Allocation Presets and Allocation Groups

The Allocation Presets and Allocation Groups menus allow the Advisor to create Groups of clients and configure defaults or Presets for trade allocation.  

Configuring Allocation Presets

From the menu, expand the Trade menu, and select Allocation Presets. The page will display the currently configured presets.

The advisor selects the Edit button to configure the presets for trade allocation. At the top of the popup menu is a preset for if one or more accounts fail to meet the margin requirements when an order is submitted.  The advisor can select either:

• Reject the entire order or
• Reduce order size

The bottom of the popup contains Allocation Method Preferences. There are two columns:

1. Groups Using: NetLiq, Available Equity, Equal Quantity
2. Groups Using: user-specified allocation methods

Each column contains presets for opening positions and when closing positions.

Once the presets have been configured, the advisor selects Save.

Configuring Allocation Groups

The advisor can create Groups of accounts to use when allocating trades. Some popular uses of Groups are grouping by risk score or taxable vs non-taxable. From the menu, within the Trade menu, select Allocation Groups. Any previously created groups will be displayed on the screen. The advisor can also use the search bar to search for any created groups.

To create a group, the advisor selects the New Group button. The Advisor creates a group name and then starts by adding available accounts to the group. To add accounts, select the green + icon next to the account number. To remove any included accounts, select the red – icon. Next, the advisor selects an allocation method for the group from the dropdown menu. There are three default methods along with four user specified methods. The default methods are

1. Available Equity
2. Net Liquidation Value, and
3. Equal

Available Equity distributes shares based on the amount of available equity in each account.

Net Liquidation Value distributes shares based on the net liquidation value of each account.

Equal distributes the shares to bring all accounts in the group to equal quantities by the end of the trade.

The user specified methods include:

1. Percent Based
2. Ratio Based
3. Contract/Shares, and
4. Monetary Amount

Percent Based: splits the total number of shares in the order between listed accounts based on the percentages the advisor indicates. 

Ratio Based: calculates the allocation of shares based on the ratios the advisor enters.

Contract/Shares: allows the advisor to indicate how many contracts/shares to allocate to each account in the group.

Monetary Amount: calculates the number of units to be allocated based on the monetary value assigned to each account. 

If using a user specified method, once the advisor selects the method, they will fill in the Allocation Method column with the necessary parameters. Once complete, the advisor selects Save.

Groups created in the Advisor Portal can be accessed and used in TWS, and vice versa.

Modify Allocation Groups

The advisor can modify allocation groups at any time by selecting the Edit pencil icon next to the group. Add available accounts, remove included accounts, or adjust the allocation method and select Save once complete.

Delete Allocation Groups

Delete an existing Allocation Group by selecting the Delete trash icon and selecting Yes to confirm deletion of the group.