First, select the account in which you want to trade (you can set a default account in the General Settings menu). Next, enter a stock, ETF, option, or mutual fund symbol in the symbol field. If the selected account holds a position in that security, the quantity held will be displayed in the trade ticket when a closing order is selected. The ticket also automatically populates with any of your default trade settings. Change your Trade preferences at any time in the Trade Settings menu.
The Trade ticket is dynamic and displays all relevant fields based on the security and order type chosen. Streaming quote information is included below the ticket, which you can show or hide using the Expand/Collapse feature.
To submit your trade, complete the ticket and select Preview. Verify your trade details and select Place to submit your order.
The Trade Confirmation screen lets you know your order has been placed and displays your trade confirmation number. The Trade Confirmation screen also provides quick links to Place a New Trade, Set an Alert, or View Your Orders.
QUICK TIP: Click the Bid or Ask price from the Watch List, Positions, Filters, Option Chain, or Quote tools to quickly launch a Trade Ticket with pre-populated trade details.
You can set your default Trade ticket in the Trade Settings menu to pre-populate the Standard Trade ticket, Directed Trade ticket or Multi-Trade ticket.
The Standard Trade ticket does not currently support fixed income trades, international trades, or conditional trades. However, you can execute these trades on Fidelity.com and view orders and positions in Active Trader Pro and ActiveTraderPro.com.
Note: A custom time-in-force (TIF) allows you to set an order expiration date and time up to 180 days out. You can choose a custom expiration time for a Day order or choose a custom expiration date and time for a Good 'til Canceled (GTC) order. The Custom TIF is available when trading equities, ETFs, and options on the Standard and Multi-Trade tickets.
The Multi-Trade tool allows you the freedom and flexibility to save and place one or more orders in a horizontal, blotter-style Trade ticket. The tool can be used to trade stocks, single-leg options, and ETFs. Mutual funds, fixed income, international, and Directed Trading are not supported in the tool at this time.
Placing an Order in Multi-Trade
To begin the trade process, click to highlight an order entry row in the Multi-Trade tool. The row will expand and display the fields that need to be filled. Verify that you have chosen the account in which you would like the trade to be placed. (If you have only one account, this will be your default). If you have multiple accounts and no default set, you will need to select the account you wish to use. Use Settings to manage your default account.
Next, enter the symbol of the security you want to trade in the Symbol field. Once you enter the Symbol, the Last, Change, Bid, and Ask details will automatically display in the quote area of the tool. Clicking the Action dropdown menu will display your basic trade commands (Buy, Sell, etc.) for either stocks/ETFs or options, as appropriate. You can then complete your order by specifying the Quantity, Order Type, TIF, and Condition. The Stop, Limit, Trail, and Based On fields will be available dynamically depending on the type of order chosen. The Type field will display dynamically based on the Action chosen. As is the case with all other trade tools in the Active Trader Pro Platforms (with the exception of the Multi-Leg Option ticket), any default trade settings for stocks or options will automatically be applied to each new order you create.
Once you have filled in all required fields, a Preview button will appear. Any required information not provided will be displayed in a bracketed grey font or watermark, indicating the name of the field for which information is missing. The Preview button will appear only after the ticket has been completely filled out. If you have chosen to Skip Preview in your Trade Settings, this button will appear as a Place button, which will send your order directly to the market. Once you have reviewed the order and determined that all of the trade details are correct, click Place. At this point, you will see the Trade Confirmation screen with all of your order details, unless you have selected Skip Confirmation in Trade Settings.
Entering and Placing Multiple Trades Simultaneously
The Multi-Trade tool streamlines the process of placing multiple orders. You can complete the order details for up to 50 securities by using the Add Order button at the bottom of the tool. Select the trades you would like to place at the same time using Ctrl + click or Shift + click to select multiple order rows. When one or more completed orders has been selected, the Preview # Selected Orders button appears in the lower right (or Place # Selected Orders, if Skip Preview is enabled). The # will be equal to the number of orders you have selected for simultaneous submission. Click Preview Selected Orders to see a Preview screen for all of the trades you are placing. After clicking Place to submit your order, you will receive a confirmation screen for your records, unless you have selected Skip Confirmation in your Trade Settings menu.
Note: You may submit up to a maximum of 20 orders at one time.
Use the Delete Order button to remove orders you no longer need. You may also delete multiple orders simultaneously using Ctrl + click or Shift + click.
