NinjaTrader Automated Trading by Algo Futures Trader

hybrid algorithmic automated futures trading for prop firm traders, day & swing traders

🚀 Get Started FREE

how did the fib grid technology and trade systems get invented?

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Daily Fib Grid Session

The proprietary Fib Grid and Range Grid technology first came to mind in 2007 when working for TCA Futures (RIP) in a trading arcade in the City of London – UK’s Wall St. It was conceived in response to a reprimand from the S&P500 desk head trader. He was fuming and publicly criticized me in front of some 120 other traders after hours in the daily retrospective. He’d seen my appalling trade via his CQG trade desk admin module, questioning why I was trading long at the top of the market, one hour out, quite near the end of the session. It was obvious, but I thought, how do you know where the top of the market is? Later that night, I envisioned the Fib Grid and Range Grid to show me. Back then, it was Excel and CQG, and here we are with NinjaTrader from 2009 to 2024. It’s still my core methodology, battle-tested in institutional, hedge fund, and retail trading.

Fib Grid Multi Time Frames
  • YSFG – Yearly Session Fib Grid
  • MSFG – Monthly Session Fib Grid
  • WSFG – Weekly Session Fib Grid
  • DSFG – Daily Session Fib Grid
Now combine this with structured price action, time, and a catalyst to provide the conditional trade setup for a high-probability move. Then use the signals/rules as the trade entry method and let the system do the rest.

Fib Grid Session Breakout Basics

Around 2008/2009, I then worked on the concept of the Fib Grid session breakout, using it to prevent my ludicrous out-of-control scalping. Up to 1200 trade operations in one day was my record, plus burnout after TCA Futures as a privateer with MFGlobal. It made my broker rich and me a 35% account loss – Emini ES trading, not small change, it hurt badly. So I stopped and later was reborn as a day/swing trader, making 1 to 3 trades per day on the DSFG. This method is used in the ATS Discord groups as a core method to teach good habits and run the trades. Fib Grid made me and saved me, thank you to the head trader.

Note: From 2015, when I traded for managed futures/futures hedge funds, I used WSFG breakouts and MSG breakouts and let that go for several weeks/months. You could get up to 100K per lot sometimes on NQ or ES FDAX, etc. So some quite serious trades have gone down, and a good lot of time too. https://algotradingsystems.net/About I guess I could follow tradition and call it the Leeson lines after my surname, as some did and still do, but to me, FibGrid has more meaning. AlgoFuturesTrader contains all the latest evolution of the FibGridTrading systems and is 100% free for sim/NT demo and prop firm evaluation trading. Enjoy & happy trading. Tom Leeson

🚀 Get Started Trading the Easy Way

Get started 100% FREE with NinjaTrader Desktop, an ATS Universal Account and access to eligible ATS Freemium applications and trader resources without a time limit. Follow the self-assisted ATS Launchpad to create and configure your account, access AFT Freemium and request an available full-feature trial. No payment card is required to get started. If you prefer personal assistance, explore optional independently supplied setup and onboarding services through the ATS Ecosystem.

1) đź“Š Download and Set Up NinjaTrader Desktop

Download NinjaTrader Desktop for futures charting and simulated trading. Real-time market data requires an appropriate connection and may involve separate fees. Use NinjaTrader with AFT for manual discretionary, Hybrid Algo or fully automated trading across supported demo, simulation, prop-firm evaluation, funded and live-trading accounts, subject to your AFT plan and account-provider rules.
đź“Š Download NinjaTrader

2) 🚀 Get Started 100% FREE

Create your free ATS Universal Account and follow the self-assisted Trader Launchpad to unlock eligible ATS Freemium access, Market IQ, trading-group resources, trader benefits and available full-feature trials.
  • Freemium Access Without a Time Limit: Use eligible ATS Freemium applications within their included feature limits.
  • AFT Freemium: Higher-timeframe charting indicator usage free forever for swing/intermediate position trading
  • Self-Assisted Launchpad: Follow the guided steps to set up your account, applications and available services.
  • White Glove Services:  Setup, onboarding and trader-mastery services through the ATS Ecosystem.
  • Full-Feature Trial: Eligible traders can request an available trial directly from their ATS Account Trader Launchpad.
  • No Payment Card Required: Create your account and begin with Freemium access at no cost.
🚀 Get Started 100% FREE

ninjatrader automated trading fully automatic trade entry mode with Algo Futures Trader

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Session Breakout Workspace 2 NinjaTrader automated trading fully automatic mode

NinjaTrader automated trading fully automatic mode or semi-automatic and manual trade entry via the algo entry controller.

