# Conditional trading - falling sell trigger via Commsec



## cranium (15 April 2011)

Hi All,
I use commsec for my trading, and for a couple of my more speculative shares where I can envisage one bad announcement could really send the stock plummeting rapidly, I have some falling sell triggers in place to limit any potential losses. What I am unsure of is whether there is any chance of these being not activated because bigger volume traders beat me to the punch and the price drops below my minimum before my shares have sold

For example, say the current share price is 2.00 and i have a falling sell trigger in at 1.50 with a minimum price of 1.45. Do stocks ever drop straight from 2.00 to 1.00 or alternatively, could the stock plunge rapidly but big instituions get right of way in the selling game and although my trigger was activated I was too far down the queue. I hope my question makes sense. I am just trying to understand if I am still at risk with these triggers in place or not, or if i should put some additional low triggers in. 
Thanks in advance for any tips/advice


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## skyQuake (15 April 2011)

*Re: question on conditional trading - falling sell trigger via commsec*



cranium said:


> Hi All,
> I use commsec for my trading, and for a couple of my more speculative shares where I can envisage one bad announcement could really send the stock plummeting rapidly, I have some falling sell triggers in place to limit any potential losses. What I am unsure of is whether there is any chance of these being not activated because bigger volume traders beat me to the punch and the price drops below my minimum before my shares have sold
> 
> For example, say the current share price is 2.00 and i have a falling sell trigger in at 1.50 with a minimum price of 1.45. Do stocks ever drop straight from 2.00 to 1.00 or alternatively, could the stock plunge rapidly but big instituions get right of way in the selling game and although my trigger was activated I was too far down the queue. I hope my question makes sense. I am just trying to understand if I am still at risk with these triggers in place or not, or if i should put some additional low triggers in.
> Thanks in advance for any tips/advice




In case of a gap down you'll be left high and drop, or if theres a lack in liquidity on the way down. eg. very thin market depth.

Having said that, the stops are near instant. If there is liquidity at ur price level it will get filled generally.


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## skc (15 April 2011)

*Re: question on conditional trading - falling sell trigger via commsec*



cranium said:


> Hi All,
> I use commsec for my trading, and for a couple of my more speculative shares where I can envisage one bad announcement could really send the stock plummeting rapidly, I have some falling sell triggers in place to limit any potential losses. What I am unsure of is whether there is any chance of these being not activated because bigger volume traders beat me to the punch and the price drops below my minimum before my shares have sold
> 
> For example, say the current share price is 2.00 and i have a falling sell trigger in at 1.50 with a minimum price of 1.45. Do stocks ever drop straight from 2.00 to 1.00 or alternatively, could the stock plunge rapidly but big instituions get right of way in the selling game and although my trigger was activated I was too far down the queue. I hope my question makes sense. I am just trying to understand if I am still at risk with these triggers in place or not, or if i should put some additional low triggers in.
> Thanks in advance for any tips/advice




See the following for some worst case examples.

HST this week
PEN last month
MEO / MMR last Dec

And not necessarily just small caps... look at the large gaps with PPT, ASX, KAR...

Good luck.


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## toocool (15 April 2011)

This very thing happend to me when I first started trading spec stocks and I was with comsec at the time too.

I had a stop at .05c limit at .045c( .041c was reak even) with the stock at .09c after a week. It then released a bad update and tanked straight past my stops but...  the stop had triggered but only to fill the sell order between .045 and .05c, 5 days later it touched .045c and sold half my postion then went back down a little, another 5 or so days later it went back to .06c and didnt fill me so i did it manually for a win (phew)

I rang comsec about how it works and after he started explaning stop losses sell shares for you ... really i said..   once triggered its only live for about 7 days (not 100% sure around that time frame)

Anyway bit of a rant but it was all a learning curve.


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## white_crane (16 April 2011)

Does Commsec allow the conditional order to be 'At Market'?  Setting the condional order to at market will further lessen the chance of your shares not being sold.

Also, with some online trading platforms, the at market order is actually put in a couple of steps below market price.


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## cranium (17 April 2011)

white_crane said:


> Does Commsec allow the conditional order to be 'At Market'?  Setting the condional order to at market will further lessen the chance of your shares not being sold.
> 
> Also, with some online trading platforms, the at market order is actually put in a couple of steps below market price.




Thanks, that is a great idea, but no commsec doesnt let me. It does make me think that maybe I should check if I can just see if a costly old stockbroker could handle my two or three stop bigger risk share stop/loss orders and have the instruction to sell at market. It would be more expensive, but I could at least sleep at night knowing I am covered. 
Thanks for your tips all.


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## blackjack (12 July 2011)

cranium said:


> Thanks, that is a great idea, but no commsec doesnt let me. It does make me think that maybe I should check if I can just see if a costly old stockbroker could handle my two or three stop bigger risk share stop/loss orders and have the instruction to sell at market. It would be more expensive, but I could at least sleep at night knowing I am covered.
> Thanks for your tips all.




I used a stop loss for the first time in history on a stock i had for 5 years
it seemed like the market was forced down to pick up my shares then up again - all so fast and this share hadnt move that quick ever

consequently i had to buy in higher - lucky i made up the money but would have made heaps more if i hadnt of got stopped out

now with the EU and USA shyte around the corner i have put a stop loss on my biggest holding as i dont want to be in the street. If i get stopped out the market will drop and i will buy back in as i believe in the company.

all the best


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