Saving Trade Details
Another great feature of the Multi-Trade ticket enables you to prepare and save up to 50 orders for quicker access to the markets. When you enter one or more trades into the tool, these orders are automatically saved and will display the next time you access the Multi-Trade tool, even across sessions.
When closing an equity or single-leg options position, you can choose specific lots for tax reporting of realized gains or losses. The ability to choose specific shares is available for eligible accounts, security types, and valid order actions. When available, a LOTS indicator will appear in the trade ticket; click LOTS to access and specify shares.
Please note:
You can specify lots during the trade entry process on the Standard and Multi-Trade tickets for closing transactions: Sell and Buy to Cover equity orders, and Sell to Close and Buy to Close option orders. To identify specific lots click the LOTS icon on the trade ticket. You may specify all or some of the shares included in the transaction. Unspecified shares will be sold according to your default method.
You may view specified lot details on both the Trade Preview and Confirmation steps by clicking on the LOTS icon. If applicable, lot information will also be displayed in the Orders tool when clicking to expand order detail.
In some instances, lot detail information will not be retained when attempting to cancel and replace an open order. A trade warning will be presented during the Cancel/Replace process if lot details are unable to be retained on the order. In general, orders that are partially executed or orders on which the quantity is being changed will not retain specified lot detail.
You can view shares available for short sale on the Quote tool as well as the Single, Multi, and Directed trade tickets. On the Quote tool locate the field labeled Shortable Shares. You can click the "Show" link to the right of the Shortable Shares label.
Trade tickets will populate the Shortable Share amount once you enter a security in the Symbol field and choose Sell Short in the Action dropdown. The number of shares that are available for short sale are displayed next to the quantity field. Hard to borrow securities that require finance charges are identified with an HTB icon. Hovering over the HTB icon or the Shortable Sale amount will display the number of shares available to short as well as the Estimated Annual Interest Rate to borrow the shares.
The following designations can appear:
*The number of shortable shares shown is a query of current availability and is for informational purposes only.
**The estimated annual interest rate displayed is an indication only. The actual annual interest rate may be greater than or less than the rate displayed subject to market conditions.
In order to help expedite the trade entry process, you may choose to skip the Trade Preview and/or Trade Confirmation steps. Use caution when skipping the Trade Preview step, as you will not be given the opportunity to review the order again prior to submission.
Visit Trade Settings to enable the Skip Preview and/or Skip Confirmation features. Your settings apply to all orders, except mutual funds, and will be invoked when placing, canceling, or replacing an order.
The Multi-Leg Option ticket is an advanced trading tool that allows you to place up to four option orders for simultaneous execution on a net basis. The tool includes predefined strategy tickets to help quickly populate multi-leg option orders, as well as integrated streaming quotes and at-expiration profit, loss, and breakeven information. Click the bottom of the Multi-Leg Option ticket to show or hide the quote and profit/loss detail.
QUICK TIP: Use the Multi-Leg ticket for all your option trades, including single leg orders and also use the Custom strategy to create your own multi-leg trade.
First, select the account in which you want to trade; the account must be authorized for options trading, and strategies displayed will depend on the account's option approval level. (You can set up a default account in the General Settings menu). Note: option trade detail presets apply to single-leg options only.
Next, enter the underlying security symbol and choose the trading strategy you wish to pursue. If the underlying security offers mini options, a toggle will display allowing you to choose standard or mini contracts. The Multi-Leg Option ticket automatically displays all relevant fields, including available expirations and strikes, based on the underlying security and strategy chosen. Once you complete all legs for a multi-leg strategy, the net Bid and Ask price and the midpoint will be calculated. The order type and limit will default to the natural and may be easily changed by modifying this amount. Streaming quotes for the individual legs are available at the bottom of the ticket and once your quantity is entered, the at-expiration profit, loss, and breakeven details are displayed. Note that maximum gain and maximum loss values are calculated for the total trade and displayed on opening transactions only. Custom strategies will not display profit/loss information. To submit your trade, complete the ticket and select Preview. Verify your trade details and select Place to submit your order. The Multi-Leg Option Confirmation screen lets you know your order has been placed, displaying your trade confirmation number. The Confirmation screen also provides quick links to Place a New Trade, Set an Alert, and View Orders.
QUICK TIPS: Click the Bid or Ask price from a multi-leg strategy in the Option Chain to quickly launch a Multi-Leg Option ticket with pre-populated trade details. Use right-click from the Orders tool to quickly duplicate a multi-leg option order.
