Attached Orders
Instructions
Use the Attached Order section of the Order Ticket to attach a Profit Taker, Stop Loss, or Bracket order to your current order.
- At the bottom of the Order Ticket, select Attach Order to display the attached order type selection list.
- You may need to select the Show More Options button at the bottom of the screen if you are unable to see the Attach Order section.
- Choose from Profit Taker, Stop Loss or Bracket. Swipe up to set attached order parameters.
- Profit Taker is an opposite side limit order designed to close a position while it is profitable. The profit taker order along with the stop loss comprises a bracket order.
- Stop Loss is an opposite side stop order designed to close out a position with only a user-specified, limited loss. The stop loss order along with the profit taker comprises a bracket order.
Bracket Order is a two-part order comprising opposite side stop loss and profit taker orders.
Profit Taker
The Profit Taker order is designed to close out a profitable position.
For a BUY parent order, the profit taker is a high-side sell order that uses the same order quantity as the parent, and a price offset (set to 1.00 by default; you can change the Profit Taker limit price). For a SELL parent order, it's a low-side buy order. For example, if you create an order to buy 100 COST at 165.32 and attach a profit taker, by default the order will be to sell 100 COST at 166.32. The order will be created, but will not be submitted until the parent order fills.
Stop Loss
The Stop Loss order is designed to close a position to limit your loss. Required fields with a missing value are highlighted, see the Stop Loss Limit Price field in the image.
For a BUY parent order, the stop loss is a low-side sell order that uses the same order quantity as the parent, and a price offset (set to 1.00 by default; you can change the Stop Loss limit price). For a SELL parent order, it's a high-side buy order. For example, if you create an order to buy 100 COST at 165.32 and attach a stop loss, the order will be to sell 100 COST at 164.32. The order will be created, but will not be submitted until the parent order fills.
Bracket Order
A bracket is designed to limit loss and lock in profit using two orders on either side of the parent order. Only one of the two children bracketing the parent order, the profit taker or the stop loss, will fill.
The bracket sets up two different closing positions; one to close a profitable position, and one to close a position with only limited loss. Once the parent order fills, the opposite side profit taker and stop loss orders are triggered. When one fills, the other is canceled.
For a BUY parent order, the order is bracketed by a high-side sell limit order and a low-side sell stop order, both using the same order quantity as the parent and both using the default 1.00 price offset.
If you submit a buy limit order that fills at 165.32 and the price begins to move up, the attached Profit Taker sell order will trigger when the price reaches 166.32, and the attached Stop Loss order will be canceled.
If instead the price had begun to fall after the parent order filled, the Stop Loss sell order would trigger when the price dropped to 164.32, and the Profit Taker order would be canceled.
Additional Resources
Learn About Trading in the IBKR iPhone Interface at IBKR Campus