Interactive Brokers

Order Types and Algos

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Trader Workstation supports over 50 order types and algos
that may help limit risk, speed execution, provide price improvement,
allow privacy, time the market and simplify the trading process through
advanced trading functions.

Order Type Category STK OPT FUT FOP FX BND FND WAR EFPs CMB CFDs
Order Type Category STK OPT FUT FOP FX BND FND WAR EFPs CMB CFDs
Accumulate/Distribute
 
Minimize market impact for large orders by slicing the order into smaller increments, and buying or selling over time, at pre-defined, randomized time intervals. Available for stocks, options, futures and forex.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
All or None
 
An AON (All or none) order will remain at the exchange (or in the IB system) until the entire quantity is available to be executed.
 Time to Market Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes No No
Arrival Price
 
This IBAlgo attempts to achieve the midpoint price at the time the order is submitted, and considers the user-defined urgency/risk aversion and max percent of daily volume values.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes No No No Yes No No No No No No
At Auction
 
An auction order is submitted at the Calculated Opening Price (COP). If the order doesn't execute, it is resubmitted as a limit order at the COP or best bid/ask.
 Speed of Execution Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No
Auction
 
When terms allow, your order will be submitted for inclusion in the price improvement auction, based on price and volume priority.
 Price Improvement No Yes No No No No No No No No No
Balance Impact and Risk
 
This IBAlgo balances the market impact of trading the option with the risk of price change over the time horizon of the order, and considers the user-defined urgency/risk aversion and max percent of daily volume values.
 Algorithmic Trading No Yes No No No No No No No No No
Basket
 
A group of individual orders that are saved in a single file and submitted as a package.
 Advanced Trading Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Block
 
A large volume limit order with a minimum of 50 contracts.
 Price Improvement No Yes No No No No No No No No No
Box Top
 
A market order that is automatically changed to a limit order if it doesn't execute immediately at the market price.
 Price Improvement No Yes No No No No No No No No No
Bracket
 
Bracket orders are designed to help limit your loss and help lock in a profit by "bracketing" an order with two opposite-side orders using the same quantity as the original order.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No
Conditional
 
A Conditional order is an order that will automatically be submitted or cancelled ONLY IF specified criteria for one or more defined contracts are met.
 Advanced Trading Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No
Dark Ice
 
The Dark Ice IB Algo lets you specify a display size different from the order size that is shown in the market. Additionally, the Dark Ice algo randomizes the display size +/- 50% and, based on the calculated probability of the price moving favorably, decides whether to place the order at the limit price or one tick better.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No
Discretionary
 
A Discretionary order is a limit order for which you define a discretionary amount (which is added to or subtracted from the limit price) that increases the price range over which the order is eligible to execute. The original limit price is displayed to the market.
 Speed of Execution Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Fill or Kill
 
A FOK (Fill or Kill) order must execute as a complete order as soon as it becomes available on the market, otherwise the order is canceled.
 Time to Market Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Good After Time/Date (GAT)
 
A Good After Time/Date order is held in the IB system and sent to the exchange on the date and time you enter.
 Time to Market Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Good-till-Canceled (GTC)
 
A Good-till-Canceled order will continue to work within the IB system and in the marketplace until it executes or is canceled by the customer.
 Time to Market Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Good-till-Date/Time (GTD)
 
A Good-till-Date/Time order will remain working within the IB system and in the marketplace until it executes or until the close of the market on the date specified.
 Time to Market Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Hidden
 
A Hidden order (generally a large volume order) shows no evidence of its existence in either the market data or the deep book.
 Privacy Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No No
IBDARK
 
This order type may be appropriate if you are trying to buy or sell a block of stock by trading against other IB customers without exposing your interest to the public markets. If you want an immediate or faster fill or if you want to expose your trading interest in the public markets, you should not route your order to IBDARK as these orders will not be routed or displayed outside of IB.
 Privacy Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Iceberg/Reserve
 
An Iceberg order allows you to submit an order (generally a large volume order) while publicly disclosing only a portion of the submitted order.
 Privacy Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes No No No
Immediate or Cancel (IOC)
 
Any portion of an IOC order that is not filled immediately is cancelled.
 Time to Market Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No
Limit if Touched
 