Related Links

🚀 Get Started Trading the Easy Way

Get started 100% FREE with NinjaTrader Desktop, an ATS Universal Account and access to eligible ATS Freemium applications and trader resources without a time limit. Follow the self-assisted ATS Launchpad to create and configure your account, access AFT Freemium and request an available full-feature trial. No payment card is required to get started. If you prefer personal assistance, explore optional independently supplied setup and onboarding services through the ATS Ecosystem.

1) đź“Š Download and Set Up NinjaTrader Desktop

Download NinjaTrader Desktop for futures charting and simulated trading. Real-time market data requires an appropriate connection and may involve separate fees. Use NinjaTrader with AFT for manual discretionary, Hybrid Algo or fully automated trading across supported demo, simulation, prop-firm evaluation, funded and live-trading accounts, subject to your AFT plan and account-provider rules.
đź“Š Download NinjaTrader

2) 🚀 Get Started 100% FREE

Create your free ATS Universal Account and follow the self-assisted Trader Launchpad to unlock eligible ATS Freemium access, Market IQ, trading-group resources, trader benefits and available full-feature trials.
  • Freemium Access Without a Time Limit: Use eligible ATS Freemium applications within their included feature limits.
  • AFT Freemium: Higher-timeframe charting indicator usage free forever for swing/intermediate position trading
  • Self-Assisted Launchpad: Follow the guided steps to set up your account, applications and available services.
  • White Glove Services:  Setup, onboarding and trader-mastery services through the ATS Ecosystem.
  • Full-Feature Trial: Eligible traders can request an available trial directly from their ATS Account Trader Launchpad.
  • No Payment Card Required: Create your account and begin with Freemium access at no cost.
🚀 Get Started 100% FREE

Turnkey settings and workspaces for hybrid trading and automated trading

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AFT Workspace settings sync - turnkey workspaces and VIP automated trading system baselines Workspace and Settings Sync

For traders logged into AFT Desktop, workspaces will download to the PC automatically with any changes or rolled-over contracts, including:

  1. Turnkey Workspaces
    1. Any downloaded workspace is refreshed.
    2. Existing Workspaces for each stage of Zero to Hero.
  2. VIP Workspaces
    1. New and existing VIP settings.
    2. Downloaded and available.
    3. Details in the Discord VIP sections.
Hybrid Trading Turnkey Workspaces

ATS provides and supports turnkey workspaces for hybrid trading. Traders elect the level of automation in attendance on the day to suit their trade plan and approach. Traders use the workspaces released in the “Zero to Hero” stages within Discord to learn and use features progressively over time, avoiding information overload.

Baseline Automated Workspaces

VIP members get access to workspaces used to run baseline tests to show different premises and features and the natural phase of market winning and drawdown. These take all trades and are not optimized for trading. Baselines are to compare back to for your variants/settings or to guide hybrid trading. A trader could optimize and tweak the supplied settings to suit their trading preference of style and risk.

Flexible Levels of Automation

The AFT system can suit day, swing, and intermediate trading over one day or many months, maintaining context and control even after a reboot and restart, with 100% unattended execution and trade management. However, the vast majority of traders use the system from 50% to 80% automation. Note: In fund trading with a $5 million account, 100% fully automated trading was engaged for a client CPC with the forerunner of the AFT system today. Even that was controlled for news and rollovers, so 90% automation was feasible/sensible. This is also a statistic used by Ray Dalio for their Alpha trading systems.

