Interactive Brokers’ TWS platform streamlines process for handling FA allocation orders
The improvements are set to be particularly helpful to financial advisors that manage a large number of accounts.
Online trading major Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) keeps enhancing the capabilities of its proprietary TWS trading platform, with the latest (beta) version of the platform offering performance improvements for financial advisors.
The improvements are targeted at Advisors that manage a large number of accounts. The broker has streamlined the process for handling allocation orders. This new process will result in changes in both TWS and the API (when used with TWS version 974 or greater).
In the TWS platform, in the Trade Log, Advisors will (by default) see a summary of the allocated orders. They can expand the summary to see partial fills and allocations for that order.
When exporting FA allocation orders, only trades for the master account will be exported. Allocation details can be exported by selecting the individual account in the Trade Log first.
The broker notes that commissions for allocation transfers can also be viewed when the individual account is selected in the Trade Log window.
When the Advisor selects “All” in the Trades window, that selection will show “All allocation order trades.” Let’s pay attention to the fact that models cannot be selected from this list. Selecting a group will show “Group-specific allocation order trades.”
Advisors who trading using investment Models, selecting a group in the Portfolio window will show totals across accounts in the group, or totals for the “Independent” portion of accounts in the group. The Model breakdown is hidden for simplification.
The preceding TWS version (973) saw the introduction of a functionality that enables traders to close multiple, independent options positions (on the same underlying) as a single, complex, multi-leg order. Traders can use the Mosaic or Classic portfolio to select up to six independent options positions to use as legs of a new, complex, multi-leg order.
Once legs are selected, traders should use the right-click menu and choose the “CLOSE AS STRATEGY” trading button. The Strategy Builder opens with the option’s underlying loaded in the Option Chain and the selected position “legs” highlighted. The complex position opens in the Strategy Builder Order Entry, where traders can modify as needed.
