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TradePlans
TradePlans can either help you make the most of share price movements, or protect you from a sharp fall. They are automated trading tools which carry out your request to buy or sell investments at a price set by you.
What type of TradePlans do you offer?
- Limit order - sets a price above which you will not buy, or below which you will not sell a stock.
- Stop loss* - sets a price to sell shares which is lower than the current price. Stop losses are usually used to protect you from sharp falls in a share price.
- Target setting - a combination of a limit order to sell at a higher price than the current price, and a stop loss order to sell at a lower price than the current price. Target setting can help you maximise profits when share prices rise and protect against losses when they fall.
- Range trading - specify the prices which you wish to buy and sell a particular stock. It's a combination of two limit orders, one to buy shares at a lower price than the current price, and one to sell them at a higher price.
- Price locking* - an in-built stop loss which automatically adjusts your stop price to lock in rises when shares climb to protect you from a sharp fall.
*Our stop loss and price locking facilities do not use a guaranteed stop loss. When the share price reaches your target price, your order will go into a queue to be actioned. This means that the price dealt may, on occasion, be either higher or lower than the trigger price.
Please note, if the price changes outside of your set criteria it either won’t stop selling (e.g. stop loss) or we won’t continue to buy if the price doesn't stay below your set buy price.
How much does a TradePlan cost?
Each TradePlan you set-up costs £2 and if a trade is executed then we’ll reduce the dealing commission on that trade by £2 per trade.
Example - if you place a TradePlan order online, you will pay £2 when the TradePlan is set-up and if the trade executes you will pay £3 dealing commission.
A charge of £2 will be made each time you amend the TradePlan. If your TradePlan expires before it has been executed then the £2 charge will not be refunded. You can cancel a TradePlan at any time without an additional charge.
Further information about TradePlans
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Our TradePlan facility will monitor prices between 08:05 and 16:30 each trading day.
Between 08:00 and 08:05, there is the potential for wide spreads between the selling price and the buying price of a stock, and unrealistic prices from opening auctions. So, we won’t monitor prices during this period to prevent the incorrect triggering of buy or sell trades.
We don’t guarantee the exact price for Limit or Stop Loss orders: When your target price is hit, your order is queued and executed as soon as possible at the best available price. Market volatility can affect the final price.
A TradePlan might not always execute at your specified price. This can depend on the variables of the instruction. For example, if a share price is particularly volatile, or your order is greater than the amount available at that price, we may not be able to complete your instruction.
Make sure you have enough cash available in your Share Dealing Account to cover the cost of any purchases before you set up a TradePlan. If there isn’t enough available cash to cover the cost of a purchase, your TradePlan may be cancelled. Likewise, when setting up a TradePlan to sell you must make sure that there is enough stock held to fulfil the trade.
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Limit orders allow you to set the price you want to buy or sell at.
There are two types of limit order, one to buy shares and one to sell shares.
- Buying shares with a limit order: You would use this if you want to buy shares but only if the price falls to a certain amount.
For example: If a share is £50, but you only want to buy it if it drops to £45. You set a limit order at £45 and if the price falls to £45, your order will be executed.
- Selling shares with a Limit Order: This is when you want to sell shares, but only if the price goes up to a certain amount.
For example: If a share is £50, but you want to sell it if it rises to £55. You can set a limit order at £55 and if the price reaches £55, your order will be executed.
There are some things you need to know before setting up a limit order.
- No guaranteed prices. It isn’t always possible to execute a TradePlan at your specified price. This could be for various reasons, if a share price is very volatile, or your order is greater than the amount available at that price, we might not be able to complete your instruction.
- Your limit price or better. When the price hits your limit, your order is processed at your limit price or better.
- The price can change. If the price changes unfavourably, your order goes back to ‘pending’ until the price hits your limit again, expires, or you cancel it.
- Buying shares with a limit order: You would use this if you want to buy shares but only if the price falls to a certain amount.
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Stop losses safeguard you against a fall in your share price.
To use a stop loss order, set a specific price to sell shares that is lower than the current price.
The price you set is called the trigger price. If the share price falls to this trigger price, your shares will automatically go into a queue to be sold.
Experienced investors use stop losses to control the amount of loss they’re willing to accept.
For example: You own shares of XYZ plc, currently trading at 900p each. So, you set a stop loss at 800p. If the share price drops to 800p, your stop loss order will trigger, and your shares will be sold at the best available price, helping to limit your losses.
There are some things you need to know before setting up a stop loss.
- No guaranteed prices. Our stop loss TradePlan does not guarantee your stop loss price. When the share price hits your stop loss price, your order is triggered and processed as soon as possible at the best available price. This price might be higher or lower than your stop price, especially during high market volatility.
- Prices can change quickly and open lower. Sometimes, a share price can drop suddenly, like when a share goes ex-dividend or after a negative news announcement.
Another example: if you have a share priced at 500p with a stop loss at 480p, and overnight news causes the price to open at 400p, your stop loss will trigger and sell at the best available price, which could be 400p, not 480p. Our stop loss doesn’t guarantee the exact price you set. The price dealt may be higher or lower than your trigger price.
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Range trading allows you to buy low and sell high – without having to keep an eye on the share price.
To use range trading, set specific prices at which you want to buy and sell a particular stock.
Range trading is a combination of two limit orders, one to buy shares at a lower price than the current price, and one to sell them at a higher price.
For example: you could set up a range trade for six months, so that every time XZY plc's shares hit 800p you purchase a specific number of them, and then every time they reach 900p you sell them.
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Target setting allows you to take profits on the up and minimise loss on the down.
To use Target Setting, set the prices at which to sell a share you hold if the price rises or falls.
Target setting is a combination of a limit order to sell if the price increases and a stop loss to sell if the price falls.
For example: you own shares in XYZ plc, currently trading at 900p each. You set a limit order to sell at 1200p to take advantage of a price increase. At the same time, you set a stop loss order at 800p to protect against a price drop. This way, if the price rises to 1200p, your shares will be sold for a profit. If the price falls to 800p, your shares will be sold to limit your losses.
There’s no guaranteed prices. Our stop loss and limit orders don’t guarantee prices you set. See stop loss and limit orders for further details.
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Price locking is an intuitive stop loss that adjusts your stop price to lock in gains when the shares rise and protect against sudden falls.
To use a price locking, set an amount below the current share prices, which you’d like the shares to sell at if there are any sudden falls in the price.
Price locking works by you setting a tolerance. This is the amount that you’d want the shares to be sold at if the share price fell. This amount will automatically adjust upwards every day, if the share price rises.
For example: if XYZ plc is priced at 650p, you can set a 20p [Price Locking Stop Loss] (tolerance) to sell at 630p. If the price drops to 630p, your shares will be sold. If the price rises to 660p, your stop loss will adjust to 640p, keeping the 20p difference.
There’s no guaranteed prices. Our stop loss does not guarantee the price you set for the Price locking tolerance. See stop loss for further details.