Golden Alpha EA
Free EURUSD & AUDCAD Mean Reversion Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 5
Overview
Golden Alpha EA is our free Expert Advisor, given to every LazyAlgos member as a thank you for creating an account. It is a complete, fully working EA, not a crippled demo.
It trades two pairs, EURUSD and AUDCAD, on the M15 timeframe. Each instance trades one pair, so to run both you attach the EA twice, once set to EURUSD and once to AUDCAD (see the Setup Guide below). On startup each instance resolves your broker's symbol name automatically, handling suffixes like EURUSD.a, EURUSDm or EURUSD-ECN, and switches its chart to the correct symbol and timeframe itself.
The strategy is mean reversion: the EA looks for price stretched away from its recent average and positions for the move back. The internal logic is proprietary and not published.
It is a great first EA if you are new to automated trading. The defaults work out of the box, there is nothing to configure to get started beyond picking the pair, and the on-chart panel makes it easy to see what it is doing at a glance.
Before going live
Run Golden Alpha in the Strategy Tester first and optimise the settings to suit your account size and trading style. Trading carries risk, so only use capital you can afford to lose.
How It Works
From your side, running Golden Alpha is simple:
1. It watches the market for you
Each instance monitors its chosen pair, EURUSD or AUDCAD, continuously and waits for the conditions its mean reversion model is looking for. There is nothing for you to analyse or time.
2. It opens and manages the trade
Entry, sizing and ongoing management are all automatic, adapting to current market conditions as the trade develops.
3. It closes on target
The EA handles the exit itself and then goes back to waiting for the next opportunity. The on-chart panel shows the current state throughout.
Because each instance only manages its own pair, an EURUSD instance and an AUDCAD instance run side by side on the same account without interfering with each other.
Two safeguards run alongside all of this: the news filter can pause new entries around scheduled high impact releases, and the floating drawdown cap can close or halt trading if exposure grows beyond the limit you set.
The specific entry and exit logic is proprietary and is not documented publicly.
Recommended Setup
Golden Alpha runs fine on defaults, but these are the settings we suggest reviewing first:
Account size
We suggest at least $500 for the default settings. On smaller accounts, reduce Risk % and Maximum Trades so exposure stays modest relative to your balance.
Risk %
Default is 0.5% of free margin. Starting at 0.25% to 0.5% is sensible while you get a feel for how the EA behaves.
Max Floating Drawdown %
Ships at 100, effectively off. Set this to a number that genuinely reflects your comfort, many users pick somewhere between 20 and 30.
Broker choice
Tighter EURUSD spreads matter here because targets are small. A raw spread or ECN account will generally perform better than a standard account.
VPS
The EA must be running to manage open positions, so a VPS is strongly recommended over leaving your home PC on.
News filter
Leave it enabled. It requires the WebRequest URL in the setup guide to work on live and demo accounts.
Key Settings
Golden Alpha ships with sensible defaults. These are the inputs worth understanding:
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| License Key | empty | Paste one of your LA- keys here. Required, the EA will not start without it. |
| Symbol to Trade | EURUSD | Pick which pair this instance trades, EURUSD or AUDCAD. Run a second instance to trade the other pair. |
| Lot-sizing Method | Risk % | Size positions as a percentage of free margin, or switch to a fixed lot for full manual control. |
| Risk % of Free Margin | 0.5 | How much of your free margin each position risks. Lower this before going live. |
| Maximum Lot | 100 | Hard ceiling on position size, regardless of what the risk calculation returns. |
| Max Floating Drawdown % | 100 | Floating loss cap as a percent of balance. We strongly recommend lowering this, e.g. 20 to 30. |
| Max Drawdown Action | Close & stop 24h | What happens when the cap is hit. Five options, from closing everything through to simply blocking new entries. |
| Maximum Trades | 9 | Ceiling on how many positions the EA can hold at once. Lowering it reduces worst case exposure. |
| Minimum Free Margin % | 0 | Blocks new entries if free margin falls below this. 0 disables the check. |
| Maximum Spread | 10 | Skips trading when the spread is wider than this, in pips. |
| Hour to Start / Stop Trading | 0 / 23 | Restricts trading to a window in your broker's server time. |
| Enable News Filter | true | Pauses trading around scheduled high impact news. Requires the WebRequest URL below. |
| Minutes Before / After News | 30 / 30 | How long the news blackout window extends either side of an event. |
Setup Guide
1. Get your license key
Your free keys are on the Licenses page of your dashboard, and were emailed to you when you signed up.
2. Download the EA
Grab the .ex5 file from the Downloads page in your dashboard.
3. Install into MT5
File → Open Data Folder → MQL5 → Experts. Copy the .ex5 in, then restart MetaTrader 5.
4. Add WebRequest URLs
Tools → Options → Expert Advisors → Allow WebRequest for listed URL. Add https://lazyalgos.com for licensing and https://nfs.faireconomy.media for the news filter.
