1. Account Summary and Margin Metrics
Account Value – The real-time total value of your account. It includes the combined value of all currencies, bonds, stocks, funds, cryptocurrencies, and the profit or loss (P/L) from FX spot, futures, and swaps.
Unrealised P/L – The current profit or loss on open positions. This value changes with market prices and is not realised until positions are closed.
Realised P/L – Profit or loss from closed positions. This amount is settled and reflected in your Account Value.
Daily P/L – The total profit or loss for the current day, including all realised and unrealised changes since the last market close.
Used Margin – The portion of your funds currently reserved to maintain open positions.
Free Margin – Funds available to open new positions.
Formula: Account Value - Used Margin (never a negative number)
Margin Call – You receive this notification when Used Margin exceeds the Account Value. You must act immediately – either deposit more funds or close your positions – to prevent us from liquidating them on your behalf.
Blocked Funds – Funds temporarily unavailable due to an active withdrawal request or, in rare cases, a pending corporate action.
2. Leverage and Margin Concepts
Required Margin – The minimum Account Value needed to open a trade. It may differ between the buy and sell sides for some instruments.
Concentration Rate – An additional margin rate applied when a single position’s value or risk exceeds a certain percentage of your Account Value. This effectively reduces available leverage for large or concentrated positions.
Overnight Rate (Swap / Financing Rate) – The interest fee or credit applied when holding a leveraged position or FX balance overnight. Reflects the cost (or yield) of carrying exposure beyond the trading day.
3. Order concepts
Order Types
Market Order – Use this to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Be aware: This guarantees that your trade is filled, but the price you receive may differ from the one you saw.
Limit Order – Use this to set the exact (or better) price you are willing to accept. Be aware: This guarantees your price, but your trade is not guaranteed to execute if the market never reaches it.
Take Profit (TP) – An instruction to automatically close a trade when the price reaches a specified level of profit. The purpose is to lock in profits when the price moves in the trader's favour. Take Profit helps traders avoid the risk of the market reversing and reducing their gains.
Limit Buy – If the specified limit price is higher than the current market price, a Limit Buy order will be filled immediately.
Limit Sell – If the specified limit price is lower than the current market price, a Limit Sell order will be filled immediately.
Stop Order – Used to limit losses; converts into a Market Order once a specified stop price is reached.
Stop Loss (SL) – An instruction to automatically close a trade when the price reaches a specified level of loss. The purpose is to limit potential losses by exiting a position before it loses too much value. Stop Loss helps manage risk by preventing large losses when the market moves against the trader.
Stop Limit Order – Activates a Limit Order only after the asset’s price reaches a specific stop level.
TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) – Divides a large trade into smaller chunks, executed over a specified time period. This reduces market impact and ensures the execution price is close to the average price during the time period.
Iceberg – Displays only a small portion of the total order quantity on the order book, hiding the rest. It is used to execute large orders without revealing the full size, thereby avoiding market price influence.
Trailing Stop Order – Protects profits by setting a stop level at a fixed percentage or amount below the market price. Adjusts upward as the price rises, but never downward.
Emulated order types (e) – Order types with an "(e)" next to them mean they’re emulated. This means that the exchange doesn't offer that specific order type, but EXANTE emulates it, allowing you to adjust the order to your needs.
Order Durations
Day – The order expires at the end of the trading day if it is not filled.
Good Till Cancelled (GTC) – The order remains active until it is executed or manually cancelled.
Immediate or Cancel (IOC) – The order must be filled immediately (in whole or in part). Any unfilled portion is cancelled.
Fill or Kill (FOK) – The order must be filled immediately and completely, or it will be cancelled.
At The Close (ATC) – The order is executed as close to the market’s closing price as possible.
At The Opening (ATO) – The order is executed at the market’s opening price. It ensures execution when the market opens, though the price might vary due to overnight market movements. Often used to ensure the trade reflects the end-of-day market value.
Regular Trading Hours (RTH) – If you see RTH next to order durations such as Day and GTC, they won’t be executed outside the main trading session.
Order Side
Sell – A Sell order is placed when a trader wants to sell an asset they own.
Buy – A Buy order is placed when a trader wants to purchase a specific asset, such as a stock, commodity, or cryptocurrency.
Order Statuses
Created – Request for placing an order created.
Accepted – Request for placing an order verified.
