Managing Bracket Orders

Once you submit a primary order with a bracket, or add brackets to a position, the bracket portion of the order will display as a contingent order in the Order Status tab of your Account Details tool.

You can also change or cancel brackets (and orders associated with them) via the Order Status tab, just as you can with non-bracketed orders.

Brackets on Orders

• When you first submit a primary order with brackets, you will see that the bracket quantity displays as zero ‘0’. Brackets only become active once a fill has been received on the primary order. As fills are received, the bracket’s quantity will increase and the Current Trigger price will adjust based on the price of those fills.
• Canceling the primary order will also cancel the bracket exits associated with it as long as there are no fills against the primary.
• Partially-filled primary orders will already have active bracket(s) on the filled shares or contracts. Canceling the remaining unfilled portion of the primary order will not impact the brackets.

Brackets on Positions

Note some important differences between brackets on positions versus brackets on orders.

• Starting Price: When you establish a bracket on an order, the starting price of the bracket is based on the average fill price. However, when you establish a bracket on a position (e.g., from the Positions tab or a Positions tile), you will need to specify a starting price and quantity. For trailing stop brackets, whether on an order or a position, the starting price is based off the Bid or Ask at the moment the bracket becomes active.
• Quantity: The quantity to be bracketed must be designated for brackets on positions.
• Add brackets to positions from the Positions tab (right-click on the position and select Add Bracket to [symbol]...) or click on a Position tile anywhere in the software and click the Add Bracket link. You can have up to 10 brackets per position.
• Change or cancel brackets on positions from the Order Status tab, O tiles throughout the software, or from the Order flag displayed on a chart.
• All active brackets on a symbol will be cancelled if the position is completely closed. If a position is partially closed, any additional brackets on the symbol will remain active.
• The total sum of the brackets on positions can exceed the current position quantity, but will not sell more shares than you own at the time the bracket(s) are triggered.

Adding Brackets to a New Primary Order:

1. Click Buy or Short (for option orders, click Buy to Open or Sell to Open) in Trade tool.
2. Set up the details of your primary order, including order type, quantity, limit price, timing, and any special conditions.
3. Click Brackets button to access the Bracket settings.
4. In the Bracket settings, choose which exit(s) you wish to use in your risk management strategy for this position: Profit, Trailing Stop, and/or Stop Loss. See Brackets Overview for descriptions and examples of each.
5. Set up the parameters for the selected brackets, while confirming that the Est. Price is in line with your expectations. The estimated price is based on either the designated Limit price for a Limit or Stop Limit order, or the Inside bid or ask if your order is a Market or Stop order.
6. Once the primary order receives a fill, that fill’s price is used to calculate the actual trigger price. If multiple fills are received at different prices, those prices are averaged together and the average fill price is used as a basis for the calculation.

Adding Brackets to Open Orders

1. In the Order Status tab, right-click on the position you are adding brackets to and select Add Bracket...
2. Check the exits you wish to apply to the order, and specify the values and units for each.
3. Click Review Order, then if the order is correct, click Place Order. The brackets now display as contingent orders in your Order Status tab.

Adding Brackets to Positions

In the Positions tab, right-click on the position and select Add Bracket to [symbol]... or click on a Position tile anywhere in the software and click the Add Bracket link.

When you establish a bracket from the Order Status tab, the starting price of the bracket is based on the average fill price. For trailing stop brackets, the starting price is based off of the Bid or Ask at the point in time the bracket becomes active.

However, when you establish a bracket AFTER the order fills (from the Positions tab or a Position tile), you will need to specify a starting price and quantity.

(mouse over to enlarge)

1. Select a starting price from the Bid, Ask, Last, or enter a custom price in the Other field. If you are adding the bracket to a position with multiple fill prices, the Avg Cost will also be an available selection.

Note: Trailing Stop exits use the Bid or Ask at the time the bracket is added as the starting price, and does not use the values specified in this step.

