Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Different Types of Stock Trades

By Gerdie Maple

What kinds of trades do you hope to execute? Most advisors suggest you start with simple trades. Options trading, selling stocks short, and other complicated trades require more experience. In some market conditions, execution may be at a price significantly different from the current quoted price. Limit orders will be executed only at a specified price or better. Customers using limit orders receive price protection, but with the possibility the order will not be executed.

This kind of price fluctuation is especially common in very hot stocks such as IPOs. Initial public offerings commonly have rapid changes in price due to the very high volume of trading for a new offering. There are delays in quotes, since the trading is simply happening too fast for quotes to keep pace in real time. This has led many novice investors to pay a lot more than they had anticipated for a stock; this is why a limit order can be a very good thing, especially if you are new to the stock market.

You must understand the fast market environment to comprehend what can happen if you have not taken precautions. In fast markets, when lots of investors are trading and prices change quickly, delays can develop across the board. Executions and confirmations slow down, while price quotes lag behind actual prices. Online investors expect instant access to their accounts and instantaneous executions of their trades. In a fast-moving market, this is not possible.

The thing to keep in mind here is that the SEC has no rules in place as to the time frame in which a trade must be executed. Thankfully, firms which publish a speed they can be held accountable for exaggerating this figure or not informing investors in the event of delays.

Remember that if you want to buy or sell a stock with a price range, then you need to use a limit order. Market orders are direct buys or sells with no conditions, and are filled at whatever price the market provides. A limit order is an order to buy or sell a security at a specific price. A buy limit order can only be executed at the limit price or lower, and a sell limit order can only be executed at the limit price or higher. Market orders do not control the price at which your order will be filled.

Suppose youre interested in a fast moving IPO which was $9 at the initial offer. However, you dont want to pay above $20; in this case you would place a limit order to buy at or below this price. This will protect you from buying this stock at $75 and losing out when it drops. Keep in mind that if the market moves more quickly than your limit order can be filled, your trade may not be executed at all.

Know your options for placing a trade if you cant access your account online. Most online trading firms offer alternatives for placing trades. Alternatives such as Touch-tone telephone trades, faxes, or talking to a broker over the phone are usually available. Most of the time, these services cost more. Remember that any delays of getting online will probably delay the alternative order methods as well.

Never make assumptions when it comes to your trades "plenty of traders have failed to confirm their orders and placed a second order, ending up with far more stock than they intended to buy. Talk to a broker at your firm and make sure you know how to make sure your order has been executed before placing another.

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