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Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
When do I enter prices in the commodity order?
If you are entering a market order or a market-on-open order to buy or sell a futures or options, then you DO NOT enter a price for the transaction. Leave the price cell blank. You also DO NOT enter 'GTC' for a market order. If, on the other hand, you are entering a limit or stop order, then you need to specify a price for the transaction. You should also enter 'GTC'. Please see the examples provided in how to enter orders in your paper trading account.
What if I see a trade in my account that I did not do?
This doesn't happen too often, and when it does, it is usually a mistake done by the trader. So, let's cover a few steps.
The first step is to review your records. Think back to any stop orders that are GTC ("Good-Till-Canceled") which you may have entered to protect an open position. If you closed the open position, say with a market order, and forgot to cancel the protective stop order, then this order may have been filled and that could be the transaction appearing in your account. Similarly, a GTC limit order needs to be canceled otherwise it could be filled in the future long after you have forgotten about it. If the trade in your account arose from either of these two cases, then you are responsible for the trade. You can, however, simply close the trade by entering an order to close the position, either by buying or selling as is necessary.
The second step is to be sure that the trade appearing in your account did not occur as a result of an erroneous ticker symbol that you entered. For instance, if you meant to trade cotton with a ticker symbol 'CT' but instead enter 'CL' which is the ticker symbol for crude oil, then you could have a crude oil transaction appear in your account. Accidents like this happen from time to time. If the trade in your account arose for this reason, then you are responsible for the trade. You can, however, simply close the trade by entering an order to close the position, either by buying or selling as is necessary.
Step three: make sure that no other person at your home or office has seen your password and can get into your account. If you have let the necessary authorization codes slip into the hands of somebody else, then you are responsible for any trading that they do.
If you have checked all of the above and are still convinced that the trade appearing in your account is not yours, then email us at support@worldlinkfutures.com and provide your name and account number and all details about the trade including the ticket number. We will resolve the problem. If the trade was in fact an error of the back office, then the order will be decayed (ie. removed) from your account at no cost to you.
Am I charged transaction fees for using or changing Limit or Stop orders?
There is no charge to enter, cancel and/or replace "Pending Orders" or "Working Orders". Transaction fees are charged only for orders that are filled, ie. executed. However, if you have a pending order that is in the process of being filled, or has been filled but not yet reported as filled in "View Activity", then it is too late to cancel it. Prior to canceling any outstanding order, first check the current day's high and low price of the commodity to see if the price ever moved through the stop or limit price of the outstanding order. If it did, you can assume that you are filled. If it didn't, then you can assume that the order is still pending and you are free to cancel it without charge. Free to you are 15 to 30 minute delayed prices from the World Link Futures home page. Although delayed, these prices are commonly used for this purpose.
What if my account balance appears inordinately high or low?
This type of thing happens once in a while and is easily identified because this error causes your account balance, which typically starts at $5,000, to be wrong by several hundred thousand dollars (either positive or negative). Take a look at your open positions appearing in your account statement. Look at the calculated profit or loss for each trade. Does one of them appear to be much too high or too low? If so, there could be a problem in the reporting of the settlement price (STL) for that day. Perhaps the decimal is in the wrong place. For instance, a Dow Jones futures that settled at 10755 may have been erroneously reported as 1075.5 and this will effect the profit/loss calculation and your account balance. If this does occur, then email us at support@worldlinkfutures.com and provide your name and account number and all details about the trade including the ticket number. We will resolve the problem
Your equity run is updated each business day as of the previous business day. So, for example, a filled order that is confirmed in your "View Activity" page today would then be updated the next business day in your "View Reports" page (your equity run). Subsequently, the filled order is taken out of the "View Activity" page.
When should I enter a protective Stop order?
If you are establishing a new position with a market order to buy or sell a contract, you should enter a protective stop order immediately after sending off the market order. If, on the other hand, you are establishing a new position with a limit order (or even a stop order), then you should wait until you have received confirmation that the order has been filled and then enter the protective stop order.
How do I calculate the price of a protective stop order?
The first step is to calculate the amount you are willing to lose on the trade. For example, if you want to risk only $700 on the trade, then the stop price must be set so that the difference between it and the entry price of the trade is the equivalent of $700. You will need to determine how many ticks for the contract in question equals $700. For example, if you are willing to risk $700 on a gold trade, the number of points to use in this case is 7.0 since each point is valued at $100. Therefore, if you bought a gold futures at 287, the price of the protective stop order to sell would be 280.
Will I get trade confirmations sent to me in the mail?
No. All statements are available on line.
Why do completed or closed trades no longer appear in my equity run?
A completed trade (in & out) will no longer stay on the books in your equity run, however, the resulting net profit or loss will be reflected in your account balance. This is the standard within the futures industry. You should keep your own list of completed trades: reviewing your trading performance is part of developing a better trading plan. The month-end statement that you receive also does show completed trades within the month, so you have that record as well.
How do I close my paper trading account?
To close your paper trading account, first make sure to close any open positions that you have, including any options that are open but not yet expired. (If you do not, we will close them for you, but you are responsible for the transaction fees.) Then phone us at (800) 533-7080 or email support@worldlinkfutures.com and provide us with your name and account number. There will be no further charges unless you exceeded the specified limit of trades in your last month of trading. There are no exit or temination fees.
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