The following strategies may be traded using the Multi-Leg Option ticket:
Butterfly: The Butterfly ticket allows you to place a three-legged, ratio spread strategy with a 1:2:1 ratio involving all calls or all puts with three different strike prices. The Butterfly ticket will automatically apply the correct actions, ratio, expiration, and option type (call/put) based on the first leg entered. To place a Butterfly order, you must be approved for option level 3 or higher.
Buy Write: Use the Buy Write ticket to place a simultaneous equity and option transaction entering a new covered call position or unwinding an existing covered call position. Buy Writes must be placed in round lot increments of 100:1 (shares to contracts). To place a Buy Write order, you must be approved for option level 1 or higher.
Calls & Puts: Allows you to enter a single leg option order on the multi-leg ticket. You may also choose Add Leg to easily convert the trade to a Custom multi-leg order.
Collar: The Collar combines the purchase of a put or call and the simultaneous sale of the opposite contract type. A Collar ticket will automatically apply the correct action, ratio, expiration, and option type (call/put) based on the first leg entered. To place a Collar order, you must be approved for option level 2 or higher.
Combo: The Combo combines the simultaneous purchase of a put or call and the sale of the opposite contract type with the same strike. A Combo ticket will automatically apply the correct action, ratio, expiration, and option type (call/put) based on the first leg entered. To place a Combo order, you must be approved for option level 2 or higher.
Condor/Iron Condor: The Condor ticket allows you to place a four-legged strategy with a 1:1:1:1 ratio. For the Condor strategy this involves all calls or all puts with four different strike prices. For the Iron Condor strategy this involves both calls and puts with four different strike prices. To place a Condor or Iron Condor order, you must be approved for option level 3 or higher.
Spread: The Spread ticket is a two-legged ticket that allows the placement of a Calendar, Vertical, Diagonal, or Ratio Spread. In order to place a Spread order, you must be approved for option level 3 or higher.
Straddle/Strangle: Use the Straddle ticket, which combines long or short calls and puts, to place either a Straddle or Strangle. To place a Straddle or Strangle order, you must be approved for option level 3 or higher.
Roll: Provides the ability to Roll an existing position by closing an existing option position and opening a new one using the same trade ticket. One potential example is Rolling a covered call. Orders placed using the Roll ticket must be done on a 1:1 basis. To place a Roll order, you must be approved for option level 1 or higher.
Custom: Allows you to build a custom multi-leg option trade up to four legs. No default trade details, such as ratios, actions, expirations or option types, are enforced on this ticket.
Option Levels
Level 1: Includes covered call writing of equity options
Level 2: Includes Level 1 in addition to purchases of calls and puts (equity, index, and interest rate index), writing of cash covered puts, and purchases of Straddles/Combinations (equity, index, and interest rate index). Note: customers who are approved to trade option spreads in retirement accounts are considered approved for level 2.
Level 3: Includes Levels 1 and 2 in addition to equity and index spreads and covered put writing
Level 4: Includes Levels 1, 2, 3 and uncovered (naked) writing of equity options and uncovered writing of straddles/combinations on equities
Level 5: Includes Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and uncovered writing of index options including Straddles and Combinations
Directed Trading gives you greater control over where your trades are routed for execution, and faster access to the market. The Directed Trade ticket combines a single trade ticket, depth of book quote display, and time and sales data (Active Trader Pro desktop only), providing better insight into the current market for a security and more in-depth information as to where orders are accumulating across the various exchanges and Electronic Communication Networks (ECNs). Use directed trading to send your orders to a variety of destinations, or to use advanced algorithms. Current routable destinations include:
A more detailed description of all available routes can be found in the Directed Trade: Routes section.
All customers who have access to Fidelity's Active Trader Pro Platforms are eligible for Directed Trading. Once you have accepted the terms of your user agreement, you can access the Directed Trading ticket in one of two ways:
Set Directed Trading as your default trade ticket in Trade Settings. When this preference is set, any functionality that is suitable for Directed Trading and launches a trade ticket (such as the Action menu, Right-Click menu, and clicking on a Bid/Ask) will launch the ticket with the relevant symbol seeded.
Directed Trading quotes are always streaming, regardless of the update frequency you set in your general preferences. The Directed Trading tool provides a streaming composite quote above the depth of book display, with the top 25 Bid/Ask quotes and sizes displayed in the book. You can resize the tool window vertically to determine how much depth you wish to display. Quotes are sorted by price, size, time, and then alphabetically by market center. Also, multiple quotes may be included from individual ECNs or exchanges at different price levels, allowing you to see true market depth. While you may see a quote from a specific market center, this does not guarantee that you will be able to direct a trade there. See the Directed Trade: Routes section to see all the market centers to which you may route trades.
