be used by even the most inexperienced traders. In fact, the system is so easy to use that even if you have never traded forex before you will be on your way in less that 5 minutes!
I’m a bit skeptical about the “even if you have never traded forex before” but hey, what can I really say without having actually tried the system yet.
It’s a bit strange typing in three numbers once a week then you’re done but that is really all there is to it. I don’t think your friends would believe you if you told then you worked an average of one minute per week.
The system was specifically designed to work alongside a full-time job. Remember, that the majority of traders still have full-time jobs and trade when they can. This may solve the problem for them. As I said, it is 100% mechanical, meaning that you don’t have to think about or make decisions. It is all done for you.You don’t need to spend time monitoring markets, it is all completely automated for you.
Here are some backtesting results done on TradeStation (procured by Mark McRae):
Here is a recent example trade setup (March 06, 2008 - EUR/USD) :
Right now I have too much on my plate since I am testing way too many forex trading systems. But once I am done testing the Forex Autopilot system I will most likely move on to this one as I’ve definitely been looking for this type of trading system for a long time. Out of curiosity, does anyone out there have live trading results using this system?
Happy Trading,
Alan
March 13th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
[…] http://www.ForexNfo.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Some of you may or may not know Mark McRae. For those that do not, he is the publisher of the Sure-Fire Forex Trading System and the Traders Secret Code. I am a subscriber to his Forex newsletter and once in a while he sends e-mail letting his subscribers know about new Forex trading systems and products. No doubt he is getting a commission for promoting these products, but for the most part I found that he does not promote junk. So as I was saying, today I read his newsletter and he introduc […]
May 4th, 2008 at 4:34 am
I purchased the Forex Assassin system a little
over a week ago, and just completed my first
week of live trading the system. I am committed
to trading the system EXACTLY as laid out in
the manual (many of the initial reviews of the
system I’ve seen so far are from individuals
who were already modifying the system by playing
with stops, etc, etc,..). I took trades in the
6 forex pairs the system recommends and my
results were as follows: 4 trades were stopped
out at breakeven as per the rules. 1 trade was
stopped out for a 56 pip loss. And 1 trade was
a 75 pip winner, for a grand total of +19 pips
for the week. Not spectacular, but the system
seems to primarily be a volatility-based
breakout system and most of these types of
systems can be traded for decent profit if
proper money management is in place and if the
individual attempting to trade them can
stomach the drawdowns that often have to be
endured to reach the eventual profits. There
are not many people out there who can fit
the above bill. But if you are one of the
few who can, I do not doubt that this system
could be traded for consistent long-term
profits.
May 4th, 2008 at 5:28 am
[…] Forex Assassin System I originally made a post about the Forex Assassin System over here: The Forex Assassin Trading System | Alan’s Money Blog I was happy to hear some feedback about it, so I decided to open up this thread here so we can […]
May 4th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Awesome! Thanks Alkemist! I definitely feel more comfortable about trying it. Once I’m done with my other EA testing I will eventually get to this one.
Well, the way I see it as long as you end up with a profit at the end of the month you’re set.
Were you trading with full lots or mini lots?
Btw, feel free to continue this discussion oh this blog’s forum over here:
http://www.moneyguruforum.com/expert-advisors-metatrader-4/7944-forex-assassin-system.html
I started a new forex assassin thread.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I trade with Oanda,which allows me to use
position sizes that are not divisible into
mini or full size lots. This allows me to
precisely size each trade I take according
to that trades risk versus my account
size. For the above Forex Assassin trades
my unit size was equivelent to about one
and one-half full size lot.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Ah I see. Well, that’s not a bad return considering the risk involved. Thanks for the info alkemist! I really appreciate it.
Happy, and profitable trading!
May 9th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Another week of live trading and further
confirmation that Forex Assassin can indeed
be traded for consistent profit. Trades were
triggered in all 6 markets followed by the
system leading to a total of + 66 pips
for the week. The system rules call for the
use of a “parachute stop”, which is simply
a breakeven stop once a trade achieves open
profits of at least 30 pips. This parachute stop
seems to play an integral part to the systems
profitability as it greatly decreases the
amount of losing trades while barely impacting
the amount of winning trades. I would suggest that
anybody thinking of trading the system
follow the rules regarding these parachute
stops to a “T”. They have been a key component
to me showing a profit these last two weeks.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Hmm…I see. I like the idea of a break-even stop. Most system that I’ve come across recommend 15 to 25 pips BELOW your opening price. But then again this system is somewhat different in that it is not based on any indicators.
Thanks for the update and the info Alkemist. Definitely once I’m done with the Forex Autopilot system I will test and review this product.
Oh, do you mind if I ask on what pairs you mostly use the system? Is it applicable only on the majors or can it be used on the yen crosses as well?
May 10th, 2008 at 1:24 am
The system spreadsheet, which generates buy and
sell levels, comes configured for use on the 4 majors, the AUDUSD,and the USDCAD. There is no mention made in the manual as to whether or not it is equally applicable to other crosses as well. I could put an email in to the systems creator(s) to enquire about the yen crosses if you’re interested. I’m not fluent enough in the intricasies of Exel to be able to find and
understand the calculations the spreadsheet
performs to see if the same parameters are being
used across the board, or if market-specific
differences are being implemented depending upon the pair in question. My guess, and hope, would be that the same parameters are being used irregardless of the pair, which would mean it should’nt matter what pair is used.
I would be interested in exchanging notes with you on some of the previous tests and reviews you’ve done on other systems. If you are interested as well, please shoot me an email.
May 10th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Ah ok. Thanks once again for taking the time to answer my question. My guess is that this product does calculations based on candlestick or bar opening high or low. I’ve seen such systems on various forex forums that are based purely on price action (as I presume this product is as well) and from my experience they all worked equally well no matter what the currency pair. I could be wrong forex assassin though, it could just have some extra twist thrown in.
