What order types are available when placing options trades?

Depending on the type of options strategy you are trading (Covered Calls, Buy/Sell Options) you can choose between a market, limit, stop-loss or buy-stop order. These types of orders are explained below:

Market Orders

A market order is an order to buy or sell a security at the available market price. When placed during market hours (9:30am to 4:00pm ET), a market order will be processed immediately. Market orders placed during non-market hours will be entered when the market opens.

Market orders are available for all Covered Call and Buy/Sell strategies.

Note: There may be a short delay between the time your trade is completed and the time your positions are updated online.

Limit Orders

A limit order is a request to buy or sell a security once a customer-specified price has been reached or surpassed. Once the target price has been reached or surpassed, ShareBuilder will then process the trade. When entering a limit order you can specify whether the order is good for the day or until cancelled. “Good Until Cancel” orders will automatically expire after 60 calendar days.

Limit orders are available for all Covered Call and Buy/Sell strategies.

Important: In certain circumstances, it may not be possible to fill a limit order in a single market day. In these cases, ShareBuilder may partially fill the order over multiple days, which can lead to multiple charges of the real-time trade commission.

Stop-Loss Order

A stop-loss order is a request to sell a security once the market price reaches or falls below a customer-specified price. Once the target price has been reached or surpassed, ShareBuilder will then trigger a market order. A stop-loss order is typically used to sell a security to lock in profits if a security’s price falls or to limit losses on a security. When entering a stop-loss order, you can specify whether the order is good for the day or until cancelled. “Good Until Cancel” orders will automatically expire after 60 calendar days.

Stop-loss orders are only available when selling a call or a put to close a position on the Buy/Sell Options page.

Buy-Stop Order

A buy-stop order is a request to buy a security once the market price reaches or goes above a customer-specified price. Once the target price has been reached or surpassed, ShareBuilder will then trigger a market order. A buy-stop order is typically used to place a limit on how much a customer is willing to pay to close a short position. When entering a buy-stop order you can specify whether the order is good for the day or until cancelled. “Good Until Cancel” orders will automatically expire after 60 calendar days.

Buy-stop orders are only available on the “Buy to Close” choice on the Covered Call page.

For full commission details, please see our pricing and rates.

Please note: Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Before investing in options, please read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.