User Manual: Using Orders

You can find details of all stop-loss, limit and new orders by clicking Order Book on the main menu. The Order Book lists the level of each order against the current level of the market, and whether it is a stop-loss, limit or new order.

You will see that you also have the option to make your stop-loss order ‘guaranteed’ or ‘trailing’, when you open your position or when you amend your order. You don’t have to choose either option, and you cannot select both together.

Click the AMEND button to amend your stop-loss. Stops cannot be cancelled, they can only amended.

It is also possible to amend any of your attached stops or limit orders from the Open Positions window. To do this you have to reveal your open trade by clicking on the ‘+’ symbol and then you will notice that the ORDER button appears.

Please note, while stops will be filled at the level you request, in the rare event of the market gapping you’ll be filled at the next best level and no stop/order will be filled outside our quoting hours. If you are unsure of our quoting hours, please refer to the Market Info Tables. We also offer the ability to place Guaranteed Stop Orders on some markets which will protect you against any market gapping and there is a premium for this extra protection (see the Market Information).

As a general note, please be aware that all orders placed or executed on the InterTrader.com trading system are based on our own price quote.

A stop-loss order is a valuable tool for limiting potential losses on an individual trade. It literally means 'when the loss on a trade reaches the point where I no longer wish to risk any more money then close me out of my position.' This is known as being 'stopped' out.

InterTrader automatically applies a stop to every new trade. It is important to note that stops will be filled at the level you request, but in the rare event of the market gapping you will be filled at the next best level. We also offer the ability to place Guaranteed Stop Orders on some markets which will protect you against any market gapping. There is a small premium for this extra protection (see the Market Information).

Each market has a minimum distance from the current price at which a stop-loss order will be accepted. You may move your stop level further away from the current market price provided your account contains sufficient available funds to cover the increased margin requirement, and your new level does not exceed the maximum distance allowed.

When a position is closed, the stop-loss relating to that trade will be automatically cancelled and you will receive an email to confirm this.

All stops are set to be Good Till Cancelled or 'GTC'. You can, however, amend this status from the Order Book.

You can place a stop-loss order and/or a limit order (an order to lock in profits and close your position once a certain price target has been reached) when you open your position, by entering a level in the relevant field of the trading ticket. If you do not set your own stop level on opening, a stop-loss order will be created automatically for you. The level of an automatic stop-loss will be based on 80% of the funds available in your account, up to a maximum determined as 80% of the Max CGSL (Computer Generated Stop Level) for this product. Details of the Max CGSL for each product can be found in our Market Info Tables.

To amend your stop-loss level, or to add a limit order after you have placed a trade, go to either your Order Book or your Open Positions, and click AMEND or ORDER next to the relevant order or position.

When you click AMEND you will see this new ticket:

On accessing the Order Book you will be able to view all the current stop-losses and limit orders that are running against your open positions.

A trailing stop is an order which lets you manage your risk without restricting your profit potential. If you choose to make your stop-loss trailing, your stop level will adjust automatically when your position moves into profit, to lock in your gains. If the market moves against you it will act just like a normal stop-loss order. Of course you could do this manually, changing your stop level when the market moves in your favour, but a trailing stop gives you the flexibility to do this automatically.

Simply select '˜trailing'™ when you place your trade or when you amend your order. Each market has a set distance (see the Market Info Tables) which will trigger a trailing stop to move, which is also the amount by which the stop level will be automatically adjusted. For instance, if the set distance is 10 points your stop level will be moved by 10 points should the market move 10 points in your favour. If the market then moves against you the new stop level will stay in place. There is no charge for selecting a trailing stop.

For example, say you buy £10 per point of GBP/USD Rolling Daily at 1.6050, setting a trailing stop order at 1.6030, and that the set distance for a trailing stop on GBP/USD is 10 points. This means that, if GBP/USD rises 10 points to 1.6060, your trailing stop will jump 10 points to 1.6040. If the market continues to rally without retracing, then for every 10 points it rises, your trailing stop will carry on stepping higher in increments of 10 points.

If at some point GBP/USD does turn lower, then your trailing stop will remain in place at the last level it has stepped to, acting as a normal stop order.

Please note that you cannot select 'trailing'™ if your stop is guaranteed.

A 'new' order is a special order type that is not attached to any existing open position and is independent of any other instruction. A new order is used to open a new trade at a level in the market which has not yet been reached.

A new order is the only type of order that does not relate to an existing position, as a new order is filled when a new position is opened (unlike stop-loss and limit orders, which are filled when existing positions are closed).

The new order functionality is especially useful for placing orders at critical market points so that you do not have to be watching the markets every moment of every day. With new orders you can put your trading strategy in place and never miss a good profit opportunity.

1. To create a new order select a product and click ORDER to the right of the live price. The order ticket will appear:

2. Enter the stake size of your future position and whether you are buying or selling, and most importantly the level at which you want your new order to be executed.

3. When placing a new order you can also specify where you would like to place the stop-loss and/or limit order levels on your future position, contingent on your new order being filled.

When your new order is executed you must have sufficient available funds to open the new position. If, when the system triggers your new order, you do not have spare funds on your account to cover your stake multiplied by the Min IMR (Initial Margin Requirement) your new order will be cancelled.

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