Placing Equity Orders

Navigate to Stocks from the Trade main menu dropdown.

1. Choose the Share Amount
2. Choose an Order Type

Available Order Types

• Limit: An order to buy or sell a security at a specific price or better. As opposed to a market order, limit orders might not be filled quickly or at all if the market moves away from the specified price. A limit order guarantees price, but not execution.
• Market: An order to buy or sell a security at the prevailing market price. Sometimes referred to as "at the market." Unless trading is halted, a market order guarantees execution, but not price.
• Stop: A request to buy or sell at the market price, but only when the security trades at or past a price specified. Once the stock price moves to or through the stop price, the pending stop order becomes a market order. Stock and ETF stop orders are triggered by a trade at or through the specified stop price. Once the order is activated, you are guaranteed execution, but there is no guarantee of the execution price. Execution may occur either above, at or below your stop price.
• Stop Limit: An order that becomes a limit order once the security trades at or through the designated stop price. A stop limit order instructs a broker to buy or sell at a specific price or better, but only after a given stop price has been reached or passed. It is a combination of a stop order and a limit order. Stock and ETF stop limit orders are triggered by a trade at or through the specified stop price.
• Market On Close: A Market On Close (MOC) order is submitted for execution as part of an exchange’s closing auction or other trade execution process. Furthermore, MOC Orders must be placed or changed before 3:45pm EST (within 15 min of market close). Your ability to cancel MOC orders is governed by the rules of the exchange to which the order was routed. In most cases, cancellation requests will not be accepted after 3:55 pm ET and may be subject to restrictions at earlier times depending on exchange rules.
  

3. Select the Timing for the order.

Available Timing Choices

• Day: Causes your order to be canceled at the end of the current market session if the order has not been executed. All Market Orders are automatically Day orders. Orders are generally considered to be day orders unless otherwise specified.
• GTC (Good 'Til Canceled): Instructs the broker to keep an order open until it is either executed or expires. At Schwab, GTC orders remain open for 60 calendar days unless filled or you request that they be canceled before that time.
• FOK (Fill or Kill): Instructs the broker to immediately fill an order in its entirety or to cancel it. FOK instructions are only applicable to limit orders.
• IOC (Immediate or Cancel): Requires the broker to immediately fill as much of the order as possible and then cancel any remaining portion. (It may not be available in all market conditions.) Unlike All or None (AON) or Fill or Kill (FOK) instructions, IOC orders may result in a partial execution.

4. If you would like to add AON (All or None) as a special condition, place a check in the corresponding box.

5. If applicable, Add an Advanced Order: Click on Create an Advanced Order to open the order form. See Advanced Orders Overview for more details.

6. Preview Order: When you are satisfied with the trade you are building, click Preview Order.
7. Place Order: At this point you may choose to place the order.

Saved Orders

1. The Save link is located at the bottom of your stock or options Trade Ticket.
2. Enter the information for the trade you would like to save from the trading screen. Click Save. Your saved order will immediately appear on the right side of the screen in the Saved Orders box.
3. In the Saved Orders box, you can click on the Trade link or Delete icon to trade or delete your saved order.

A Stop Order is an order to Buy or Sell at the Market price once the security is at or has traded through a certain price (the Stop price).

Buy Stops are entered above the current Market price. If the security trades at or above your Stop price, your Stop Order becomes a Market Order and your broker will buy at the current Market price. A Buy Stop is designed to help protect a profit or limit a loss on a short sale.

Sell Stops are entered below the current Market price. If the security trades at or below your Stop price, your Stop Order becomes a Market Order and it will sell at the current market price. A Sell Stop is designed to help protect a profit or limit a loss on a long position.

The risk of a Stop Order is that it may be triggered by temporary market movements or executed at a price higher or lower than the Stop price. A Stop Order does not guarantee a price.

NOTE: Schwab will not trigger your stop or stop limit orders based upon odd-lot transactions, or any other transactions excluded from the consolidated last sale price calculations.