IB orders slow to get booked at exchange

[remoteControl]

Anyone having or had trouble with their IB orders not being accepted at the exchange immediately?

Here is my situation:

I place an order (via the API), and monitor for a fill. As soon as I get the fill, I immediately place a OCO stop and target bracket, also via the API. Everything looks good on my end. Order is accepted, and even on the front end appears transmitted and active.

However, I then see the prices move through my targets without getting a fill. I'm on the phone now with the IB trade desk, and they are saying the orders were slow to be accepted at the exchange. In other words, not their problem. They submitted as soon as they got it.

Either way, I've asked them to escalate it. But you know, this is IB, so I'm not holding my breath.

If anyone has experience or a solution, much appreciated.

 

[2rosy]

you can place your OCO at the same time as the initial order. attach the oco to it

 

[remoteControl]

you can place your OCO at the same time as the initial order. attach the oco to it

That actually won't work for my situation, because I don't know my fill price ahead of time, which determines the following orders.

 

[rb7]

Need more info.
Which exchange and which trading instrument?
Sequence of events with timestamp.

 

[2rosy]

That actually won't work for my situation, because I don't know my fill price ahead of time, which determines the following orders.

in that case then it's not IB being slow, it's you're software. Assuming you're sending limit orders, chances you get a better price are slim. Still think you should attach OCO with original order. can always send cxl/replace when you get fill

 

[remoteControl]

in that case then it's not IB being slow, it's you're software. Assuming you're sending limit orders, chances you get a better price are slim. Still think you should attach OCO with original order. can always send cxl/replace when you get fill

IB acknowledges they receive my order the instant I sent it.

 

[2rosy]

IB acknowledges they receive my order the instant I sent it.

that's impossible so check the logs.

 

[Sig]

IB actually reserves the right to hold your order until it becomes "marketable" which is completely up to their discretion and controlled by a dark force that no-one there can question called "the algorithm". In some cases "the algorithm"decides that even an order inside the bid/ask spread isn't "marketable" and will refuse to send it to the exchange, happens a lot with big moves especially on the open.

Basically they have low costs because they automate everything and hire from the dregs so they can minimize what employee costs they have. Any attempt to automate away risk will always come at the expense of the customer, hence auto liquidations and margins that exceed the max possible loss on a spread and refusal to enter an order if there's any possibility it could be busted later, and it goes on and on. The few humans they have working what they call "customer service" are essentially glorified script readers, which means that they can't actually detect issues with oversensitivity of "the algorithm" and they clearly aren't empowered to speak with the software developers, who themselves appear to have only an academic understanding of trading. As a result, the customer is always wrong and "the algorithm" is always right but can never be explained. Seriously, search on here for IB and "the algorithm", I'm not exaggerating they treat it like a demigod.

I would strongly caution against trapping yourself by investing the time to program for IB which makes your switching costs high so you stick with them long after you would have otherwise left. This is certainly what happened with me, and I'm thankful pretty much every day that they're finally in my rearview mirror. If you insist on being sucked in my their commissions and the ability to trade Mongolian mares milk futures which you'll never ever use, develop using the FIX api instead of their proprietary one so you can easily switch. Believe me, any benefits you get from them will be far outweighed by the cost and frustration once you actually start doing serious trading with them if you're doing anything other than market orders on S&P 500 stocks during the middle of market hours.

 

[remoteControl]

Apparently it has to do with a flag being sent with the OCA order that is set to block. Will confirm tomorrow, but I imagine this will solve it.

 

[Norman Parker]

I Have to agree with Sig on this one, I noticed in my short experience that the mark or mid rarely equates to that of the bid/ask. Hard to watch for good entry, for me anyway.