What is a Stop Loss order?

A ‘Stop Loss’ order is used to limit losses, or potentially to take a profit after a loss.

It can be attached to an order at the time of opening, or you can modify a position and add a stop loss at a later time. It can also be attached to a Pending Order.

A Stop Loss must be placed below the current market price on Buy positions, and above the current market price on Sell positions.

All Stop orders, which include Stop Losses, are executed with ‘Market Execution’, which means that once the order is triggered, it is filled at the current market price at that time (VWAP).

The VWAP can be on, above or below the requested price.

This means that especially during times of high volatility, you may receive a much different price than your specified stop level, which is referred to as ‘Negative Slippage’.