Time and Sales data is displayed in a streaming real-time format. The Time and Sales component displays all trades that occur on a given security, regardless of trade condition and market session.
Note: Additonal real-time, intraday and historical time & sales data is available in the Time & Sales tool accessible from Quotes & Watch List in the main navigation.
This functionality allows you to select the length of time you would like your order to remain active. The following selections are available, depending on the route chosen and the time of day:
Select any conditions that you would like to apply to your order. The following selections are available, depending on the route and time-in-force chosen:
The following routes are currently available for Directed Trading. Please note that a given route may not be available at all times, and that this list can change at any time.
1. AUTO allows Fidelity to determine where your order is directed for execution. Fidelity has an internal order-flow management team dedicated to directing order flow to the best-performing market centers. The order-flow management team uses both internal and external technology to generate reports that identify any order that executes outside the National Best Bid or Offer (NBBO). To ensure our high standards are met, Fidelity's order-flow management team has established policies and procedures to:
2. NYSE Archipelago (ARCA) is an exchange (ArcaEx) that emerged from the merger of the Archipelago ECN and the Pacific Stock Exchange. It was then acquired by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It trades both Exchange Listed and NASDAQ securities. Active Trader Pro trades directed to ARCA will go proactive (meaning they will be sent to another market center if ARCA cannot fill the order and another market center can) for both NASDAQ and Exchange Listed stocks between the hours of 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET on regular trading days. As an exchange, ARCA is part of the National Market System for Exchange Listed stocks. If you post the best quote in the overall market on ARCA for an Exchange Listed stock, your quote will be reflected in the National Best Bid/Offer (NBBO) for that stock.
3. Fidelity Dynamic Liquidity ManagementSM (FDLM) is Fidelity Capital Markets' proprietary intelligent order router, which provides access to displayed liquidity through ECNs and exchanges, as well as non-displayed liquidity through "dark pools." It combines historical and real-time market data with market microstructure tactics and leverages financial engineering to produce increased potential for price improvement and liquidity enhancement. Benefits include:
Orders routed through FDLM will only execute within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO), providing price improvement opportunities. Non-displayed liquidity pools and external ATSs (“dark pools”) are accessed within 500 milliseconds of order entry; any unfilled portion of the order will automatically be routed to multiple ECNs and exchanges for additional executions. If any portion of the order remains unexecuted, it will be posted to one of three exchanges: NSDQ, NYSE, and/or ARCA. A 10-day historical market share for the security being routed through FDLM determines the exchange on which the order is ultimately posted.
4. NASDAQ (NSDQ) is the largest U.S. electronic exchange and has benefited from the recent proliferation of ECNs, exchange privatization, and exchange consolidation. NSDQ is the marketplace identifier (MPID) formed by the completion of a NASDAQ single-book feed that included combining previous MPIDs such as BRUT and INET, along with NYSE/AMEX-listed symbols. This MPID represents unattributed depth data from market centers, such as ECNs or ATSs. Both NASDAQ and Exchange Listed securities can be traded here.
5. NYSE Hybrid (NYHY) integrates the traditional NYSE floor-based auction market with enhanced automated trading functionality. Active Trader Pro Directed Trading customers can only send orders for stocks with a primary listing on the NYSE to NYHY. The NYSE is a part of the National Market System for Exchange Listed stocks. If you post the best quote in the overall market on the NYSE for an Exchange Listed stock, your quote will be reflected in the National Best Bid/Offer (NBBO) for that stock.
6. NYSE SuperDot (SDOT) is a system run by the New York Stock Exchange that routes orders electronically to the specialist's book for that particular stock. The maximum order size for an SDOT order sent via Directed Trading is 5,000 shares; this limit is subject to change without notice. An SDOT order may receive price improvement through the NYSE's floor auction process. Active Trader Pro and ActiveTraderPro.com users can only send orders for stocks with a primary listing on the NYSE to SDOT. The NYSE is a part of the National Market System for Exchange Listed stocks. If you post the best quote in the overall market on the NYSE for an Exchange Listed stock, your quote will be reflected in the National Best Bid/Offer (NBBO) for that stock.
