if done orders

[darrenf]

quick question:-

does anyone know of an SB co. that offers if done orders.

As I position trade and leave pending stop orders to open a position, it would be a really useful facilty to be able to attach an automatic stop and limit order of my choosing to my order.

So far, I have been unable to find an sb co that offers this.

Thanks

Darren

 

[tomorton]

darrenf - No, sorry. But a bit more info on if done orders might be useful.

My problem is SB firms will open a position following an instruction - say, long FTSE100 at 4410 at, say, £1/point.

The difficulty is, if the FTSE is now at 4380 and I believe a buy signal will be generated as it rises through 4410, I don't want a position opened until that level is reached. But surely the firm will treat 'at 4410' as meaning 'at 4410 or better' so they will open the long right away at 4380. If the FTSE never reaches 4410 I will have a long position opened without a buy signal. Or am I misunderstanding this whole set-up?

 

[darrenf]

The way to do that (with df4 anyway- terminology may be different with other sb co's) is to place a stop order to open your buy position at the higher level.

This will then appear as a pending order until the price moves up and hits or goes through your price at which point the order is executed and you are filled.

You can also place stop sell orders to open short positions in the same way.

The problem I have is that in the above scenario, once my order is filled, if I am not sat in front of the screen (and/or the df4 alert system isn't working which is quite common), I am left with a "naked" position with no stop loss or limit order to take profit.

If done orders would allow me to pre set a stop loss and profit limit which would then be activated, should my original stop order be executed.

For some reason I am unable to find any sb co that offers this despite it being common place on many other (especially fx) dealing platforms.

Anyone found an sb co that does this?

 

[JonnyT]

Why would a bookie help you reduce your losses!!!

JonnyT

 

[darrenf]

This is the only conclusion I can draw on this myself.

However, I still can't see the logic in a company like d4f not offering the facility on their sb platform when they offer the same facility on their fx platform, which uses the same dealing software and (for fx) has the same spreads etc.

Why offer an identical sb trading option other than this one item - if done orders. The same goes for other sb co's who also offer fx platforms - IG index/ markets for one.

df4 just give some flannel about no demand blah or it's on our list but not priority blah. Frankly I don't beleive it's any of these as it's a different story from each person you ask the question.

Having said all that, fx brokers are little more than bookies themselves and operate v similarly to sb co's in this market- yet they all offer if done orders. If any one works or has worked for an SB co, can you give a genuine reason why sb co's will not offer if done orders? Is it simply because it is more profitable not to?

 

[tomorton]

Spoke to fins about this the other day as a result of this thread. they confirm they will open a position on an advance order placed by phone (at phone-dealing spreads) at a level you set, only when that level is reached. But,like d4f, they will leave you naked because you can't simultaneously enter a closing order. The only way to do this would be manually ie watch on internet to see when your popsition is opened, then manually place closing order.

At least your closing order would have the benefit of internet dealing spreads but it would be a shame to see the price move violently through an economic stop-loss or limit order level before you caught up with your account.

A trap, waiting to be sprung.

 

[darrenf]

Also emailed capital spreads re this and they said that they forgot to include it in their system! However, I am told they will have the facility for if done orders at some point, although not imminent. Watch this space. If one does it, hopefully the rest will follow?