Placing a Currency Trade

Our online trading platform allows users to trade off streaming quotes in real time. The dealing boxes shown below indicate the current bid and ask price for the Euro-Dollar currency pair. Day traders can click on the current bid or ask price and the trade is executed instantly. It is important to note that the currency dealing desk publishes ONE price to all clients simultaneously, allowing any client to trade against that price.

Since our currency software offers instantaneous executions from two-way, live exchange rates, traders are always assured that the prices available are "at the market". Trading live quotes offers currency traders the advantage of anonymity and speedier executions. Executions of less than one second are the norm - currently the fastest execution available from ANY forex trading software. The steps below indicate how a trade can be placed using the currency platform.

1) Enter number of lots - Use the pull down list or type in the number of lots desired. One lot is equivalent to 100,000 units of the base currency - in this example, the Euro.

2) Place the Trade - Click Buy or Sell buttons to execute the transaction for the EUR/USD.

3) Currency Trade Confirmation - The GREEN box below confirms that the trade was executed. A message stating "You Bought" or "You Sold" indicates the precise details of the forex transaction and provides a confirmation number. Notice that in the example below, the trader SOLD 200,000 Euros (2 lots) at an exchange rate of 1.0892. A RED box appears stating "Deal Not Accepted" if there was a problem with the order. The example below shows a rejected order because the amount (number of lots) was not correctly specified when the order was placed.

4) Automatic Limit/Stop Orders (Position Orders) - When traders are starting out, they typically lack the discipline to have stops in place with every trade. The Auto Stop Loss feature was designed with these traders in mind. Assuming there is no existing position in a given currency pair, when a trade for a specific pair is executed, the currency trader will be prompted to enter a stop order (also known as a "stop loss" order or "stop"). Even though a trader can choose not to set a stop by selecting "Abort," it is a good idea to have clear stops in place when trading. This automatic stop feature can be enabled in the log on tab of the trading software by checking "Auto Order Prompt." Orders that are placed using the Auto Order feature are called Position Orders because they are associated (tied) to an existing currency position. The price(s) at which a Position Order is placed is shown in the Position Management table under the columns labeled "Limit" and/or "Stop". In our free currency training we teach our customers how to set proper stops and how to use other orders.

This is the screen that pop ups if the Auto Order feature is enabled. Note that this feature can be used to enter either a Limit, Stop or OCO order for the entire amount of the new position.

To submit the order click "Confirm." When the order is accepted, the background color of the Status bar will change to green. See the screen below:

When the order is accepted, the details will show up in the Position Management section. In the example above, the existing EUR/USD 1-lot position will show a value of 1.1952 in the "Limit" column of the Position Management table. The reason for this is that the 1.1952 limit value corresponds to a Position Order to sell 100,000 Euros at 1.1952 or better that associated with the long position of 1 lot of the Eurodollar currency pair. The Position Order to sell 100,000 Euros at a limit price of 1.1952 will not show up under Order Management because it is associated with an existing order rather than being an independent order that was placed separately.

*** Position Orders appear in the Position Management section. All other orders appear in the Order Management section.

Squaring Your Currency Position with the Auto Square Feature
Circled in red below is the SQR Button. It allows traders to exit a currency position with greater ease. When this button is pressed, an offsetting trade is automatically executed to close out the entire position in a given currency pair. After the trade is executed, the "Net" column will show a value of "0" and the trade will appear in the Deal Blotter. To see the details of any currency transaction, check the Activity Log. If the SQR button on the second row is pressed in the example below, 400,000 Euros (4 contracts) will be sold to close a Net long position of the same amount.

*** Position orders (those that appear in Position Management under the "Limit" and/or "Stop" columns) are cancelled automatically when the position they are associated with is closed or squared. All other currency orders remain open until they are manually cancelled or triggered.

Point and Shoot Feature
The platform's Point and Shoot (P&S) button enables you to view the individual trades that make up a position in a given currency pair, and close any individual trade that is part of that position. In the example below, a trader is long 600,000 (6 lots) British Pounds (GBP). This position is made up of two trades: buying 400,000 GBP at 1.6987 and another 200,000 at 1.16957. To determine this, a trader would simple click on the P&S button on the third row of the Position Management window below.

The details of the position would then appear:

To get rid of the first 400,000 GBP making up the entire position, a day trader would simply click the "CLOSE" button to the right of the position and it will be removed from the screen; i.e., sold. The resulting screen would look like this:

To return to the Position Management window, the "Abort" button would have to be pressed.

Position Orders (PO)
These types of orders are directly related to individual currency positions. Position Orders remain active as long as the corresponding position remains open. With the ability to associate an order with an existing position, clients have the capacity to place an order that will cover a position in a given currency pair even as it changes.

To enable the placing of Position Orders, a currency trader has to check the box labeled "Auto Order Prompt" in the Log On tab of the trading platform. If this box is checked, when a customer enters a new position or reverses an existing position, he is automatically prompted to enter a Position Order to cover the new position. This order can be a Limit Order, a Stop Order or an OCO Order.

As the position in the given currency increases or decreases, the Position Order is automatically adjusted to match the value of the new position. Upon cancellation of a a position, the associated Position Order is automatically removed by the system on behalf of the client. If a trader reverses a position, then the Position Order is cancelled automatically and the trader is asked to place another order.

Depending on which Position Order is placed, a value for the "Limit" and/or "Stop" columns of the Position Management window will appear. If the Position Order is a Limit order, the "Limit" column field will be added (as in the example below). If the order is a Stop order instead, the "Stop" field will be filled with the stop price. If instead an OCO order is placed, both the "Limit" and "Stop" columns will be filled with the limit and stop price respectively.

Cancelling or modifying a Position Order is easy. Simply click on the "PO" button to the right of the corresponding limit or stop price. Doing so will open the Auto Limit/Stop Order pop up window.

In the example above, clicking the highlighted PO button will bring up the following window:

Any modifications made in the window above will show up in the Position Management window under the corresponding "Limit" and/or "Stop" columns.

*** If an existing position is not already associated with a Position Order, a trader can click on the PO button and enter a new Position Order if he wishes to do so. This would associate a new Position Order with that position.