Order Types

 

Limit Orders

A limit order allows you to set the maximum/minimum price at which you buy/sell. If there is insufficient demand/supply for your order to be matched with an existing order immediately, your limit order is added to the order book. We recommend using limit orders to control the worst price at which an order can be matched. This order type can be maker-only and or reduce-only. 

Note: Limit price must be within 20% of the mark price, if it is crossing the spread and is outside of the 20% price collar, the limit order will be rejected by the trading engine.

Market Orders

A market order is an immediate-or-cancel order to buy or sell at the best available price. Use this order type with care as this price may be unfavourable to you. For your protection, we will not match your order at a price more than 1% above the best ask or 1% below the best bid. This means that your order may be only partially filled. The unfilled portion will then be cancelled so there is no remaining order in the book. This order type can be reduce-only.

Stop Loss Limit Orders

A stop loss limit order allows you to limit your losses from an open position. You have to provide two prices for a stop loss limit order: a stop price and a limit price. The stop price represents the market price that, if reached, will trigger your limit order to be posted. The limit price represents the worst price at which your order can be matched. You have the option of having the order trigger from the last trade price, mark price, or index price. This order type is reduce-only (forced) – it cannot be used to open a position or add to a position. 

Post-trigger activation checks: 

• Margin is not required to place this order type, but a margin check will be made at the time of order trigger. If there is insufficient margin in the account when the order is triggered, the order will be rejected by the trading engine.
• Limit price must be within 10% of the mark price, if it is crossing the spread and is outside of the 10% price collar, the limit order will be rejected by the trading engine.

Stop Loss Market Orders

A stop loss market order allows you to limit your losses from an open position. The stop price represents the price that, if reached, will trigger your stop order and submit a market order. You have the option of having the order trigger from the last trade price, mark price, or index price.This order type is reduce-only (forced) – it cannot be used to open a position or add to a position. 

Post-trigger activation checks: 

• For your protection, we will not match your order at a price more than 1% above the best ask or 1% below the best bid. This means that your order may not be filled or will only be partially filled. The unfilled portion will then be cancelled so there is no remaining order in the book.
• Margin is not required to place this order type, but a margin check will be made at the time of order trigger. If there is insufficient margin in the account when the order is triggered, the order will be rejected by the trading engine.

Take Profit Market Orders

A take profit market order allows you to set a target profit price to close out of an open position. The trigger price represents the price that, if reached, will trigger your take profit order and place a market order onto the order book. You have the option of having the order trigger from the last trade price, mark price, or index price. This order type is reduce-only (forced) – it cannot be used to open a position or add to a position.

Post-trigger activation checks: 

• For your protection, we will not match your order at a price more than 1% above the best ask or 1% below the best bid. This means that your order may not be filled or will only be partially filled. The unfilled portion will then be cancelled so there is no remaining order in the book.
• Margin is not required to place this order type, but a margin check will be made at the time of order trigger. If there is insufficient margin in the account when the order is triggered, the order will be rejected by the trading engine.

Take Profit Limit Orders

A take profit limit order allows you to set a target profit price to close out of an open position. You have to provide two prices for a take profit limit order: the trigger price and the limit price. The trigger price represents the price that, if reached, will trigger your take profit order and place a limit order on the order book. The limit price represents the worst price at which your order can be matched. You have the option of having the order trigger from the last trade price, mark price, or index price. This order type is reduce-only (forced) – it cannot be used to open a position or add to a position.

Post-trigger activation checks: 

• Margin is not required to place this order type, but a margin check will be made at the time of order trigger. If there is insufficient margin in the account when the order is triggered, the order will be rejected by the trading engine.
• Limit price must be within 10% of the mark price, if it is crossing the spread and is outside of the 10% price collar, the limit order will be rejected by the trading engine.

Bracket Orders

The bracket order form allows you to place three orders simultaneously: one order to open a position (long or short) and two trigger orders for take profit and stop loss. The opening order can be a limit order or a market order. Opening limit orders can be set as maker-only. The trigger orders, one stop loss and one take profit, will have prices above or below the entry price of the position, depending on the direction of the position. The stop loss can be either a stop-loss limit order or a stop-loss market order and the take profit can be a take profit limit order or a take profit market order. The trigger orders are reduce-only and you have the option of having the order trigger from the last trade price, mark price, or index price.

