Can firms, not retailers, place order types to be "always on top" or preferred over retail or maybe other funds? For example, you put in a bid at 51.10 for XYZ, but then some HFT comes in and wants to by XYZ at the same price but then places a special order to cut the line or cut in front of your order. Is that possible? I don't believe this is true. But there's a possibility that I am wrong. So, I thought I'd just ask, since I could not find any information about an "always on top" order type through google.
No, they bid/offer fractions of pennies ahead of you. Designated MM's are required to fill orders before their own (last in line) Not sure how effective hfts are in say futures markets since paying up is considerably more $$ BD
there's no order type that would allow anyone to jump in front of a non-marketable resting limit with time/price priority on the lit markets. however, if a broker has the capability to internalize trades, or is selling order flow to an internalizer, then there's a possibility that an order that was destined for your 51.10 lit order will instead be filled first by the broker/internalizer if they want it. if not, they will route it on to your lit destination.