7. Target Volume (TVOL) is based on a percentage participation rate. It is designed to forecast and trade along with market volume at the targeted rate. TVOL tracks volume in the consolidated market and will increase or decrease volume as market conditions warrant. The target volume algorithm will participate in the market at a specified rate (5%, 10%, 20%). The duration of the order is directly related to how actively the stock is trading. An active stock that trades frequently and at high volumes will trade faster than an order for a stock that is less active. Orders will only be filled if enough trading volume has occurred.
8. Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) strategy trades along with volume throughout the day, tracking the average price over the specified time interval. VWAP utilizes proprietary volume forecasting methods for determining order placement. The VWAP algorithm will attempt to trade proportionately to the market over the specified trading horizon. Executions will be spaced throughout the life of the order until that order is filled. The number of shares executed is directly related to the size of your order; larger orders will have a higher number of shares traded at a time. General trading patterns will generally result in your order trading at a higher frequency as the end of the trading session approaches.
Below you will find additional information on how order duration (amount of time your order is open) and order size can impact how actively your order will trade.
An order entered at 9:30 AM ET will attempt to spread trading over the entire day so smaller orders will see larger gaps between executions. If you enter an order for 1,000 shares (minimum quantity required) to trade over the entire day (entered at 9:30 AM ET), you may only see a few executions, all potentially with large time gaps between them.
Larger orders will have the opportunity to trade with greater frequency throughout the day relative to smaller orders in the same stock.
Entering orders later in the day will shorten your trading window and likely increase the frequency of executions. In general, trading activity increases toward the end of the day, so given that the VWAP attempts to trade proportionately with the market, your order will trade more, and with higher frequency, toward the end of the trading session (4:00 PM ET).
Note: Fidelity may limit the size of market orders that can be routed directly to an exchange.
Directed Trading offers five additional Advanced Order Types which must be enabled in Directed Trade Settings. They are listed below, along with a brief description of their intended functionality.
Reserve Order: Reserve Orders allow you to send two quantities to the market-your full order quantity and the quantity you would like to display publicly. The display quantity will be refreshed each time that quantity of shares has been executed, until the entirety of your order has been filled.
Discretionary Orders: Discretionary Orders allow you to send two prices to the market-your "normal" display price and a discretionary price. The discretionary price is added to or subtracted from your limit price to determine a maximum or minimum price at which you are willing to trade.
Discretionary Reserve Orders: Discretionary Reserve Orders give you the ability to combine the benefits of both a discretionary and a reserve order, hiding your full order size from the market and using a discretionary price to determine a maximum or minimum execution price.
Pegged Orders: Pegged Orders allow you to enter an order with a price cap that will be displayed at the best market price and will move up and down as that price changes. The price cap is the maximum (buy) or minimum (sell) price that you will accept for a given trade.
Non-Display Orders: Non-Display Orders allow you to send limit orders to the NASDAQ Market Center (NSDQ) without having them displayed to the marketplace. The display field will only appear when this order type has been enabled in settings and the route chosen is NSDQ.
Shortcut buttons allow you to save time by predefining the details of your order for one-click population of the directed trade ticket. You may enable up to a maximum of six shortcut buttons using either prebuilt or custom criteria.
Shortcut buttons are generally only active when there is a quoted market on a security.
Prebuilt Shortcut Buttons: There are four prebuilt shortcut buttons that can be enabled in the Directed Trade Settings. They are:
Note: the long/short trade action will default to your choice from Settings, which may be accessed in either the Directed Trading General Settings or via right-click.
Custom Buttons: Use Directed Trade Settings to create custom shortcut buttons. After choosing the Stock Shortcuts tab in Directed Trade Settings, click +.
For each custom button, you can select the following attributes:
Use the (+) and (-) buttons to add or remove your shortcuts. The order in which the shortcut buttons appear in Settings will be the order in which they appear on the trade ticket. To edit a shortcut, select it, edit its properties, and then click the Apply button.
Please note there is no order validation performed on this page so your order may not be eligible for trading as entered. If a specific button property (e.g. route or TIF) would make the order ineligible for placement, the field will be left blank in the Directed Trade ticket.
There are three ways to place a Directed Trade:
First, select the appropriate account number (or use the default if you have set up a default account in General Settings). Next, enter a stock symbol or use the dropdown to select a previously entered symbol. Once you have entered an account and symbol, you must fill out the additional required trade details prior to placing your order. This process can be streamlined by selecting default fields in your Directed Trading Settings, although this is not mandatory.
