The International EA Competition

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS



Why is it that you do not accept commercial robots (those being marketed on-line presently) into the competition?

Simply because we believe that 99% of Forex robots currently being marketed are out there because they sell well for those who market them, not because they are good robots.

As a Forex trader you have to separate truth from fantasy. The fantasy about most commercial, heavily marketed FX robots is that they perform as advertised by the OWNERS of the product. However, the reality is that very rarely does anyone make money from these robots.

The IEAC's objective is to allow EA developers to prove that their EA is the best without needing to rely on marketing gimmicks.


Why are the IEAC's EA qualification rules so demanding and tough?

Well... why not? Why would you expect less than this when it comes to a robot that handles your real, hard-earned money?

As you probably already know, 329 robots were submitted for the 1st IEAC competition.

From those 329 submitted robots, only 24 qualified. Yes, 24 - that is not a typo.

Now, here is an interesting fact: we can certainly tell you that over 70% of the submitted robots were of similar or lesser quality than the ones you are used to purchasing on-line!

Yes, there were also several robots that were good but nevertheless did not qualify. The reason being, good is not enough at the IEAC.

That being said, we plan to be even stricter in the SECOND IEAC competition - we feel that it is our job to push the envelope ever further and, each time, create a new standard. It is not enough for us to just "leave things as they are". The industry demands more, and we are here to deliver it.


How do you qualify or disqualify robots during the submission phase? Is the process based on your opinion regarding what is "good" and what is not?

The process of deciding which EAs qualify (or not) to move on from phase #1 (submission phase) to phase #2 (live trading phase), is solely dictated by the IEAC's rules which can always be found here on the rules page.

Our opinion of what makes an EA good is irrelevant - it is objective rules, based on industry- accepted, professional trading standards and criteria which dictate what is acceptable and what is not.

And, most importantly, the submission and qualification rules have been, and always will be, presented to IEAC EA developers before, during and after the sign-up process.

Full transparency throughout all stages of the competition, from start to finish, is and always will be what we are about.


Once the real-money, live trading phase starts, how often will the live results/rankings be updated?

The live results will be updated every 15 minutes once the real-money, live trading phase starts.


In the second phase of the competition, why are the IEAC robots trading on live, real money accounts and not on demo accounts?

Simply because "forward testing" (the technical term used for this type of trading) is worthless when judging the performance of an EA. It is widely known and accepted in the industry that prices, spreads, spikes, fills, slippage, etc. are quite different on "real money" live accounts compared to demo accounts.

A robot can, and most of the time does, show a profitable equity curve on a demo account but later, when applied to a live account, the opposite happens.

The IEAC was established to find real money making robots that can be used on real, cash-funded accounts.


Is the IEAC a Forex robot review website like so many others out there?

No! The IEAC is NOT a Forex robot review site. We are an organization that creates EA competitions for Forex robots which are not being sold or distributed in the market (non-commercial robots). Forex robot review sites, on the other hand, typically collect commercial (available for purchase through 3rd party websites) FX robots and track their performance.


Why is the live, real money trading phase two months and not just one month?

Simply because one month of live trading is not enough to judge the true performance of a Forex robot. We are determined to eliminate luck as part of the reason a robot won the competition. You must always remember that the main objective of the IEAC which is to find the "best of the best" EA in the world and all we do - all our efforts - are geared towards that.


Why are the winning IEAC Forex robots the best robots in the world?

Because of the "survival of the fittest" concept - plain and simple!

In every competition, no matter what it is for, the winner is the best and with competition qualification rules as tough as the IEAC's qualification rules, the quality of the winning robots is furthered magnified.

As a side note, this is a mistake many people make when comparing commercial robots available for purchase on the Internet with the IEAC robots. These commercially available robots, have been designed to make money for their owners by selling them - the fact remains that 99% of them do not work in practice. On the other hand, the IEAC robots have been designed by NON-COMMERCIAL developers with purely one thought in mind: real, long-term, high performance results on live, real money accounts.


The views and opinions provided by The International EA Competition are not endorsed nor controlled by our preferred Forex brokers. Further, Forex brokers are not responsible for their availability, content, or delivery of services and will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information.

Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight. In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk in actual trading. For example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses are material points which can also adversely affect trading results. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all of which can adversely affect actual trading results.

At all times you must note that you shall not and cannot assume, nor do we provide, any assurance that any prior successes, or past results, as to income earnings, can be used as an indication of your future success or results. By relying on or using any of our products, services or written materials or information, you acknowledge unequivocally, that we make no claim, nor do we make any guarantee or warrantee or representation of any kind, in terms of the correctness, accuracy, reliability, currency or otherwise thereof. The entire risk as to the results and outcome and performance of the products and services and use of any information or product or material provided by ourselves, are assumed by you.

The International EA Competition (IEAC) is neither licensed nor regulated in any country and we cannot give investment advice on any matter. If you are unsure about anything on this website, please seek independent financial advice. Your use of the website is your acceptance of our full terms and conditions located on our website and you acknowledge that you will not use the website or purchase any product from the IEAC that would require the IEAC to be registered or regulated in your country.