NinjaTrader is an award-winning trading platform and brokerage service that is very popular among traders because of the numerous distinctive trading features it offers. NinjaTrader offers some of the broadest selections of listed assets, a competitive spread, and some industry-leading trading tools.
The NinjaTrader Strategy Builder is one of the stand-out features of the NinjaTrader platform. To understand exactly what the NinjaTrader Strategy Builder is, we would need to briefly talk about two of the most commonly discussed concepts in trading—strategies and indicators.
Indicators are mathematical computations based on the historical performance of an asset that help traders identify certain signs and trends in real-time, while strategies are the plans a trader follows to make profits. Both indicators and strategies play an important role in ensuring traders reach their ultimate profit-making goals. However, most strategies and indicators are fixed, and may not suit a trader’s pattern of trading or preference. NinjaTrader gives traders the option to build and customize both indicators and strategies–of course, if you aren’t familiar with how to add indicators to NinjaTrader, you can reach out to a freelance NinjaTrader programmer for help.
The NinjaTrader Strategy Builder is a feature that allows traders to create NinjaScript-based strategies based on both fundamental and technical analysis for automated systems trading.
How to Build a NinjaTrader Strategy
The NinjaTrader Strategy Builder can be accessed by left clicking the ‘New’ menu within the NinjaTrader Control Center, and then selecting the menu item ‘Strategy Builder.’ From there, you need to:
- Select ‘New Strategy with Strategy Builder,’ and click ‘Next.’
- Input the name of the strategy. In the next box, you have the option to add a description of your strategy.
- On the left-hand side of the screen, you have the option of editing your strategy.
- Click ‘Default Properties’ and ‘More Properties’ in the drop-down option to input any desired information.
- From the Additional Data screen, you can select more instrument data to be compiled into your strategy. Click ‘Add’ on this screen to input more instruments for your strategy. When your desired Additional Data has been entered, select ‘Next’ to continue.
- On the Input and Variable screen is where you can input indicators like ‘Moving Averages.’ You can also set their figures to control how they behave based on your strategy.
- Repeat the same process to add other variables. When all your preferred inputs and variables have been added, click ‘Next.’
- The Conditions and Actions screen is where you set the conditions and actions that should trigger your strategy. You can choose to use either one or multiple conditions to trigger the strategy.
- In the Actions tab, add actions that correspond to your conditions. For example, you can decide to set your strategy to trigger a buy when your simple moving average crosses above an exponential moving average (EMA). You can add multiple Conditions and Actions for short or long positions. Click ‘Next’ when you are done with these settings.
- The last screen is where you set Stops and Targets for each type of position you have set in the options above. NinjaTrader allows you to also set your strategy to trail stop losses. The finish screen is where you compile your strategy.
At any point while building the strategy, you can view the underlying codes generated by NinjaTrader based on the strategy. Click on ‘Unlock Code’ to open a NinjaScript editor to edit the codes, as needed. Click the ‘Compile’ button to compile your strategy.
After building the codes, you can run the codes to test the success of your strategy. You can also use this method to create strategies without bothering with the codes.
In Conclusion
In addition to giving you the option to build a custom strategy, NinjaTrader also allows you to backtest the strategy using different methods. You can backtest your strategy with historical data being played in real time, allowing you to watch exactly how your strategy plays out.
When implemented, a strategy will follow your checklists or guidelines to determine when to buy or sell in a market. You can also include commands to input stop losses and take profits, as well as when to exit a market. The process is automatic, meaning you can earn income with the NinjaTrader Strategy Builder without having to constantly analyze the market yourself.
For those looking for a bit of extra help in this process, Guru’s freelance NinjaTrader experts are ready to assist.
