~~~ Frequently Asked Questions ~~~
About Zorro
What are Zorro's system requirements?
Zorro runs on all Windows
PCs from Win XP on, and on Windows cloud servers.
For running it on Linux or Mac, you'll need a Windows emulator.
It won't run on iPhone or Android.
Is Zorro 100%
free, even for live trading?
Zorro is really 100% free since
its development was donated. However when earning more than $ 30,000
per year with Zorro, a sponsor license is required. Find the license
details
here.
Is Zorro an online service?
No, Zorro runs on your local PC or on a
VPS.
Is Zorro a broker?
Zorro is not a broker. You need an account
with a broker or a connection to an exchange for trading with Zorro.
Which brokers
are supported?
Zorro supports all brokers and exchanges that have either a trading
API, or a web based trading platform, or are supported by the MT4™,
MT5™, or Sierra Chart™ trading platforms. Major brokers such
as FXCM, Oanda, IB, Dukascopy are directly supported trough their
API.
Is Zorro open source?
Partially. The indicator library is open source, the trading
engine and C compiler are not since they share code with oP
group's other software products.
Can I use other software tools or web based
broker platforms together with Zorro? Yes.
Zorro can be integrated in external software, and can also control
other programs either through an API interface. It can even control
web based platforms by sending key strokes and mouse clicks to a
browser window or an application.
How hard is it to write a trading strategy script? I have no experience
with programming or financial math. Try
it. Get the Black Book or the online course. Learning the coding
basics will take about 1-2 weeks,
but is essential for success with algorithmic trading. 90% of people
learn coding quickly. But no one can tell beforehand whether
you belong to the other 10%. Just try and find out.
I've heard that most trading tools
are scam. How honest is Zorro?
Scam - in the sense of selling useless products
or services - is indeed a major income source in the trading scene.
That's
why countless "Forex Autopilots", "Trading Robots",
or "Expert Advisors" are offered on countless websites,
Unlike those products, the trading methods of Zorro's included strategies
are published and described in the Black Book. Anyone can understand, test, and
experiment with
them.
Why was Zorro developed?
Zorro development was initally financed by a sponsor. The
intention was overcoming the limitations of retail trading platforms,
and promoting algorithmic trading to a large audience especially
in developing countries.
I got Zorro and have a special question.
We have special answers here:
https://manual.zorro-project.com/afaq.htm
About Financial Trading
Does financial trading serve any useful purpose? Or are
traders just parasites?
Trading produces no material or immaterial goods. But private
trading - when successful - can redirect the money flow from the
financial markets back to the production cycle, this way helping
the global economy. At the same time it can reduce the profits of
large funds and financial institutions, and make investments into
real products more attractive. Private financial trading is important
and useful to society, even though it only redistributes money.
If so, why isn't everyone trading?
The human mind is not good in detecting trade opportunities
in price curves. The risk of losing money is about 65% per year
for private traders, unrelated to their 'trading skills' or tading
experience. Employed professional traders achieve an average annual
profit of about 3% above market, by following rules and strict discipline.
People with no knowledge or tools in algorithmic trading should
better stay away from the financial markets.
Is a machine superior to a human
trader?
Even relatively simple computer algorithms can easily outperform
human traders. Computers do not make assumptions about of the future,
and they are not affected by emotions or by the pseudo-knowledge
and myths circulating in the trader scene. Large institutions, such
as hedge funds and investment banks, are very successful with machine
trading. Most private traders are not. That's one of the reasons
why Zorro was developed.
Which profit can I expect with automated
trading? As with any trading method, there
is no guarantee of profit. In extreme cases, automated strategies
can return more than 100% annual profit on the invested capital
(Zorro's Z5 strategy returned 240% in live trading
from its start in July 2013 until its expiration in January 2015).
But this is not a certain income like from a savings account. Due
to market changes, trade profits can vary extremely from month to
month. It is not easy to predict the future performance of a strategy
- certainly not with simple backtests or with trading on a demo
account. Advanced test methods - such as walk forward analysis (WFA)
- can produce a more realistic profit projection. But even then
there's no guarantee to match theoretical profit in real trading.
Won't it negatively affect the financial
markets when millions trade with automated systems?
It depends. Trading supports the markets by providing liquidity,
but some trade methods, such as high-frequency trend following,
can have a destabilizing effect and cause market crashes. Other
methods - mean reversing or cycle systems - can stabilize the prices.
Zorro's included strategies use only methods that are not supposed
to harm the markets.
Automated trading - what's the catch?
Here's a list of problems you might encounter when you
let a machine trade with your money. - Trading is not for anyone.
Aside from the usual trading risks, there are further risks associated
with automated trading, such as script errors or software bugs.
- Trading can become addictive, just like gambling. - Trading
does not produce any goods. It only redistributes money. - Trading
requires capital: at least $200 for trading one of Zorro's included
strategies, at least $10,000 for a substantial monthly income.
- Trading requires strong nerves. Even highly profitable strategies
can have long losing periods. - Trading strategies can expire.
Massive market changes can cause profits to suddenly stop with no
prior warning.
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