An LIT (Limit if Touched) is an order to buy (or sell) an asset below (or above) the market, at the defined limit price or better. This order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a limit order.
 Price Improvement Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Limit-on-Close
 
A LOC (Limit-on-Close) is an order that executes at the closing price if the closing price is at or better than the submitted limit price, according to the rules of the specific exchange. Otherwise the order will be cancelled.
 Price Improvement Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No No No
Limit-on-Open
 
A LOO (Limit-on-Open) order is a limit order executed at the market's open if the opening price is equal to or better than the limit price.
 Price Improvement Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No
Limit
 
A limit order is an order to buy or sell a contract at a specified price or better.
 Price Improvement Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Market if Touched
 
An MIT (Market if Touched) is an order to buy (or sell) an asset below (or above) the market. This order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a market order.
 Speed of Execution Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Market on Close
 
A market order that is submitted to execute as close to the closing price as possible.
 Speed of Execution Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No No No
Market on Open
 
A market order that is executed at the market's open at the market price.
 Speed of Execution Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No
Market to Limit
 
A Market-to-Limit order is sent in as a market order to execute at the current best price. If the entire order does not immediately execute at the market price, the remainder of the order is re-submitted as a limit order with the limit price set to the price at which the original order executed.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes
Market with Protection
 
A Market with Protection order is a market order that is cancelled and resubmitted as a limit order if the entire order does not immediately execute at the market price. The order's limit price is set by the exchange to be close to the current market price, slightly higher for a sell order and lower for a buy order.
 Limit Risk No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Market
 
A Market order is an order to buy or sell an asset at the bid or offer price currently available in the marketplace.
 Speed of Execution Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Midpoint Match (MPM)
 
An ISE stock order that executes at the midpoint of the bid/ask price.
 Speed of Execution Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Minimize Impact
 
This IBAlgo minimizes market impact by slicing the order over time to achieve the market average without going over the user-defined max percent of daily volume.
 Algorithmic Trading No Yes No No No No No No No No No
NYSE Closing Auction D-Quote
 
IB is now offering enhanced execution services for customers seeking greater flexibility, execution speed and enhanced representation during the NYSE closing auction.
 Price Improvement Yes No No No No No No No No No No
One-Cancels-All (OCA)
 
Orders in a one-cancels-all group of orders will be canceled when one of the other orders executes.
 Advanced Trading Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Passive Relative
 
A Passive Relative order derives its price from a combination of the market quote and a user-defined offset amount. While similar to a Relative order, it applies the offset in the opposite direction to make the order less aggressive, versus the Relative order which applies the offset to become more aggressive.
 Price Improvement Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No
Pegged-to-Market
 
An order that is pegged to buy on the best offer and sell on the best bid.
 Speed of Execution Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Pegged-to-Midpoint
 
An order that is pegged to buy/sell at the midpoint of the NBBO.
 Price Improvement Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Pegged-to-Stock
 
Specifies that the option price will adjust automatically relative to the stock price, using a calculated value based on data you enter.
 Speed of Execution No Yes No No No No No No No No No
Percent of Volume
 
This IBAlgo participates with volume at a user-defined rate.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No
Relative/Pegged-to-Primary
 
A Relative or Pegged-to-Primary order derives its price from a combination of the market quote and a user-defined offset amount. The order is submitted as a limit order and modified according to the pricing logic until it is executed or you cancel the order.
 Speed of Execution Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Request-for-Quote (RFQ)
 
Request market quotes for non-US options, futures and options on futures.
 Limit Risk No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No
Retail Price Improvement (RPI)
 
The Retail Price Improvement (RPI) order is a liquidity-adding order that works within the parameters of the NYSE Retail Price Improvement program. This program allows qualified stock orders to fill against eligible, hidden RPI orders that offer price improvement over the current best bid and offer.
 Price Improvement No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No
Scale
 
The scale orders command automatically creates a series of buy (sell) limit orders with incrementally lower (higher) prices, based on your original limit order.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Spreads
 
A combination of individual orders (legs) that work together to create a single trading strategy. You can combine stock, option and futures legs into a single spread.
 Advanced Trading Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Stop - Adjustable
 
