Order Types
Depending on your account type, through MarcoFX MetaTrader 4 traders may send instructions for instant orders on the MT4 fixed spread account Instant Execution or market orders on the MT4 floating spread Market Execution.
Instant Orders
Instant Order: this is an order to either buy or sell at the ‘ask’ or ‘bid’ price (respectively) as it appears in the quotes flow at the time the client presents the order for execution.
Market Orders
Market Order: this is an order to buy or sell at the current market price that is available. The system automatically aggregates the volume received from third party liquidity providers and executes the ‘market order’ at VWAP (‘Volume-Weighted Average Price’) that is the average and best available price at the time of execution.
Pending Orders
Stop Orders: this is an order to buy or sell once the market reaches the ‘stop price’. Once the market reaches the ‘stop price’ the ‘stop order’ is triggered and treated as a ‘market order’. If the ‘stop order’ is not triggered it shall remain in the system until a later date. In terms of Contracts for Difference (‘CFDs’) on FX, spot metals and futures ‘stop orders’ should be placed a minimum number of pips away from the current market price.
Stop Loss: this is an order to minimise losses. Once the market reaches the ‘stop loss price’ the order is triggered and treated as a ‘market order’. If the ‘stop loss’ is not triggered it shall remain in the system until a later date. In terms of CFDs on FX, spot metals and futures ‘stop loss’ should be placed a minimum number of pips away from the current market price.
Limit Orders: this is an order to buy or sell once the market reaches the ‘limit price’. Once the market reaches the ‘limit price’ the ‘limit order’ is triggered and executed at the ‘limit price’ or better. If the ‘limit order’ is not triggered it shall remain in the system until a later date subject to the conditions described in the ‘Good till Cancel’ section. In terms of CFDs on FX, spot metals and futures ‘limit orders’ should be placed a minimum number of pips away from the current market price.
Good till Cancel (‘GTC’) (= Expiry): this is a time setting that the client may apply to ‘pending orders’. The client may choose a specific date in the future until which the order may remain ‘live’ and pending execution; if the order is not triggered during this timeframe or if it remain 'live' until the nearest Friday's closing, it shall be deleted from the system.
Pending Order Modification / Cancellation: the client may modify/ cancel a ‘pending order’ if the market did not reach the level of the price specified by the client.
Re-quoting: this is the practice of providing a secondary quote to the client after an ‘instant order’ has been submitted; the client must agree to this quote before the order is executed. MarcoFX will re-quote ‘instant orders’ if the requested price originally specified by the client is not available. The secondary quote provided to the client is the next available price received by MarcoFX from its third party liquidity providers. MarcoFX does not re-quote ‘pending orders’
Slippage: at the time that an order is presented for execution, the specific price requested by the client may not be available; therefore, the order will be executed close to or a number of pips away from the client’s requested price. If the execution price is better than the price requested by the client this is referred to as ‘positive slippage’. In contrast, if the execution price is worse than the price requested by the client this is referred to as ‘negative slippage’. Please be advised that ‘slippage’ is a normal market practice and a regular feature of the foreign exchange markets under conditions** such as illiquidity and volatility due to news announcements, economic events and market openings. MarcoFX's automated execution software does not operate based on any individual parameters related to the execution of orders through any specific client accounts.
* Please note that Pending Orders apply to both Instant and Market execution.
** Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.