Fellow traders, I just opened an account with IB and was ready to trade today. I trade large baskets of stocks and was satisfied with IB platform capabilities. When I tried to implement my first basket today, it would not work. I talked to IB support and they told me the platform was NOT capable of executing the transaction even if it says it can on their website. What I am trying to do is to say: Take $100,000 and buy 45 equally weighted stocks at the close or open. Do I need special API programing to do this or am I missing something? Thanks
What was it about the order that IB could not do? Too many issues in the basket? I am just getting ready to launch a similar effort and am curious. I am working through the API and placing a series of limit orders, not a basket really, but it could evoke a similar problem with IB. If there is an overall issue limitation I have to change my thinking, if it is in regard to the number of orders in a time period, too much for IB to handle in too short of a time, that is different, the orders can be spread out timewise.
I think it will do the types of orders you want to trade with. I am trying to spread a certain amount of money equally weighted over a certain amount of stocks. It CANNOT do that. It is weird because that capability is demonstrated on the promotional material but does not exist in reality. I just opened an account with them specifically for that reason.
Apparently you will have to do the weighting yourself and prepare the basket order accordingly. You could do that in Excel and transmit it via the API pretty easily. IB has demo VBA code with the API download.
On the basket page, in the execute basket panel, where it says quantity, change it from % to USD and check "Use per-contract quantity percentage". Now enter the total dollar amount for your basket. For each security you can set it's percentage of the basket in the % "user defined percentage" column. If you don't check "Use per-contract quantity percentage" it will divide the dollar amount evenly across all the securities in the basket.
Hi, check out http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60454 I have found that I can not use the basket trader because you have to enter whole %'s . Example, you have to enter 6 % , it wont let you enter 6.66 %. At least I cant do it on my version. I have found a way around this and simply use the main order page (or you can use the rebalance page). On the main order page you can set up trades by dollar amount, or a % of Equity like I do. Simply go to customize layout then under the columns-order row check "quantaty type and Quantaty Value." Now on the order page under quant type enter % of NLV or USD amount and enter the amount in the Quantaty value.. a dollar amount if you set to dollar or a % if set to % of NLV thats it.. Good Luck Nick
Hi DAV... I didn't know that if you don't check the box, "Use per-contract quantity percentage" it will divide the the basket by dollar amount evenly... This would actually save me time... Thanks Nick
I've found this free tool to build basket orders files starting from the interactive brokers mosaic market scanner results. It should be helpful for the task You're trying since It split the entire capital amount in to howmany stocks are in Your basket. https://basketorderbuilder.wordpress.com/