If you have not selected any defaults in Settings:
Type will default based on your account type: cash for cash accounts and margin for margin accounts. The Type field will display only if necessary to process the order. In addition, if you select Reserve or Discretionary Reserve as your order type, the Display field will prefill any value that you have entered on your Settings page.
Moving through the trade ticket can be done in one of two ways. You can use your mouse to select each field and either type in a value or use the available dropdowns. You may also “Tab and Type” your way through the trade ticket using the tab key, populating fields as they are highlighted. You can either type in information or use the keyboard to quickly select items from the dropdown list, such as B for Buy or L for Limit. You can also use the arrows on your keyboard to cycle through a dropdown list. For fields such as Quantity, type in the value you want and hit tab to enter it and move on to the next field.
Note: You can also use the arrows on the keyboard to quickly increase or decrease the quantity or price that you have entered into a field. Using the arrows will move quantity up or down by 100 shares and price up or down by $0.01.
First, select the appropriate account number (or use the default if you have set up a default account in General settings). Next, enter a stock symbol or use the dropdown to select a previously entered symbol. To quickly prepare your order, click on one of the quotes displayed in the depth of book. Your trade ticket will be automatically populated with the following:
Note: Clicking on an NYSE quote sets the route to SuperDot (SDOT). The maximum size of a SuperDot order is currently 5,000 shares if no maximum book quantity has been set.
First, select the appropriate account number (or use the default if you have set up a default account in General settings). Next, enter a stock symbol or use the dropdown to select a previously entered symbol. To quickly prepare an order once you have created shortcut buttons, click on one of the buttons. Your trade ticket will automatically be populated with all of the parameters from your shortcut.
A few things to remember about shortcuts:
You can manually modify any or all of the fields in the trade ticket after you have clicked on a shortcut button. In addition, clicking on a different shortcut button will override all existing information in the trade ticket.
The Cancel and Cancel/Replace functions for Directed Trading are similar to those found in other Active Trader Pro trade tickets. However, you will not be able to modify certain trade characteristics, such as display size or discretionary amount, which are specific to Directed Trading.
Access the Order Tool in one of the following ways:
Please note that Canceling/Replacing is performed on a best-efforts basis. There is no guarantee that you will be able to Cancel/Replace your order since it may have already executed in part or in full.
Directed Option Trading allows you to route option trades to the exchange of your choice allowing greater flexibility and control of your order. It combines a trade ticket with an option montage display consisting of streaming quotes across exchanges, along with Time and Sales data. You may also place pre-market option trades on a limited number of index options using the directed trading ticket.
All customers who have access to Fidelity's Active Trader Pro Platforms and have a valid option agreement on file are eligible for Directed Option Trading. You can access the Directed Trading ticket in one of two ways:
Select Trade & Orders > Directed Trade from the main menu. Once the ticket is loaded, choose Directed Trade Options from the title bar.
Set Directed Trading as your default trade ticket in Trade Settings. When this preference is set, any functionality that is suitable for Directed Trading and launches a trade ticket (such as the Action Menu, Right-Click menu, and clicking on a Bid/Ask price), will launch the ticket with the relevant symbol seeded.
Directed Option Trading quotes are always streaming, regardless of the update frequency you set in your general preferences. The tool provides streaming option quotes across exchanges relevant to the contract in view. The view will display the contract's best Bid price and best Ask price on each individual exchange. You can customize the sort order of the book in Directed Trade Settings or via the Right-Click menu. The default view is sorted by price; in this view the left side of the book will display the exchange with the best Bid price, the right side will display the exchange with the best Ask price. You may also choose to sort by exchange. This view lists the available exchanges alphabetically and displays the current Bid price and Ask price for that contract on each particular exchange. Clicking on a price in the book will seed the quote information into the ticket fields, including route.
Time and Sales data are displayed in a streaming real-time format. The Time and Sales component displays all trades that occur on a given contract, regardless of trade condition.
Note: Specific share trading is not available when placing a directed options order. Also, the Boston Options Exchange (BOX) will not accept Stop, Stop Limit, or Good 'til Canceled orders.
Shortcut buttons allow you to save time by predefining the details of your order for one-click population of the directed option trade ticket. You may enable up to a maximum of six option shortcut buttons using either prebuilt or custom criteria.
Shortcut buttons are generally only active when there is a quoted market on a security.
Prebuilt Option Shortcut Buttons: There are eight prebuilt shortcut buttons that can be enabled in the Directed Trade Settings. They are:
Custom Buttons: Use Directed Trade Settings to create custom option shortcut buttons. After choosing the Option Shortcuts tab in Directed Trade Settings, click + to add a shortcut.
