A mean reversion bot has a simple weakness: it keeps buying weakness and selling strength, which works until a trend does not stop. Marty is a mean reversion strategy for NinjaTrader 8 that YMI makes available to Pro members. Before you run any automated strategy, it helps to know what it assumes, how to test it, and where the rules of your account may forbid running it at all.
Start with the account rules
Automation is not allowed everywhere. Apex Trader Funding explicitly prohibits automated or algorithmic preset bots that place, modify or cancel trades without personal realtime review. The sources are the Apex prohibited activities page and the user agreement. Do not describe Marty, or any automation, as Apex compatible or as a tool for passing an evaluation.
Topstep's rules for bots and the API depend on the account product. The current API source says API access is available in SIM, not Live, and that order transmission from a VPS, VPN or remote server is prohibited, so it must come from a personal device. See the TopstepX API page. Do not assume you can automate every firm. Read the current rule documents for your product and account vintage.
What Marty is, in plain terms
Your next step
Review the setup before you automate it.
Read the NinjaTrader setup and strategy limits, then test in SIM. YMI bot access belongs to Pro. Check your broker or prop firm's rules before enabling automation.
Marty is built around mean reversion: the idea that after a short-term move away from a reference, price may return toward it. That idea works better in some market conditions than others, and it is a hypothesis, not a guarantee. For the exact logic, current variants and settings, read the Marty bot specs rather than relying on a summary here. I am not going to quote win rates or daily profits, because none are verified in a way that would justify it.
The failure mode to plan for
Mean reversion bots tend to look good in quiet, rotational sessions and can take repeated losses when price trends in one direction. Because the entries scale against the move, a strong trend day or a news release can produce a loss far larger than an average winner. Slippage can make a stop fill worse than planned, and margin is collateral, not a cap on loss.
A simple hypothetical shows why win rate alone misleads. Say a strategy wins $100 on 70% of trades and loses $300 on 30%. Expected value per trade is 0.7 times $100 minus 0.3 times $300, which is -$20. A high win rate with a larger average loss can lose money. This is an illustration with made-up numbers, not Marty's results.
How to evaluate it before risking money
Treat testing as a way to find problems, not a way to prove an edge.
- Read the current spec for the variant and the intended conditions.
- Install it in NinjaTrader 8 desktop: Control Center, Tools, Import, NinjaScript Add-On, then select the downloaded ZIP file itself, not an unzipped folder. The official NT8 help guide is the authority for current steps.
- Choose the SIM account for the strategy. This is separate from connecting to Playback or a live data feed, so confirm both settings.
- Run it for several weeks and record every trade, including losing sessions and any that overlapped scheduled releases.
- Review the Trade Performance report in NT8, not the older Account Performance tab, and compare results with costs included.
Be careful about conclusions. A few dozen trades is not a statistically established edge, and fifty SIM trades is not live proof. A simulated fill is also not a test of exchange queue position or slippage. SIM will not reproduce live fills or your reaction to real money.
Decide when it runs, and who is watching
Write the conditions under which you would turn it off before you start: a daily loss limit, a stop after a set number of consecutive losses, and a rule about scheduled releases. Having rules in advance matters because turning a bot off after a string of losses is exactly when judgment is worst. If your account allows automation, you still carry the risk, so someone has to be watching and able to flatten the position.
Access
Bot access is part of the Pro tier at $795 a month, with no trial. The Intro plan ($97 a month after a 7-day trial) and VIP ($297 a month, no trial) do not include bots. If you want to see how the KPL levels work before deciding, the KPL trading page explains them. You can start the paid plan at YMI Pro.
About the Author
Founder, Young Money Investments · Quant Trader
Cameron trades ES, NQ, and futures across multiple market cycles. He founded Young Money Investments to teach systematic, data-driven trading and manages Magnum Opus Capital. His work emphasizes documented rules, risk controls, and review over outcome promises.
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Educational Purposes Only: The content provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Young Money Investments is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or financial analyst.
Risk Warning: Trading futures, forex, stocks, and cryptocurrencies involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. The valuation of futures, stocks, and options may fluctuate, and as a result, clients may lose more than their original investment.
CFTC Rule 4.41 - Hypothetical or Simulated Performance Results: Certain results (including backtests mentioned in these articles) are hypothetical. Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program.
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