Classic Automated Trading Systems versus AFT Hybrid Trading Systems

The reason 95% fail at automated trading is they do not have any control over the system—100% classic full automation—switch on or switch off. The majority of systems worked that way until ATS developers pioneered hybrid automated trading in 2009 for NinjaTrader. Old school strategies are like sitting in the back of a rally car with no controls, steering, or brakes, no driver going over the Alps in snow and shine. The sensible majority exit the vehicle at the first series of bumps, or the bold stay in the whole way and take a full drawdown and then run out of capital. If the market phase was suitable for the system, then the remaining few percent might make it through for a quarter or a year. All systems will draw down at some point as the market phases change—the question is when the wall is hit and how long it lasts.

AFT Hybrid trading lets you control and steer past this without total switch off or on. It allows super fine control in the live market, avoidance of price risks and the doldrums, and continuation for the high probability of winning runs after the losing runs. AFT provides full control and transparency of the system, allowing the trader to use it in the way that is best for them.

What are the best settings?

This is a guessing game or a gamble. Never take it for granted that someone’s subjective best settings work for you. Only by hands-on experience and thousands of hours of chart time, stats, testing, and practice will the “best settings” and trade plan be revealed for each trader, custom-fitted to suit them. Turnkey workspaces and baseline settings make this task easier and are a base to start from and to measure back to. Some traders run with the settings provided in the turnkey workspaces and do okay, some even say great! But note that hybrid mode interaction is employed over the top to suit the trader—not something that is qualitatively repeatable by a pure robot. We cannot say if that will be the case for you.

🚀 Get Started Trading the Easy Way

Get started 100% FREE with NinjaTrader Desktop, an ATS Universal Account and access to eligible ATS Freemium applications and trader resources without a time limit. Follow the self-assisted ATS Launchpad to create and configure your account, access AFT Freemium and request an available full-feature trial. No payment card is required to get started. If you prefer personal assistance, explore optional independently supplied setup and onboarding services through the ATS Ecosystem.

1) đź“Š Download and Set Up NinjaTrader Desktop

Download NinjaTrader Desktop for futures charting and simulated trading. Real-time market data requires an appropriate connection and may involve separate fees. Use NinjaTrader with AFT for manual discretionary, Hybrid Algo or fully automated trading across supported demo, simulation, prop-firm evaluation, funded and live-trading accounts, subject to your AFT plan and account-provider rules.
đź“Š Download NinjaTrader

2) 🚀 Get Started 100% FREE

Create your free ATS Universal Account and follow the self-assisted Trader Launchpad to unlock eligible ATS Freemium access, Market IQ, trading-group resources, trader benefits and available full-feature trials.
  • Freemium Access Without a Time Limit: Use eligible ATS Freemium applications within their included feature limits.
  • AFT Freemium: Higher-timeframe charting indicator usage free forever for swing/intermediate position trading
  • Self-Assisted Launchpad: Follow the guided steps to set up your account, applications and available services.
  • White Glove Services:  Setup, onboarding and trader-mastery services through the ATS Ecosystem.
  • Full-Feature Trial: Eligible traders can request an available trial directly from their ATS Account Trader Launchpad.
  • No Payment Card Required: Create your account and begin with Freemium access at no cost.
🚀 Get Started 100% FREE

create your own rules in your own NinjaTrader scripts and simply inject them into the algo trade entry module

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AFT now supports custom Ninja scripts that you can create to inject signals into the AFT8 Algo Entry system. Code examples are available in the AFT Discord dev forum. Users need to sign up for an ATS universal account, log in, and link their Discord account to gain access. This allows the AFT Desktop to download the latest patch when NinjaTrader 8 is closed. It makes it very easy to code your own rules in your NT Scripts indicator, market column, or strategy, and then inject the signal into AFT8.

AFT8 will execute the signal if your filters and controller settings allow it. The AFT trade management module will then take over, providing the best trading system features, all off the shelf, 100% free for sim, demo, replay, and prop firm evaluation trading. Take it to the next level!


Custom user algos inject signals into AFT trade entry module

Custom user trading system rules allow you to inject signals into the AFT trade entry module from a simple indicator on a chart, and all the rest is taken care of.


