Discretionary

A Discretionary Order attribute can be applied to any smart-routed order that uses a limit price. The defined discretionary amount is added to (for a buy) or subtracted from (for a sell) the limit price, and increases the price range over which the order is eligible to execute. Only the original limit price is displayed to the market.

To create a Discretionary order

From Mosaic:

Create the Buy or Sell order in the Order Entry panel.

Expand the "Advanced +" panel to display the Discretionary Amt button.

Click to make the field editable and enter the discretionary amount. To use 2 cents, enter .02.

Submit the order.

From Classic TWS:

1. Display the Discretionary field on an order management line:

• Hold your cursor over a field in the order row fields until the green “+” sign appears. Click the “+” sign to show the list of order fields.
• In the Prices category, select Discretionary Amt. The field is added to the left of the selected field.

2. Click the Ask price to create a BUY order, or the Bid price to create a SELL order.
3. Enter a discretionary amount in the Discretionary Amt field of the order line.
4. To transmit the order, click the "T" in the Status field.

For US options, you can elect to have the discretionary amount automatically set by TWS (when you specify a limit price somewhere between two price levels) by checking Submit orders for nickel/dime priced options with price between price levels as Discretionary. For details on how the discretionary amount is determined in these cases, see the Discretionary Order Handling page.

For more information on discretionary orders, visit the Order Types information page.