I’ll get in touch with you via e-mail regarding exchanging notes.
Talk to you soon.
Cheers,
Alan
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:02 am
I purchased the Forex assassin about a month ago. I am still testing it. It is not a scam, but I still haven’t got consistent results from it. About the formula: it is EXACTLY THE SAME for all markets. It is as follows:
Buy = Close + (High - Low)/3
Sell = Close - (High - Low)/3
where High, Low, Close are the parameters of the last week’s candlestick.
In other words, he first calclates (High-Low)/3 and you can see this number in a cell on the spreadsheet. Then he adds (High-Low)/3 to the Close and gives you your buy signal. Then he subtracts (High-Low)/3 from the Close and gives you your sell signal. The formula is simple, there are no “Excel intricacies”, as the alchemist says. Note that the author “stole” the formula from the stock market, so I feel no guilt in telling you explicitly what the formula is. After all, it is a stolen product, it is not his property.
In my testing on the GBP/USD so far, it seems to work only 50% of the time. One week it is a profit, the next week it is a loss. Which may still amount to a profit, if I set the Stop to 50 pips and the Limit to 100 pips. In other words, the profits would be something like:
-50 + 100 - 50 + 100 - 50 + 100, etc…
I got depressed because my first trade was a loss. But the next week, it was a profit.
I am still testing. I am not happy about the parachute stop loss. It requires manual adjustment and I dream of a system that does not require any adjustment. Just set the signals on Sunday in the FXCM broker and all the next week do NOTHING! The system should work on its own.
I will keep you posted…
This system shows much promise, but I will need to experiment with it more to get the feel for it.
P.S. Note that the USD/JPY signal calculations are rounded to 2 decimals.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:37 am
Oh, I see, so the product is not original. Thanks for letting us know Wannabe trader :) All of a sudden this product has lost 99.9% of its value.
Let’s continue our discussion at my forum in the following thread:
http://www.moneyguruforum.com/trading-systems/7944-forex-assassin-system.html
When I get back from my trip I’m going to demo this method for a while and see how things go.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Alan,
The author of the Forex Assassin admits that he is “a 35 Year Old Forex Geek who Stole one of the Stock Markets Darkest Secrets”.
I can even tell you where he stole the “secret” from. It is from Van Tharp’s book “Trade your way to financial freedom”. If you go to http://www.amazon.com, you can read for free the first page of this book and you will see the secret explained there. Now, there are two subtle differences:
1) Van Tharp uses (High-Low)/2.5 while the Forex Assassin uses (High-Low)/3.
2) The other difference is that Van Tharp applies the formula to daily candlesticks, while the Forex Assassin applies it to weekly candlesticks.
The original idea in the Forex Assasin is that he uses WEEKLY candlesticks. That is why the system is so appealing. You only have to generate signals once a week. Otherwise, if it were a daily system, you would have to do it every day and it would be tedious. So, I like the Forex Assassin system, but I don’t agree with the terminology. “Dark Secret”?? This secret is published is in a book that anyone can read. It gives him a nice sales pitch, though.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Well, at least the guy “innovated” in one respect by using weekly candlesticks as you say. Still though the fact that he mostly took someone else’s idea without giving credit, and furthermore modified it slightly and is now selling and profiting by someone else’s effort still bothers me.
I guess in the end you gotta ask yourself, is his use of the weekly candle superior? I mean, does one get a higher percentage of winning trades as compared to using daily candles.
If the system has a win ratio of 50% then really it is no better than flipping a coin.
On a different note, it sounds to me that this whole strategy can be automated 100%. A metatrader 4 expert advisor could easily trade this strategy. In fact this would allow for easy backtesting.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Alan,
If you (or someone you know) can program this in metatrader 4, please go ahead. I would be very curious to hear about your backtesting results. So far, I haven’t learned how to program in MT4, but maybe it is high time for me to learn it.
As far as the weekly candlesticks, I am very, very happy to use them and would actually prefer them over the daily candlesticks. This is because the weekly is easier and more relaxed. The calculations are done on a weekend when the market is not moving. On the other hand, the daily candlesticks are always changing and I would have to enter the trades at inconvenient times of the day.
IMPORTANT: I think the Forex Assassin’s defect or “bug” is that he uses (High-Low)/3. I will try with (High-Low)/2.5 and I think that it will improve the win/loss ratio. Van Tharp’s book claims that this method should have 80% success ratio.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Actually learning to code MQL4 (mt4’s programing language) is on my “to do in the future” list.
What I could do though is hire someone to code the EA. First though I’ll tap some of my forex buddies and see if any of them are willing to code the EA.
80% would be extremely good…
Try visually backtesting this on weekly chart data (I mean the high-low/2.5 strategy) and see what your results are.
September 4th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Hi Alan and group,
I was very interested in Forex Assassin.. Almost bought it.
THANK YOU FOR THE FORMULA!!! :D
However:
This is not some super top secret formula :thumbdown:
This is just a BASIC formula which you can find ANYWHERE on the net to calculate support, resistance and pivot points!
Let me give something back to the forum:
Here is a better visual aid that does the same thing:
http://daily20pip.com/signal/
The buy and sell should more or less be the same or close…
Forex Assassin sold ppl what was already freely on the Net! :thumbdown:
Thanks for saving me $97!
A better trading system is Avi Frister’s Price Driven Forex Trading.
Anyone want to swop it for any other trading system? Let me know, I have it in .pdf
Cheers!
September 4th, 2008 at 10:39 am
My response is here:
http://www.moneyguruforum.com/trading-systems/7944-forex-assassin-system.html#post19039