ATS Discord Group Developers

ATS Discord Group Developers Forum with code samples and interactive support from the actual developer and creator!

Get Started Here

AFT8 version 2024 update released

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Algo Futures Trader v8 2024
Algo Futures Trader v8 2024 – fully automated trading mode baselines for VIP members

AFT8 version 2024 is now released and ready for download or update from the popup notices.

AFT8-updater
AFT8-updater popup can be used to install.

Download AFT8

This is the most advanced version yet, many months in the making and 1000+ hours in development since the last version in November 2023, with iterative polishing of features and incremental release of new features. We have also added features and fixes reported from the ATS Discord Group and are delighted with the feedback and organic evolution of the product.

AutoSync Turnkey Workspaces

Turnkey Workspaces are polished and ready for installation and will stay fresh and up to date with automatic sync from the cloud to NinjaTrader 8 via the AFT.Desktop App.

Trade Plan Goals (TPG)

The latest feature, “Trading Plan Goals (TPG) filter,” is available in simulation and live for valid subscribers with lifetime licenses older than one year. An optional renewal will be required to unlock and access the AFT8 advanced features. As this is brand new, we instruct traders to try it only in simulation mode to learn and provide feedback via the forum for any assistance, Q&A, issues, or caveats. Inline Automatic % and Cash win and loss limits rules for winning and losing signals, long or short per session and per week, are ideal for prop firm trading to avoid breaking the rules!

Signal Execution Filter (f2)

This feature has been built out with inline controls to allow micro-management of trading systems rules for winning and losing signals, long or short per session and week.

Algo Entry and Algo Trade Manager Info View

Realtime information from the state and activity of each algo asset stream is displayed on the controller info bar inline to allow easy transparency of the mode of operation and function of algo entry and trade manager.

Proprietary Bars/Super Bars

ATS is the inventor of Adaptive Prop Bars and now Bad Tick Proof Super Bars. NinjaTrader occasionally suffers from bad tick data from the data brokerage connection, which can skew the charts.

  • AFT bars detect and remove the bad ticks, so you do not have to delete and reset your data. Our bars will continue without the erroneous data, with no spike gaps or skew.
  • NT can also send data out of hours on a Saturday and try to display it on a chart, but our bars use the correct trading hours, filtering out invalid hours data.
  • AFT Super bars do not lag like NT8 bars, wasting CPU cycles testing for trading hours. Data flows 24/7 within the correct trading exchange hours, available for all time-based bars.
  • AFT Adaptive bars work off various formulas to optimize the bars to trading phase. One size fits all instrument modes: scalp, day trade, and swing settings, also with tick and hours filters.

NinjaTrader 8 Advanced Execution API Methods

NinjaTrader 8 tends to get swamped on low to medium-performance computers/servers and slow disks (non-NVME) with lots of order data, becoming sluggish and even requiring a restart when trading more than the average day trader would. Generally, when using trade copiers and strategies, some are worse than others, and they all eventually foul up NT8. One way to cope with this is to reset the database every week and delete the logs and trade files to keep it lean and mean. NT8 was not designed for 20 prop firm accounts mirrored in parallel; it was designed for a scalper doing a few trades here and there. However, AFT8 has been tested with 500 algos in parallel on NT8 and works 100% fine with no problems over multiple 6 months+ of operation to large sizes of data without a glitch in hedge fund trading simulation and live. AFT8 is not the problem, nor is NinjaTrader 8; it is the tools people use on it, the prop firm craze, and trade copiers, and the knowledge or lack thereof. The beauty of NT8 is that it allows us access to the API underlying accounts and connections. NinjaTrader 8 has superb trading technology underlying its GUI. AFT8 plugs into this layer and uses direct method access into the API layers of the account and connection directly, using methods that bypass all the overhead of strategies, trade copiers, and even the best run-of-the-mill tools from the NT ecosystem. The result is that this avoids the typical foul-ups inside NT8. AFT8 uses advanced execution and asynchronous threading methods to avoid conflict and thread locks inside NT8, usually requiring a restart and even jammed-up positions that can only be resolved by using the NinjaTrader web, which we advise always to have on alongside NT8 in case of net or platform failure. We also recommend restarting NT8 every day to get data and start afresh for optimal trading and data.

