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Investing strategies

Track your order after you place a trade

It's easy to track your trades online and find out the status of your orders.
4 minute read

Points to know

  • You can easily find out where your order to trade stands by checking your Order status.
  • You can cancel a trade online, although we can't guarantee that the trade can be stopped depending on market conditions.

Share

A single unit of ownership in a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or, for stocks, a corporation. 

Regular trading hours

Regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and most exchanges are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time. (The exchanges close early before some holidays.)

After regular hours end, an extended-hour session (4:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Eastern time) is available to place limit orders. An order placed during the extended session is automatically canceled at the end of the session if it doesn't execute.

Stock

A security that represents part ownership, or equity, in a corporation. Each share of stock is a proportional stake in the corporation's assets and profits, some of which could be paid out as dividends.

Fractional shares

Partial shares held by an investor. For mutual funds, fractional shares result when the total amount invested is not evenly divisible by the share price amount. For stocks, fractional shares can result through stock splits, dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs), or similar corporate actions.

Settlement date

The date by which a broker must receive either cash or securities to satisfy the terms of a security transaction.

Settlement fund

This holds the money you use to buy securities, as well as the proceeds whenever you sell.

Volatility

 The degree of fluctuation in the value of a security, mutual fund, or index, volatility is often expressed as a mathematical measure such as a standard deviation or beta. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations between its high and low prices.

After the trade: Tracking your order

Trade status

Tracking your orders is easy online. Log in to your account and click Order status.

For previously executed orders, view your Transaction history.

For expired orders, check your Order status after 4:15 p.m., Eastern time.
 

What the terms mean

Knowing these terms will help you understand your order's status:

Pending: An order that's been received and is awaiting our approval.

Open: An order that's been received, approved, and routed for execution.

Executed: An order that's been completed. You can find out the trade price, time of the transaction, number of shares bought or sold, and other trade details by clicking Executed for the specific trade. Executed orders will appear the next business day in your Transaction history.

Canceled: An order that's been canceled before it's been executed.

Expired: An order that wasn't executed in the time limit set by the order. (Example: A day order expires at the end of regular trading hours; a good-till-canceled order expires at the end of 60 days).
 

The leftovers: Fractional shares

If you're selling your entire position of a stock, any fractional shares will be liquidated automatically on the settlement date, at no additional cost to you.

The liquidation is at the same price as your whole shares, and the cash goes into your settlement fund 1 business day after the settlement date. You'll see it in your Transaction history.

After the trade: Changing your mind

You can cancel a trade online through the Order status link or by calling us.

We'll do our best to meet your request but can't guarantee that a given trade can be changed or canceled, especially during volatile markets.

Understand the ups & downs of trading during volatile markets

Corporate actions: Voluntary or involuntary

When corporations make decisions about their companies, sometimes they affect the shareholders' stake in the company and other times they do not.

Learn about the types of corporate actions & when you need to respond

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