For each custom button, you can select the following attributes:
Please note there is no order validation done on this page so your order may not be eligible for trading as entered. If a specific button property (e.g., Route or TIF) would make the order ineligible for placement, the field will be left blank in the Directed Trade ticket.
To remove a shortcut button, select the one you would like to remove and click the - button.
Similar to the Stock/ETF Directed Trade ticket, there are three ways to place a Directed Option Trade.
1 Enter order details manually:
Select the appropriate account number (or use the default if you have set up a default account in General Settings). Next, either enter an optionable stock, ETF, or index symbol, then use the dropdowns to select the contract details (expiration date, strike, and call or put), or paste the contract symbol into the symbol box. If the underlying security offers mini options, a toggle will display allowing you to choose standard or mini contracts. Once you have entered an account and symbol, you must fill out the additional required trade details prior to placing your order. This process can be streamlined by selecting default fields in your Directed Trading Settings, although this is not mandatory.
If you have not selected any defaults in Settings:
Type will default based on your account type: cash for cash accounts and margin for margin accounts. The Type field will display only if necessary to process the order.
Estimated order value may not include SEC fee or other fees.
Moving through the trade ticket can be done in one of two ways. You can use your mouse to select each field and either type in a value or use the available dropdowns. You may also use the tab key to move from field to field, typing into each one as it is highlighted. You can type in information or use keyboard shortcuts, such as B for Buy to Open and BB for Buy to Close. You can also use the arrows on your keyboard to cycle through a dropdown list. For fields such as Quantity, type in the value you want and hit tab to enter it and move to the next field.
Note: Use the arrows on the keyboard to quickly increase or decrease the quantity or price that you have entered into a field. Using the arrows will move Quantity up or down by 1 contract and Price up or down by $0.01.
2 Entering an order by clicking on a quote from the book.
First, select the appropriate account number (or use the default if you have set up a default account in General settings). Next either enter an optionable stock, ETF, or index symbol, then use the dropdowns to select the contract details or paste a contract symbol into the symbol box. To quickly prepare your order, click on one of the quotes displayed in the book. Your trade ticket will be automatically populated with the following:
3 Enter an order using the shortcut buttons.
First, select the appropriate account number (or use the default if you have set up a default account in General settings). Next, enter an optionable stock, ETF, or index symbol, then use the dropdowns to select the contract details, or paste a contract symbol into the symbol box. To quickly prepare an order once you have created shortcut buttons, click on one of the buttons. Your trade ticket will be automatically populated with the parameters from your shortcut.
A few things to remember about shortcuts:
You can manually modify any or all of the fields in the trade ticket after you have clicked on a shortcut button. In addition, clicking on a different shortcut button will override all existing information in the trade ticket.
The Directed Options Trade Ticket allows you to place pre-market option orders on a limited number of index options. If pre-market trading is available on a particular index, a session drop-down box will appear next to the call/put drop-down. Choose Pre-Market Session to place an option order in the pre-market. These orders will be eligible for execution until 9:15 AM ET and may only be routed to the CBOE. Choose Standard Session if you'd like to place an option order for the standard session prior to market open.
The Cancel and Cancel/Replace functions for Directed Trading are similar to those of other Active Trader Pro trade tickets. However, in Directed Trading, you will not be able to modify certain trade characteristics, such as display size or discretionary amount, which are specific to Directed Equity Trading.
Access the Order tool in one of the following ways:
Please note that Canceling/Replacing is performed on a best-efforts basis. There is no guarantee that you will be able to Cancel/Replace your order since it may have already executed in part or in full.
Conditional Trading allows for greater customization of order handling to meet your specific needs and provides you the flexibility to place and cancel orders based on certain criteria being met or based on the status of linked orders. There are four types of Conditional orders available through the Active Trader Platforms:
Fidelity offers Conditional orders on a best efforts, "not held" basis. Use of Conditional Orders indicates your understanding and acceptance of the risks associated with these orders. Click here for more information
Note: Sell Short orders are not available through the Conditional Trade ticket.
The Conditional Trade ticket can be accessed from the Main Navigation toolbar in the Trade & Orders menu. The conditional ticket defaults to a Contingent order, use the Trade Type drop down to select a different order type. Depending on the Trade Type selected the fields available in this order ticket will change. For example you may see two or three orders depending on whether you chose OCO or OTOCO.