AFT8 Optional Renewals

AFT8 is now older than one year, and some traders will need to renew to get the latest and greatest features. The AFT core features will still function for all in simulation and partial non-advanced features for live trading modes, but advanced modes and new features will not. This allows a win-win situation so traders get the best, and we can keep the lights on and deliver quality to keep increasing your edge. It is also optional, so AFT will still work, but to get the full gamut of advanced and new features, a renewal can be purchased when it suits. For full details, visit the main ATS website section Optional Annual Renewal.

AFT8 the best and most advanced automated trading system for NinjaTrader

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AFT7 has been retired. Please upgrade to AFT8.

All AFT7 traders should upgrade to AFT8, available with freemium access and a full-featured free trial. Get AFT8 here for NinjaTrader.

Some claim! Yes, you heard it all before, and you should be skeptical. Use evidence-based decision-making, not emotion. Let us substantiate the facts below.

  1. Firstly, get a pedigree of who we are. View About Algo Trading Systems. This is about real traders with real systems designed, invented, and developed in-house using decades of professional trading and institutional-grade quantitative development and knowledge.
  2. Secondly, this is not a one-trick pony. It has many algorithms and billions of permutations for all different styles of trading: real swing, intermediate position trading, and day trading. Fully auto, semi-auto, and manual with automated exits, fault-tolerant, and even better, this is brought to retail so you may try them out free forever and decide if it’s for you or not.
  3. Thirdly, let’s look at the technical specs and understand why NinjaTrader’s open architecture allows us to create the best and most advanced system for retail trading. Check out the developer, our sister company MicroTrends Ltd across the pond – the pioneer and inventor of hybrid trading with a quick history of NinjaTrader algorithmic trading systems. See how they put the other vendors in top place with their white-label systems, but this one is only available direct from the source!

10 Quick Points of the Best Trading System Features

AFT8 resolves all the challenges for automated trading, fully and semi-auto hybrid, which the other systems in retail cannot do.
AFT8 Proprietary Trade Engine Features

  1. Manual, semi, or fully automated trading system
  2. Interactive real-time controls to set algorithms
    1. On/Off
    2. Long/Short set bias
    3. Semi-auto one trade and stop
    4. Fully auto trade as per configured rules
    5. Trader override and guidance and interaction with algo/trade management controller UI
  3. Stop and start NT – the system will auto-start when the workspace is opened and data is connected.
    1. Can start waiting for the trader to put on for auto
    2. Can start in fully auto mode
  4. Allows position compounding – adding to the same position or taking off. The system will adjust the stops and targets as required.
  5. Allows trader to close positions and cancel orders without stopping the system
  6. Allows restart of the NT system – will continue and work with orders and positions
  7. Fault tolerance allows the system to detangle orders and positions on a restart or in a fast market. If all orders are canceled, it will put the order back on, not leaving an unguarded position.
  8. True day trading, swing, and intermediate swing trading over the weekend for up to 3 months of a position. No matter how long you stop and start it, AFT8 will wake up and know what to do and continue onwards with your trading as long as there is a valid connection.
  9. Memory-persisted state between stops and starts so that the system can keep track of trades per day, per session, and money management goals. This is a vital element which other systems do not do, meaning you could blow your trade plan rules. AFT8 won’t let you. You can bypass the fail-safes and reset the memory – transparent data folder access or controls.
  10. Automatic data lag control will detect when the market is too fast and NT8 is lagging behind real-time data and prevent trading signals and executions of signal entries to prevent loss on slippage – news times, distance latency, and so on. Data lagging will be flagged visually in the market analyzers and can be set to 0.25s to 30s sensitivity. This is a vital element to stop trading during price shocks, news releases, and other scenarios which would enter with bad slippage and could blow your account. AFT8 safeguards trading against slippage and price shocks.

