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Folks:
After reading Tom's adventure in trying to get his fill and the subsequent
arbitration hearing, I wondered if other people use their brokers as I use mine.
I was short the Canadian dollar coming into this morning's trading. Overnight
trading was fairly quiet after yesterday's 90 or so point drop. I put in a limit
order to buy half my position back at 6507 and waited for the opening. The
opening print on my real time quotes was 6504--Obviously, I assumed I was filled
and waited 45 seconds, watching the price prints. I picked up the phone when
Canada traded 6510 and I hadn't gotten a call from my floor broker. I asked him
if I was filled and he said, "You should be...opening range was 6504 to 6508.
Let me jump into the pit and drag out the fills, they seem backed up this
morning on the gap opening." Before he could get off the phone, I said, "The
opening range was 6504 to 6508? I must be filled then, right?" And he responded,
"Yeah, you're filled. I don't know all of the prices...let me get 'em now. It's
trading at 6518." I again asked him for confirmation and he responded with the
magic words: "Yep, you're filled...This is a verbal, no worse than 6507, but I'm
sure you got some better."
After about 30 minutes, Canada was trading 6522 and I hadn't gotten the details
so I called him back. He apologized for the delay, explaining he was
short-handed this morning, then asked me if I was ready for my fills. I told him
to go ahead and he read my fills. I was filled at three different prices,
between 6504 and 6507.
My point is that many people would have waited patiently for a fill, and
probably waited for their broker to call them. certainly most people, if they
saw that it traded through their price would have just assumed they were filled.
But with a gap opening and prices looking a little hectic and skittish, I didn't
take anything for granted. And since I thought I was entitled to a fill, I
wouldn't let my broker off of the phone until he told me that I was entitled to
a fill--In fact, I persisted until he gave me a verbal. While the price was near
my order, I wanted to get a yes or no because if there was going to be a
problem, I could limit the exposure to ME by getting my broker to accept a
portion of the risk. Now if the pit came back and gave him a song and a dance,
he would have the exposure [or at worse, he would be my partner for the error].
I don't know how other people use their brokers, but this is how I use mine to
get my fills out of the pits. I had a similar experience yeasterday in Dec
Cocoa, where I don't bother to call the floor direct. It's the same basic
procedure. I was a buyer of Cocoa at 1605 to take profit and my quotes showed a
low of 1604. I called the desk and they hadn't gotten a fill. I asked them to
call the pit, check the order, check the low and current price. They called
while I was on hold, told me they didn't have the prices yet but they gave me a
verbal, meaning the pit broker told them price was through my limit order and he
hadn't matched tickets to fills, but I was filled at 1605, no worse. Again, that
took the risk off of me, and so now I was content to wait for the actual fill
and it came about 45 minutes later, when the floor broker got caught up with his
order deck.
Is this how you handle your orders and fills?
Best,
Tim Morge
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