Help & FAQs

Trailing conditions orders allow you to set a percentage or price movement trigger from a high or low point after a trail start price has been met. This can help to maximise value or profit by automatically tracking market movements and potentially locking in your desired position from movements in either direction.

To place a trailing order, go to Trading and select Conditional orders or click here.

You can set either a Trailing Sell or Trailing Buy to help you keep your investment strategy locked in, even when your eyes are off the market. Here’s how it works…

Trailing Sell

A Trailing Sell may help with maximising a profit when a security price is rising, depending on your instructions and the market.

The aim of a Trailing Sell is to sell some or all of your holdings in a company when the following occurs:

• the share price rises to or beyond a level you have set as your trail start price, and
• the share then experiences a fall equal to or greater than a trail stop value you have set

For example, let's say you have been watching the price of XYZ Ltd, which has been trading at $4.00 per unit and appears to be rising. You could create a Trailing Sell trigger with a trail start price of $4.20 and trail end value of $0.10.

This means that if the market price of XYZ Ltd reaches $4.20 or higher, and then experiences a fall of $0.10 or more, a market order will be placed to sell XYZ Ltd at the best available price to cover your quantity. If XYZ Ltd reaches a high of $5.20 after passing $4.20 and before falling $0.10 or more, your order will be fired at $5.10 or lower.

Trailing Buy

A Trailing Buy may help with maximising value when investing in a company, depending on your instructions and the market.

The aim of a Trailing Buy is to purchase shares when the following occurs:

• the share price falls to or beyond a level you have set as your trail start price, and
• the share then experiences a rise equal to or greater than the trail stop value you have set is met

For example, suppose you have been watching the price of XYZ Ltd, which has been trading at $3.10 and appears to be declining. You could create a Trailing Buy with a trail start price of $2.90 and trail end value of $0.10.

This means that if the market price of XYZ Ltd falls to $2.90 or lower, and then experiences a rise of $0.10 or more, a market order will be placed to buy XYZ Ltd at the best available price to cover your desired quantity. If XYZ Ltd falls to a low of $1.90 after passing $2.90, and then rises by $0.10 or more; your order will be fired at $2.00 or higher.

Can I set a limit price for a trailing conditional order?

No. When a trailing conditional order is fired, the order can only be put into the market at the current market price. If you’d like to set a limit order, please consider a non-trailing conditional order.

What are the maximum trail values that I can set for a conditional trailing order?

The trail value can be expressed as a percentage or dollar amount. In the instance of a percentage, a trail value of no greater than 15% can be applied. In the instance of a dollar amount, a trail amount of no greater than 15% of the trail start price.

Things you should know

• All limits work on an equal to or better than basis, and if an order is fired into a fast moving or volatile market, the order may execute far away from where the trail end value was met.
• All market orders will be executed in accordance with our Best Execution Statement; however, as no limits can be set, a purchase price may be significantly higher than the trigger value. If you would like to set a limit price, please consider another of our conditional orders.

For more information about conditional orders, please read our Conditional Order Booklet.

For help with conditional trading, please call us on 13 15 19 (or +61 2 8397 1206 if calling from overseas) between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, Sydney time.