Lightyear offers 4 order types. It’s important to evaluate which order types fit your investment strategy the best.
An “Order”, in investment speak, simply refers to an instruction that you place to your broker (in this instance, Lightyear). This instruction tells us to either buy or sell an instrument within a certain set of parameters, depending on the type of order you place.
Why can I only place a market or only a limit order but not both?
If an instrument has a very low trading volume, meaning there are not a lot of counterparties who sell and trade at the time, we may offer only limit orders to avoid rejected orders. We continue monitoring these instruments and may update the notice that's left on them in the app – keep a keen eye on the notice for further information.
How to change the order type in the app?
When placing an order, market order is usually the default option. If a different order type is available for this instrument, you can switch it in the order setup screen by selecting the order type shown.
Can I cancel an order?
- Market orders are executed at the best available price, so in most cases they can't be cancelled once submitted. If you place a market order outside of market hours, you may see a cancellation option, however, this doesn't guarantee the order will be cancelled. Factors like order status, processing time, and market conditions can all affect whether the cancellation goes through.
- Limit and stop orders remain open until your set price is reached or the order expires, so you can cancel them before they're filled. You'll find pending orders in the Transaction tab.
- Repeat orders can be cancelled under your pending orders in the Transaction tab. This will cancel all future scheduled orders in that instrument.
- Orders placed as part of a reward cannot be cancelled once submitted.