Limit Orders Direct Market vs Retail Broker

Hello,
I am new to trading, please answer this if you truly understand! Is there an impact placing a limit order with a retail broker like TD Ameritrade, Schwab, or ETrade vs a DMA broker?

I placed a sell limit order on SNDL today. After 30 minutes of selling on the offer, it still didn't take my order of 4,000 shares.. Even with 3 million shares traded. I placed the order in advance before the price was reached. I know limit orders are not guaranteed, but makes me wonder if my broker is front running it? Is this a thing? Same experience with a broker using direct access routing? Thanks!

 

Did you try selling half of your position on the bid? If that didn't take either, then you got 'em by the balls!

 

What is offer - Bid or Ask?

 

I wanted to get it on the offer, so put it there. Eventually the bids started to get picked off, so I dropped my limit on the bid and of course it took the order immediately.

 

I put it on the Ask. I sat and watched 3 million shares trade on between the bid and ask where my order was placed.

 

Well, now you know. If you want out on limits, hit the bid.

 

In a case like this does a free retail broker (TD etrade Schwab etc.) vs DMA matter? It could. Why? Because a retail broker will route it to an ECN which is beneficial to THEM not you. Equities are not first come first serve NBBO like you would think, Futures are Equities aren't. I suspect what happened is your broker sent the order on a route that gave them the most credit for adding liquidity, consequently thats probably not the cheapest place for a buy order to take liquidity, as such your order sat while other orders went (even if the came in later) because they had cheaper fees

 

If you were the best offer and trades happened between the bid and offer, then trades happened off exchange (e.g. in dark pools). If you tell me the exact times of your orders, I can take a look of the tick data file to confirm the above.

 

I bought at 11:00 filled on the bid. Put up my sell at 1.14 in advance, it upticked to a BxA of 1.13x1.14 then traded up until 11:26:42 no fill, so I hit the bid.

It is what it is I guess, just wanted to make sure my broker is treating me fair

 

When did you offer at 1.14? At 10:30?