Snap to Primary Orders

Study Notes:

In this video we will walk through how to enter a Snap to Primary order.  The Snap to Primary order works with US stocks, options, and futures. The original order price is determined by the bid or ask price adjusted by the offset. A sell order price is calculated by subtracting the offset from the ask price and a buy order price is calculated by adding the offset to the bid price. While this is similar to a pegged order it doesn’t continue to peg as the price moves.

The Snap to Primary order type can be useful on stocks where the bid/ask spread is wide. Instead of just entering a market order you can submit the Snap to Primary and potentially get a better fill somewhere in between the spread using the offset amount to determine how aggressive you want the order to be without hitting a bid or ask. Adjusting the offset amount determines how aggressive you want the order to be.

We will now enter a Snap to Primary order in the Mosaic Order Entry Panel.

• We will use symbol TSLA since the bid/ask spread is typically wide.
• Rather than aiming to execute at the bid price for a market sell order, the Snap to Primary is designed to execute by the offset amount you enter below the ask price.
• For a buy order the offset amount would be added to the bid price at the time the order is placed.
• Enter the symbol in the order entry panel and choose Buy or Sell and the quantity.
• In the order type drop down box scroll down and select “SNAP PRIM”.
• Next to the order type drop down box is the offset amount.
• Choose the amount you want to use for the offset.
• We’ll use .05 and click “Submit”.
• The order confirmation screen will appear.
• Notice that the Order type will show “SNAP PRIM” and the offset amount will be underneath it.
• When ready to send the order click, “Transmit”.

The order will appear in the Activity Window, and you will see “SNAP PRIM” in the Type data Column. The offset amount will appear in the Offset Amt column. If you do not see the offset amount, click on the gear in the upper right-hand corner and select “Aux. Price” in the Available Columns and add to the shown columns and click apply.

The Snap to PRIM order type allows the investor to send an order to trade between the spread using an offset to be more aggressive than the current bid or ask price