April 12, 2011
Different Order Types for NinjaTrader7
Market orders offer the fastest execution speed and under most conditions, guarantee that your order is filled. Be wary about using them on low volatility securities with large spreads though. You might get filled at a much higher/lower price than you expected.
Limit orders allow you to specify the price you want to be filled at. These orders are useful on low volatility instruments because they ensure you get filled at the price you specified or better. Take note that limit orders are not guaranteed to execute and may cause only partial fills.
The stop-limit order offers the trader complete control over the order. Like a stop order, the stop-limit order waits until the specified stop price has been reached. Unlike the stop order though, the stop-limit order becomes a limit order instead of a market order when the stop price is reached. The drawback for a stop-limit order is the same as all limit orders; the trader might not be filled if the limit price is never reached.
Limit Order = price guarantee, no fill guarantee
Market Order = fill guarantee, no price guarantee
Stop Orders = market if touched, so they are a resting order that turns into a market order when the price tests it.