NOTE:

• This is NOT a One-Cancels-the-Other (OCO) order. If one trigger order is triggered and the order placed, the other trigger order will remain active until cancelled by the trader.
• Each trigger order is independent of the original order and can be edited or cancelled at any time.
• The Bracket Order form is its own component. If you do not see it on your Futures dashboard, navigate to a container, select the "+" sign, and add 'Bracket Order'.

EXAMPLE: LONG BRACKET

The current Futures price is $5,000. You believe that the Futures price will increase so you decide to open a long position of 10,000 contracts. You wish to simultaneously protect the position at 2.5% loss whilst also setting a take profit target of 5%. In the bracket order form, you enter the quantity and limit price you wish to enter the position at, set your take profit order price for 5250, or 5% from the current market price, and your stop-loss at 4875 or 2.5% from the current market price. These parameters can lead to two outcomes. If the price rises to your take profit price, then the position will close at 5% profit (provided there is sufficient demand). On the other hand, if the price drops to your stop-loss price, then the position will close at 2.5% loss (provided there is sufficient demand).

EXAMPLE: SHORT BRACKET

The current Futures price is $5,000. You believe that the Futures price will decrease so you decide to open a short position of 10,000 contracts. You wish to simultaneously protect the position at 2.5% loss whilst also setting a take profit target of 5%. In the bracket order form, you enter the quantity and limit price you wish to enter the position at, set your take profit order price for 4750, or 5% from the current market price, and your stop-loss at 5125 or 2.5% from the current market price. These parameters can lead to two outcomes. If the price falls to your take profit price, then the position will close at 5% profit (provided there is sufficient supply). On the other hand, if the price rises to your stop-loss price, then the position will close at 2.5% loss (provided there is sufficient supply).

Trigger Entry

Trigger entry orders allow you to enter a position using a trigger order. It is used to trigger an order that at the current price would execute immediately. We offer trigger entry market orders and trigger entry limit orders. For trigger entry market orders, the trigger price represents the price that, if reached, will trigger your order and submit a market order. For trigger entry limit orders, you have to provide two prices: the trigger price and the limit price. The trigger price represents the price that, if reached, will trigger your order and place a limit order on the order book. The limit price represents the worst price at which your order can be matched. You have the option of having the order trigger from the last trade price, mark price, or index price. 

Post-trigger activation checks: 

• Margin is not required to place this order type, but a margin check will be made at the time of order trigger. If there is insufficient margin in the account when the order is triggered, the order will be rejected by the trading engine.
• Limit orders: Limit price must be within 10% of the mark price, if it is crossing the spread and is outside of the 10% price collar, the limit order will be rejected by the trading engine. 
• Market orders: For your protection, we will not match your order at a price more than 1% above the best ask or 1% below the best bid. This means that your order may be only partially filled or not filled at all. The unfilled portion will then be cancelled so there is no remaining order in the book.

Maker only

A maker-only order is the same as a limit order, except it will be rejected and cancelled if the price entered would execute immediately eg a buy limit order above market price, entered as a maker-only, would be rejected and cancelled.

Immediate or cancel

An immediate-or-cancel order will execute at the price and quantity available - the remainder of the order will be cancelled and will not enter the book. If there is 0 quantity available at the chosen price level the order will be rejected and cancelled immediately.

Reduce only

A reduce-only order will only allow orders to be placed that will reduce the number of open contracts in an existing position. If you enter a quantity larger than your existing open position, the quantity of the reduce only order will auto-reduce to the size of your open position. Take profit (market and limit) and stop loss (market and limit) are all reduce-only (forced).

Edit order

You can edit existing orders and update the quantity, limit price and stop price. If you are reducing the quantity your order will remain in the same place in the queue as before. If you change the price or increase the quantity of your order you will go to the back of the price-time priority queue.

Trigger signals

There are various prices that can be used for trigger orders (stop, take profit, trigger entry). Each price has a distinct way of being calculated and various uses. These can be changed in the order form under the 'Advanced' tab and under 'Trigger Signal'. Below are the trigger signal options and their definitions:

• Last Price: The last executed price at which a Futures contract was traded at. If selected as the trigger signal, the order trigger will activate when the last executed price reaches or surpasses your trigger price.
• Mark Price: The mid price of Order Book bounded by a range defined by the CME CF Index Price with anti-manipulation coefficient. If selected as the trigger signal, the order trigger will activate when the mark price price reaches or surpasses your trigger price.
  Note: this price is also used to value positions and determine liquidations.
• Index Price: The CME CF Index Price determined from aggregate data from constituent exchanges. More information available on the CF Benchmarks page.