A Contingent order allows you to trigger the placement of an equity or single-leg option order if certain criteria are met. Users can specify triggers based on the following security types:
The following triggers are available in the Contingent ticket:
| Trigger | Stock/ETF | Index | Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Trade | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bid | Yes | No | Yes |
| Ask | Yes | No | Yes |
| Volume | Yes | Yes | No |
| Day Change % Up | Yes | Yes | No |
| Day Change % Down | Yes | Yes | No |
| 52 Week High | Yes | Yes | No |
| 52 Week Low | Yes | Yes | No |
After setting your Symbol and Trigger you have the ability to select a Direction:
Time in Force (TIF): You can choose from Day, Good 'til Canceled (good for 180 days or life of option contract), or Custom. The TIF for your Criteria may be the same or different than the TIF for your Order.
After placing a Contingent order you will see it in the Orders tool listed as a Contingent order with a status of Untriggered. Once the Criteria specified in the order has been met, the order is then sent to the marketplace and will be listed in the Orders tool as Open (Triggered).
Certain Contingent orders may not be eligible for execution after being triggered for release to the marketplace, including limit or stop prices too far away from the market or on the wrong side of the market. Please monitor these orders for reasonability. As a general guideline, an order may be canceled if it is more than 30% away from the market depending on where the order was routed for execution.
A One Cancels the Other (OCO) order gives you the ability to place two live orders so that if either one of the orders executes the other is canceled. Cancelation of the linked order is done on a "best efforts" basis.
Note: Partial execution of one of the orders will also trigger an attempt to cancel the other order.
One Cancels the Other orders are commonly used to place orders on both sides of the market for the same security and are also known as bracket orders. For example, if an account is long shares of XYZ stock, the owner may want to have an order to sell XYZ at a Limit above the current market and an order to sell XYZ at a Stop below the current market. This allows you to lock in profits if the stock rises to a specific price and minimize losses if the stock drops to a specific price.
Time in Force (TIF): The TIF for Order A and Order B need to be the same. For example:
After placing a One Cancels the Other (OCO) order you will see both orders on the Orders tool. Each leg of the OCO order will have a unique identifier. For example: OCO 1A and OCO 1B.
Since Order A and Order B are both live orders in the marketplace you can cancel either Order while the other leg remains Open.
A One Triggers the Other (OTO) order gives you the ability to place a primary and secondary order at the same time. The primary order is a live order at the marketplace where the secondary order is not sent to the marketplace until the primary order executes.
Note: The primary order needs to execute in full for the secondary order to be sent to the marketplace.
A One Triggers the Other (OTO) order is primarily used to place a buy and sell order on the same security at the same time. For example, if you would like to buy shares of XYZ stock and immediately place a sell stop or sell limit on the shares, this can be accomplished with an OTO order.
Time in Force (TIF): You can have different TIFs for your primary vs. secondary orders.
After placing a One Triggers the Other (OTO) order you will see both orders on the Orders tool. Each leg of the OTO order will have a unique identifier. For example: OTO 1A and OTO 1B.
If your attempt to cancel your primary order is successful, this will automatically cancel your secondary order. However, canceling your secondary order will not automatically cancel your primary order.
A One Triggers a One Cancels the Other (OTOCO) order gives you the ability to place a primary and two secondary orders at the same time. The primary order is a live order at the marketplace where the secondary orders are not sent to the marketplace until the primary order executes. Once the primary order executes in full the two secondary orders are sent to the marketplace as a One Cancels the Other (OCO) order. The execution of either leg of the OCO order triggers an attempt to cancel the other order.
Note: The primary order needs to execute in full for the secondary OCO orders to be sent to the marketplace.
A One Triggers a One Cancels the Other (OTOCO) order is commonly used to place a buy and corresponding sell orders (above and below current price) on the same security at the same time. For example, if you would like to buy shares of XYZ and know your profit and loss targets prior to entry, you could utilize an OTOCO order by placing a Buy, Sell Limit and Sell Stop.
Time in Force (TIF): The TIF can be different on your primary and secondary orders. However, both secondary orders have the same TIF rules as an OCO order.
After placing a One Triggers a One Cancels the Other (OTOCO) order you will see all three legs of the order in the Orders tool with unique identifiers. For example: OTOCO 1A, OTOCO 1B and OTOCO 1C.
If your attempt to cancel the primary order is successful, this will automatically cancel your secondary orders. However, canceling either one of your secondary orders will not have an impact on the other two open orders.
