5 Ways Our Trading Online System Can Make You a Better Trader

Because risk management is important to any trading strategy, the many special conditions, limits and contingencies that can be applied to buy and sell orders can become critical to your success in the commodities futures and options market.

Whether you’re a long-term trader, a swing trader, a day trader or a scalper, you will want to have solid stop-loss points in place, as well as the ability to set other rules for your trades. The goals are always to make life easier for you, lock in profits and limit the potential for losses.

Not all affordable online trading systems offer the same range and flexibility of strategic features, so it’s important to do the research before making your choice. Here are some features that could help make you a smarter, more efficient trader.

1. Trailing Stops
A trailing stop is a type of stop-loss. Stop losses, also known simply as stops, are orders to buy or sell a position automatically at a certain point or price. When the price is reached, your stop order becomes a market order. A trailing stop, rather than being set at a specific price point, follows at a set distance (percentage or dollar amount) from the market price, as long as the price movement is in your favor. The trailing stop doesn't move against you, however, so it allows you to benefit from potential gains while helping minimize losses.

2. Stop Limits
With a simple stop-loss, when the stop point is reached, a buy or sell order is executed at market price, whatever that may be when its turn in the queue comes up. In a fast moving market, the results could be painful. Stop-limits contain two prices—the price at which the order is triggered and the price at which the trade is to be executed, offering double protection. (Although stop-limits should be used with care, since certain market conditions can prevent their execution.)

3. GTC, FOK and IOC
It is very useful to be able to specify the lifespan of a transaction order or special contingency. GTC orders are orders that are  ‘Good ‘Til Cancelled’ by the customer and are generally used to set a price for entry or exit that can be far away from the current price. For example, if you own a futures contract that you expect to increase in value, you can place a GTC order specifying the higher price at which you are willing to sell and the market order will be placed automatically when appropriate. FOK is ‘Fill or Kill,’ specifying that an order must be filled in its entirely immediately or cancelled. These orders may be used by scalpers who must trade quickly to take advantage of opportunities. IOC or ‘Immediate Or Cancel’ orders are similar to FOK, but allow for partial order filling. These are used for large orders when filling quickly and completely may be challenging.

4. OCO-One Cancels the Other
This type of order is used in more complex trading strategies, to make order placement and execution more efficient. An OCO order stipulates that if one part of an order is executed, then the other part is automatically cancelled. Placing both instructions on a single order minimizes your work and the potential for execution mistakes. A similar type of order is an OSO or 'One Sends the Other' order, in which the execution of a primary order triggers the placement of a secondary order.

5. Bracket Orders
Bracket orders are a strategy to limit loss and lock in profit, without having to keep constant watch over a position. An order is combined with two opposite-side orders. A buy order would be accompanied by a sell limit order above the buy order’s price and a sell stop order below the buy order’s price. A sell order would be combined with a buy stop order above the sell order’s price and a buy limit order below the sell order’s price. Bracketed orders let you set very specific goals for both profits and losses. (Whether or not you meet those goals depends on how close the market price is to your limit or stop prices at time of execution.)

All of these features can increase the discipline and efficiency of your trading strategies and should be available to you through your online trading system.