Pending – Any order awaiting certain conditions (e.g., price trigger) before execution.
Placing – The order is being sent to a counterparty.
Working – The order has been accepted by the counterparty and is now active, awaiting the optimal execution conditions.
Cancelled – The order is cancelled.
Rejected – The order is rejected.
Filled – The order has been successfully executed.
4. Trading Platform and Instrument Terms
Position – The number of units (shares, contracts, or other instruments) currently held.
Orders – The number of ordered units for a given instrument.
Value, CCY – The total value of an order, shown in its trade currency.
Fee – The commission charged if the order is executed.
Margin Δ (Change) – The change in Used Margin that will result from a pending order. It shows the impact of a new trade on your available funds.
Estimated Margin – Your projected Used Margin after a pending order executes. This cannot exceed your Account Value.
Units – The measurement unit for trading an instrument (e.g., shares, contracts, currency units).
Lot Size – The smallest allowable order quantity. Orders must be placed in multiples of the lot size.
Contract Multiplier – Defines how many units of the underlying asset are contained in one derivative contract.
Price Unit – Determines how quoted values are expressed. Standard: 100 for bonds; 1 for most other instruments.
Price Step – The smallest permitted price movement for an instrument.
Price Step Value – The monetary value of one minimum price movement per unit.
Spread – The difference between the bid (sell) and ask (buy) prices of an instrument.
Liquidity – The ease of buying or selling an instrument without significantly affecting its price.
Execution Price – The actual price at which a trade is executed.
Execution Venue – The market, exchange, or liquidity provider where a trade occurs.
Fill – Confirmation that all or part of an order has been executed.
5. Options Concepts
Option Chain – A structured list of all available option contracts for a given underlying asset, organised by expiration date and strike price. Includes data such as bid/ask prices, open interest, volume, implied volatility, and Greeks.
Grid – A table view comparing strike prices across multiple expirations. Used to analyse or roll option strategies quickly.
Theoretical Price – The option’s calculated fair value based on factors such as the underlying price, strike price, volatility, time to expiration, dividends, and interest rates.
Price to ATM, % – The percentage distance between an option’s current price and its at-the-money (ATM) value.
Price Distance – The difference between the underlying’s market price and the option’s strike price, showing whether the option is in-, at-, or out-of-the-money.
Price / Margin Ratio – The ratio of an option’s premium to the margin required to hold it, used to assess capital efficiency.
Open Interest – The total number of active contracts for a specific strike and expiration that remain open. High open interest indicates strong liquidity.
IV, % (Implied Volatility) – The market’s estimate of future volatility in the underlying asset, derived from option prices.
The Greeks – Metrics measuring how different factors affect an option’s price:
Delta: Sensitivity of the option price to a $1 move in the underlying asset.
Gamma: Rate of change in Delta as the underlying moves.
Theta: Time decay – the loss in value as expiration approaches.
Vega: Sensitivity to changes in implied volatility.
Rho: Sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
Intrinsic Value – The value an option would have if exercised immediately (difference between strike and market price, if positive).
Extrinsic (Time) Value – The portion of an option’s price that is not intrinsic value, representing the premium for time and volatility expectations.
6. Fees and Financing
Commission (% – Volume-Based) – A fee calculated as a percentage of total trade value (number of shares × price per share).
Commission (Fixed – Quantity-Based) – The fixed fee you pay for each share or unit you trade.
Commission (Minimum per Trade) – The minimum commission applied to a single trade.
Custody Fee – A periodic fee charged for holding securities in safekeeping.
Negative Balance Interest (% p.a., charged daily) – Interest you are charged daily on any cash balance that falls below zero in a specific currency.
Positive Balance (% p.a., charged daily) – Interest credited daily on surplus cash balances.
7. Account Administration and Compliance
Base Currency – The main currency of your account. All balances, reports, and fees are displayed in this currency.
Settlement Currency – The currency in which a trade is settled. It may differ from the base currency, creating FX exposure.
Exchange Rate (FX Rate) – The price of one currency expressed in another, used for conversions of balances or trades.
Corporate Action – A company event that affects shareholders, such as dividends, stock splits, or mergers.
AML (Anti-Money Laundering) – Regulatory procedures designed to prevent financial crimes.
KYC (Know Your Customer) – The mandatory process we use to verify your identity, as required by regulation.