Plug and Play Turnkey Workspaces for Day Trading and Swing Trading

  • Turnkey baseline systems are made available for install, connect, and trading on sim
  • Designed for hybrid trading modes, man and machine, for real-time interaction
  • Baselines can be traded in fully automated mode to test and tweak to suit a trader
    • Session Breakout/Day trading/Swing
    • Trend Trading/Scalping
    • Range Trading/Mean Reversion
  • Off-Piste, a trader can use their imagination and experiment and build their own rules using the algo building blocks inside the system and even code their own in too!

Unrivaled Trading Flexibility

  • Multi-Time Frame, Multi-Algo
  • Multiple algorithms on the same account
  • Multiple Advanced Trade Managers on the same account
  • Asymmetrical bars for entry and exits
  • Can combine or pause and enable with real-time controls to suit the conditions on the day

Cloud Multi-Time Frame Filter System – AlphaWebTrader Trendometer API

  • Futures, Stocks, ETF aggregated amalgamated horizontal and vertical trend correlations
  • Cloud API Non-Lagging for CPU, disk, and data. NT8 will not go down and data lag/render delay
  • Aggregated data is read by AFT8 from the AWT.Desktop in real-time with no lagging or overhead
  • Vertical trend correlation up to 24 time frames per instrument
  • Horizontal trend correlation futures, Stock, ETF for bias
  • Group strength and weakness
  • Order flow by market ATR speed, volume, and trend efficiency
  • Signal Flow – order flow is good, but signal flow is a step above history and real-time
  • HTF Structure, gaps, levels, and more.
  • See AlphaWebTrader for more details

Battle-Tested Trading Systems on Real Money with a Real Fund

AFT8 Desktop comes from real live money trading of a $5 million hedge fund account from 2017 onwards to 2022 on trade sizes up to 1% or $50K USD stop loss risk. Clear Point Capital. In 2023, due to a lack of time and development obligations to the fund, we decided to release it to retail and cut it down from swing to day trade and make a desktop version of it for NT8, to allow the most advanced system for NT8 ever. We chose that route instead of migrating AFT7, but AFT7 parts and components are being added in over time.

Not a One-Trick Pony

  1. Time-Testing Approaches – Evolved
    1. Session Breakout – daily, weekly, monthly – custom breakout
    2. Trend Trading – USAR/Dynamic trend
    3. Range Trading – Mean Reversion fibGrid Bands
    4. News Trader – pending needs AWT API
    5. Multi-Time Frame Trend systems – AWT API Trendo etc.
  2. Many programmable systems available or even can add own code rules and compile into the system and use your rules and algo with the full off-the-shelf features

Build Your Own – Bring Your Own Algo
ATS & NT8 allows you to build your own and test for strategies and also for integration into AFT8 algos and leverage all the off-the-shelf features.

AFT8 Versus Traditional NT8 Strategies

NT Strategies do not provide this level of interaction and flexibility and cannot swing trade or self-recover. They require manual resolution of positions and orders to make safer before starting. AFT can start and resolve it all itself. NT Strategies don’t allow a trader to close positions and cancel orders without halting the strategy. AFT will also ship in the future with a strategy for backtesting, optimizing, and if preferred for trading, the most advanced ever built for NinjaTrader 8 Powered by ATS QuadroBase. This will be open source in the strategy to allow you to combine third-party and create your own algos combined with AFT8 sealed indicator components, with script development support in the Discord Trading Group.

Money Management – Challenges

Static or fixed fractional position sizing based on volatility stop-loss – fixed fractional or professional mode fund of funds position sizing and money management.

  • Off a user’s defined amount
  • Off the account
  • Or weighted balanced per asset stream – different values

Systematic Trading Systems – Trade Signal Generation & Execution

The system does all you need for manual, semi, or fully automated signal execution

  • Entry signal types
  • Exits
  • Stops and targets

Web Algo Trading Remote Control

  • On/Off of algorithms
  • Long/Short bias
  • Monitor and interact

There’s a lot more to come, and we don’t want to give it all away before we roll it out.
Note: Unlike our other white-label technologies used by well-known vendors in the ecosystem, we don’t license this to anyone else to resell!