You can attach one-time adjustments to stop, stop limit, trailing stop and trailing stop limit orders which modify the stop trigger price, trailing amount and stop limit price.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No
Stop - Trailing Stop Limit
 
A trailing stop limit for a sell order sets the stop price at a fixed amount below the market price and defines a limit price for the sell order. If the market price rises, the stop loss price rises by the increased amount, but if the stock price falls, the stop loss price remains the same. When the order triggers, a limit order is submitted at the price you defined. The reverse is true for a buy trailing stop limit order.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Stop - Trailing Stop
 
A trailing stop for a sell order sets the stop price at a fixed amount below the market price. If the market price rises, the stop loss price rises by the increased amount, but if the stock price falls, the stop loss price remains the same. The reverse is true for a buy trailing stop order.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes
Stop Limit
 
A Stop Limit order becomes a limit order once the specified stop price is attained or penetrated.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes
Stop with Protection
 
For Futures orders on Globex. A Stop with Protection order combines the functionality of a stop limit and market with protection order. The order triggers at a set stop price and fills within a specified protected price set by Globex.
 Limit Risk No No Yes No No No No No No No No
Stop
 
A Stop order becomes a market order to buy or sell securities or commodities once the specified stop price is attained or penetrated.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sweep-to-Fill
 
A Sweep-to-Fill order identifies the best price and the exact quantity offered/available at the price, and transmits the corresponding portion of your order for immediate execution. Simultaneously it is identifying the next best price and quantity offered/available, and submits the matching quantity of your order for immediate execution.
 Speed of Execution Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No
Trailing Limit if Touched
 
An LIT (Limit-if-Touched) is similar to a trailing stop limit order, except that the sell order sets the initial stop price at a fixed amount above the market price instead of below. This order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a limit order.
Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Trailing Market if Touched
 
A TRAIL MIT (Trailing Market-if-Touched) is is similar to a trailing stop order, except that the sell order sets the initial stop price at a fixed amount above the market price instead of below. This order is held in the system until the trigger price is touched, and is then submitted as a market order.
 Limit Risk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
TWAP
 
This IBAlgo attempts to achieve the time-weighted average price calculated from the time you submit the order to the time it completes.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No
Volatility
 
A TWS-specific order where the limit price of the option or combo is calculated as a function of the implied volatility.
 Advanced Trading No Yes No Yes No No No No No Yes No
VWAP - Best Efforts
 
This IBAlgo achieves the Volume-Weighted Average Price on a best-effort basis, without exceeding the user-defined max percent of daily volume.
 Algorithmic Trading Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No
VWAP - Guaranteed
 
The VWAP for a stock is calculated by adding the dollars traded for every transaction in that stock ("price" x "number of shares traded") and dividing the total shares traded. By default, a VWAP order is computed from the open of the market to the market close, and is calculated by volume weighting all transactions during this time period. TWS allows you to modify the cut-off and expiration times using the Time in Force and Expiration Date fields, respectively.
 Privacy Yes No No No No No No No No No No

Important Information About Simulated Order Types

IB simulates certain order types (for example, stop or conditional orders). Where IB simulates an order type, IB's SmartRouting system will manage the order to try to achieve the same outcome as an order type offered "natively" by an exchange. Simulated order types may be used in cases where an exchange does not offer an order type or in cases where IB does not offer a certain order type offered natively by an exchange. While simulated orders offer substantial control opportunities, they may be subject to problems relating to performance of third parties outside of IB control, such as market data providers and exchanges.

Although we attempt to filter external data to ensure the best possible execution quality, IB cannot anticipate all of the reasons that a simulated order may not receive an execution, or may receive an erroneous execution. Unsatisfactory (non)executions may result from events, including [i] erroneous, missing or inconsistent market data; [ii] IB data filters (example: we may ignore last sale data that is reported outside the prevailing bid-ask as it often represents untimely or erroneous transactions; this may impact triggering of simulated orders); [iii] transactions subsequently deemed erroneous by an exchange; [iv] market halts and interruptions.

Customers should understand the sensitivity of simulated orders and consider this in their trading decisions.

Any trading symbols displayed are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to portray a recommendation.

Interactive Brokers LLC is a member of NYSE, FINRA, SIPC

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