2. Enter the portion of your position to which you wish to apply the bracket in the Quantity field. Click the arrows to increase or decrease the quantity by 100 share increments, or type a number in the field.
3. Choose which exit(s) you wish to use in your risk management strategy for this position: Profit, Trailing Stop (see note above), and/or Stop Loss. See Brackets Overview for descriptions and examples of each.
4. Set up the parameters for the selected brackets, while confirming that the Est. Price is in line with your expectations. The estimated price is based on the Starting Price you selected above.
5. Click Review Order, and then if the order is satisfactory, click Place Order. The brackets will then display in the Order Status tab, where you can view, edit, or delete them as necessary.

Changing a Bracket

Changing a bracket prior to it triggering does not affect the primary order.

1. In the Order Status tab, find primary order (or for a bracket on a position, find the bracket) and expand it by clicking the arrow in the first column so the contingent orders associated with the primary order display below it.
2. Right-click the Contingent order you wish to change and select Edit Bracket.
3. Make your edits to the brackets and click OK.
4. If your primary order has already received fills, you will see the current trigger price adjust based on the change in the bracket’s value.

Removing a Bracket

In the Order Status tab, right-click on the bracket you wish to remove and select Remove [exit type]. If you wish to remove all bracket orders at once, select Edit Bracket and uncheck the Exit checkboxes.

Notes on Changing or Canceling Primary Orders

• Changing a primary order: Generally a primary order can be changed without impacting the brackets. Changes to the limit price will impact the fill prices, and those will be taken into account as fills are received and the new trigger prices are calculated for the exits.
• Too late to cancel: Orders can fill quickly, so it's often the case that a command to cancel the primary order is too late and is rejected by the system. This simply means the primary and bracket orders will proceed as normal: The primary order would be an open position with the bracket order(s) active.
• Changing primary order AND brackets: You can change the primary order in the Order Status tab, but to change the bracket exits themselves, right-click on the bracket sub-order in the Order Status tab and select Edit Bracket. You cannot change the order AND its associated brackets via the Change Order function.
• Changing a partially filled primary order: When you change an order, the existing order is canceled and replaced with a new order. When you change an order that has been partially filled, the filled portion of the order remains and the unfilled portion becomes a new order.

• When brackets are associated with the order, they remain linked to the filled portion of the order, and the quantity and trigger price are based on the executions up to the point the order was changed.
• The new order created by the change, which consists of the unfilled portion of the original order, and will have a new set of brackets linked to it. Any new fills of this order will be used to increase the bracket quantity and calculate the new trigger price.

• Canceling a partially filled primary order: If an order partially fills, any brackets that were part of the order will become active for the number of filled shares. If you cancel the remainder of the unfilled shares, it will not affect the filled shares or the brackets.
• Voided Executions on the primary order: If the primary order receives one or more voided fills, any brackets against that order will be automatically deactivated (if the full quantity is voided) or adjusted for the remaining valid shares that are still open or have filled.
• Brackets triggering while the primary order is still in open status: When the first fill is received for the primary order, your brackets begin being monitored in the event that one of your target exits is met. If the price touches one of these exits, the bracket will trigger an order and the remaining brackets will be cancelled.

• When this occurs, a new set of bracket exits will be established automatically and any new executions for the primary order will be applied to the new bracket set. Any single primary order can only have one bracket set in contingent status at a time.

• Bracket Exits triggering before the position is updated: Occasionally, usually due to unusually heavy market volume, StreetSmart Edge® may be slow to receive position updates. This condition coupled with high volatility can result in brackets triggering before the position is received by StreetSmart Edge®. When this occurs, the bracket order fails. When placing trades in these marketplace conditions, setting looser bracket exits may still provide some protection but allow for the system to update properly and may prevent you from being stopped out of your position prematurely.
• Effects of corporate actions: Order quantities on brackets will not adjust due to corporate actions, including but not limited to stock splits, stock dividends, spin-offs, mergers, and name changes.