The Nuts and Bolts of MT5
Even though it’s been on the market for some time now, I never really jumped in and had a good look at the MetaTrader 5 platform. So, 8 years after its release, I thought it was about time I had a look to find out exactly what it’s got that MT4 doesn’t?
Though the MetaTrader 5 interface is similar to its predecessor, that’s pretty much where the similarities end. One of the first things I noticed is that MT5 can display 21 different timeframes, including M2, M3, M10 and so on. This is perfect for shorter term traders who really want precision entries.
Another feature that stood out to me was that you can access fundamental news from within the platform. MT5 comes with a built-in economic calendar that displays news schedules, the level of impact, previous news data as well as market consensus. This is great for those who like to trade the news, or those who prefer to take a fundamental approach to trading.
And, to keep the technical traders happy, MetaTrader 5 has 38 built-in indicators. That’s 8 more than MT4. There are also several additional analytic and graphical objects such as Elliot Wave counts and annotation tools. Another technical innovation that MT5 offers is Market Depth. This enables traders to examine the quotations of an instrument or trading pair, as you can see volume of securities offered at a given price. Market depth shows an aggregated view of the quotations and the pending orders from the liquidity supplier.
Whilst there are some great features and functions in MT5, there are a couple of drawbacks. It’s important to keep in mind that anything created using MQL4 will not be compatible with MetaTrader 5 and it will need to be re-coded. Also, by default hedging is disabled, which can significantly hinder some trader’s strategy and risk management.
So all that said, is MT5 the platform for you? Well, that depends on what you want from a trading platform. If you want flashy new features, bells and whistles and a menu that’s jam-packed full of options, then go for MetaTrader 5. On the other hand, if you want a simple and robust platform and don’t need all the additional tools, then stick with the good old faithful MT4 platform.