5. Attach to a chart and pick your pair
Drag Golden Alpha EA onto any chart. In the inputs, set Symbol to Trade to EURUSD or AUDCAD. The EA switches its chart to that pair on M15 automatically, so the chart you start on does not matter.
6. Paste your key and enable AutoTrading
Put your LA- key into the License Key input, click OK, then make sure the AutoTrading button in the toolbar is green.
7. (Optional) Trade both pairs
To run EURUSD and AUDCAD together, repeat steps 5 and 6 on a second chart with Symbol to Trade set to the other pair. Both instances can share the same license key on the same MT5 account, and they will not interfere with each other.
Backtesting & Optimisation
We recommend testing before you go live. It costs nothing and it is the fastest way to build confidence in the settings you choose.
1. Open the Strategy Tester
In MT5 press Ctrl+R. Select Golden Alpha EA, set the symbol to EURUSD or AUDCAD (match the Symbol to Trade input) and the timeframe to M15. Test each pair separately.
2. Use quality tick data
Choose Every tick based on real ticks for the most realistic result. Test at least 1 to 2 years so the EA sees both trending and ranging conditions.
3. Model a realistic spread
Set a spread close to what your broker actually gives you on that pair rather than the default. Targets here are small, so spread has a real effect on results, and AUDCAD is often wider than EURUSD.
4. Note the licensing behaviour
The Strategy Tester runs without a license check, and the news filter switches itself off because WebRequest is unavailable there. Live and demo accounts are unaffected.
5. Optimise around your risk
The inputs most worth optimising are Risk %, Maximum Trades and Max Floating Drawdown %. Judge results on drawdown as well as profit, not profit alone.
6. Forward test on demo
Before committing real funds, run the settings you landed on for a few weeks on a demo account, including through news days.
Troubleshooting
The EA shows a smiley face but never trades
Check AutoTrading is green in the toolbar, that Allow live trading was ticked when you attached the EA, and that the current time falls inside the trading hours. If the news filter is active it will also hold off entries around scheduled events.
License is already in use on a different MT5 account
Each key locks to one MT5 account the first time it runs. If you see this, that key is bound to another account, simply enter a different one of your keys, since every account includes several. Also confirm the key was pasted with no trailing spaces and that https://lazyalgos.com is in Tools → Options → Expert Advisors → Allow WebRequest.
The news filter is not blocking anything
Add https://nfs.faireconomy.media to the WebRequest whitelist. Without it the EA cannot download the calendar. Note it is disabled by design in the Strategy Tester.
Wrong symbol or timeframe on the chart
This is expected. Golden Alpha switches the chart to the pair you chose in Symbol to Trade, on M15, automatically on startup, since the settings are tuned for that combination.
Lot sizes are larger than expected
Risk % sizes against free margin, so it scales with the account. Lower Risk %, or switch Lot-sizing Method to Fixed Lot if you want the size pinned.
Floating loss is growing
Set Max Floating Drawdown % to a level you are comfortable with and pick the Max Drawdown Action you want, from blocking new entries through to closing everything. Reducing Maximum Trades also caps total exposure.
Still stuck? Email support@lazyalgos.com and include your MT5 account number plus a screenshot of the Experts and Journal tabs.
FAQ
How many free licenses do I get?
Three, granted automatically when you create your LazyAlgos account. If you need more, you can buy a full set of 20 lifetime keys outright for a one-time $50, with no rental and no expiry.
Which pairs can it trade?
EURUSD and AUDCAD, on the M15 timeframe. Each instance trades one pair, chosen with the Symbol to Trade input. To trade both at once, run two instances, one per pair. They can share the same license key on the same MT5 account.
Do I need two license keys to trade both pairs?
No. A license key binds to your MT5 account, so both instances on the same account use the same key. You would only need separate keys to run Golden Alpha on separate MT5 accounts.
Is it suitable for prop firm challenges?
We do not recommend it. Scaling strategies sit awkwardly with the tight drawdown rules most prop firms enforce. Golden Hermes or Golden Tiger are designed for funded accounts and are the better choice there.
What lot size should I use?
Start with the default 0.5% risk on a demo account, watch it through a full week including news days, then decide. On smaller live accounts consider dropping to 0.25% and reducing Maximum Trades.
Does the news filter work in Strategy Tester?
No. WebRequest is unavailable in the tester, so the news filter disables itself automatically there. Live and demo accounts are unaffected.
The EA says my license is invalid or in use, what now?
Each key locks to one MT5 account on first use. If the EA says the key is already in use on a different account, just enter a different one of your keys, every account comes with several. Otherwise check the key is pasted with no extra spaces and that https://lazyalgos.com is in your WebRequest whitelist. Contact support@lazyalgos.com if it persists.
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