| Market Orders The most common type of order is a
"market order." The execution price you receive on a market order is determined
by the current market price at the time your order is presented in the marketplace.
Usually, a buy market order will be executed at or near the current ask, and a sell market
order at or near the current bid.
Limit Orders
You can specify what
buy or sell price you are willing to accept by entering a "limit order." A limit
order can only be executed at the specified price or better (i.e., a buy limit order must
be filled at your limit price or lower and a sell limit order must be filled at your limit
price or higher). Thus, the limit order runs the risk of not being executed since there is
no guarantee that the market price will ever reach your limit price.
Stop Market
Orders
By placing a "stop market"
order, you specify the price that "triggers" your order to become a market
order, which is then subject to all applicable rules and regulations regarding market
orders. A "stop market" order placed for an OTC security is
"triggered" when either the bid or offer reaches the "trigger" price
that you have selected. A "stop market" order placed for a listed security is
"triggered" when the security trades at that price. A buy stop market order must
be placed above the current market price and a sell stop market order below the current
market price. Stop orders, typically, are used to limit a loss or protect a profit.
Stop Limit Orders
A "stop limit" order is
similar to a stop market order except that once the order is "triggered," it
becomes a limit order instead of a market order. (Again, orders placed for OTC securities
are "triggered" when a bid/offer reaches your stop price. For Listed orders, a
trade must occur at your stop price to "trigger" the limit order.) While
normally the limit price is set equal to the stop ("trigger") price, the limit
price can differ from the stop price. Once the limit order has been "triggered,"
it is subject to all applicable rules and regulations regarding limit orders.
NOTE:
Stop and stop limit orders are only available on certain Over-the-Counter securities. They
are available on all listed securities.
Limit Sweep Orders
A Limit Sweep Order allows
you to attempt to fill your entire order by automatically cycling through all available ECNs
and Market Makers. See below for a complete explanation of how a Limit Sweep Order works.
The order is split and
routed to each market participant in the following order and in the available size shown
on Level II by each participant:
Best tier price (highest bid or lowest ask)
Track
Island
Other ECNs (REDI, MarketXT, INCA,etc.)
Direct access market makers (Knight, Herzog, MASH, etc.)
Other Market Makers via Selectnet
Next price tier (up to and including limit price)
Same ranking as above
If the order is not completely filled during the first round of submissions,
either because not enough shares are available from all Level II participants at
the limit price or because market makers reject all or a portion of the order received
by them, then the remaining portion of the order is resubmitted via additional sweep
attempts after approximately 10 seconds if any market maker still displays on Level II
at or better than the limit price.
If the quantity sent to the market maker is not filled within approximately 20 seconds,
the unfilled portion is cancelled and resubmitted via an additional sweep order segment.
Orders will only be routed to market makers appearing on the Level II display at or
better than the limit price. Preferences and exclusions do not apply for sweep orders.
The order will be submitted in pieces, as indicated above, with each piece appearing
as a separate order on the open order tab. Each segment may be cancelled by using standard
cancel procedures.
If the order limit price is better than the best quote shown on Level II, the order
becomes a regular limit order and is treated as such. It will not become a sweep order
if market makers subsequently appear at the limit price.
Market Sweep Orders
When submitting a market sweep order, your order will turn into a limit sweep order set $1
above/below the current price. For example: If you wish to enter a market sweep buy for
a security which is trading at 23.45, the system will turn the order to a limit sweep
order with a limit of 24.45 or better.
Pseudo Market Sweep Orders
This can be achieved by setting the limit price at a level which will clear all the volume
in the order using the displayed Level II market maker volumes plus a safety margin.
For example: A buy for 2000 shares shows that the cumulative volume at 24 7/8 is 800,
at 25 it’s 2100, at 25 1/8 it’s 2700, and at 25 ¼ it’s 3500. You submit a limit
of 25 1/8 or 25 ¼ to ensure your quantity is available.
Commissions and fees:
Each segment after the first will incur a $3 charge. Normal ECN and Selectnet
surcharges will apply to the total order.
Important: Each executed segment of your sweep order qualifies as a trade for
purposes of day trading rules. For example, if your buy market or limit sweep order gets
executed in 4 segments, that order actually counts as 4 trades, and will subject you
to "pattern day trader" status if you subsequentely sell some or all of the shares on
the same day.
Conditional Orders
There are two types of conditional orders available; OSO and OCO.
OSO - Order Submits Order
This allows you to enter two orders, one at a time, that are linked together. When the first
order gets executed the second order is then submitted for execution.
OCO - Order Cancel Order
This allows you to enter two orders, one at a time, that are linked together. Both orders
are submitted for execution. When one of the orders is executed, or partially executed, a cancel order
is automatically submitted to cancel the other order.
There is a possibility that both orders will get executed if the other order executes before the
cancel is processed. So it is possible that you could have a complete or partial fill on one order
and then a complete or partial fill on the other order.
Please note that if you cancel one order, a cancel order for the other order is not automatically
submitted. The customer would have to manually enter the cancel order for the other existing order.
Instructions for both OSO and OCO orders
You enter these orders the same as any other orders. The "Order #" field designates which
order you are currently working on. When you submit the first order the Order # field
automatically is reset for Order 2. The order pair is only submitted to the myTrack broker after both
orders are completed.
These orders will appear as two individual orders in the "order" tab of the myTrade screen. There
is a new field "trade type" which will indicate that the orders are linked.
Order
Qualifiers
In addition to the
various types of orders you may place, you can qualify your order with the following duration
and condition qualifiers:
Duration
Day Order
Unless otherwise
specified, all orders are defaulted as "day orders." If not executed during the
day, all day orders are cancelled at the end of the day.
Good 'Til Cancelled
("G.T.C." or "Open Order")
A GTC order remains open for 30 days unless the order is either
executed or cancelled by you. The GTC qualifier can be placed on a limit, stop market,
or stop limit orders.
Condition
Fill or Kill
If an order has a
"fill or kill" condition, the entire order must be filled immediately or else it
is cancelled.
All or None
If an
order has an "all or none" condition, the entire order must be filled in one
transaction. The order does not have to be filled immediately as the execution can occur
during the course of the trading day.
Priority
of Orders
Since a number of
orders can reach the marketplace at approximately the same time, a standard for the
priority of orders has been set to determine which orders will be executed first.
PRICE, TIME, SIZE: Price
is the first priority. The best bid and best offer will be executed first. If you have the
same price as others, time is the next priority. Your order has priority over
orders entered after yours. If your order arrived with the same price at the same time, size
of orders will receive priority. Generally, the larger order receives priority.
For example, you place
order to buy 100 shares of XYZ at a limit price of $100 and is the first in line. Any
share traded at $100 would entitle you to an execution. However, if there are 1,000 shares
ahead of you (entered before you) at $100, then 1,100 shares would have to trade at $100
in order for your order to be executed.
Some exceptions may
apply. |