ArizetTHE DESKSYNDICATIONStart trading
Trader Guide ·  Chapter 10
Chapter 10 of 20: all chapters
  1. 1. Syndication in one page
  2. 2. Your accounts and your syndication balance
  3. 3. A tour of the Terminal
  4. 4. The three trade settings
  5. 5. Watchlist and instruments
  6. 6. Chart and Backtest Allocation
  7. 7. Pre-open: what the Desk would do
  8. 8. The earnings projection
  9. 9. Placing a trade: the Execute ticket
  10. 10. What happens after you press Buy or Sell
  11. 11. The Allocation panel
  12. 12. The Activity panel
  13. 13. Managing open positions
  14. 14. Pending orders
  15. 15. Closed trades, replay and sharing
  16. 16. Money: balance, fees, overnight charges and payouts
  17. 17. The Terminal on your phone
  18. 18. The Desk page
  19. 19. Questions traders ask
  20. 20. Glossary
Chapter 10 of 20

What happens after you press Buy or Sell

1. The Desk decides whether to join

For a syndicated order, the Desk checks your balance, your contract limit and whether it can back the instrument right now. If it joins, the fee is taken and the Desk opens its allocation. If it cannot, a message tells you why. In almost every case it says "No fee was charged" or that your fee has been returned, and your trade is unaffected; it simply runs as your own position. Common reasons:

  • Your syndication balance is too low (with an Add balance button).
  • The Desk has no capacity left on this instrument.
  • The instrument is closed.
  • The Desk does not carry this instrument.
  • The Desk is paused for today, or on this instrument.
  • There is no usable price right now.
  • The Desk could not open behind this trade.
  • You are at your contract limit (Chapter 2).

2. The Desk builds its allocation

The Desk starts with its Initial Allocation, a small share of your size. As the price moves your way and reaches each level of the Allocation Ladder, the Desk adds more. It steps up gradually, not all at once, and only while its own risk allows. Your Timeframe sets how fast this happens.

3. The Desk protects what it holds

The Desk's stop starts at the disqualification level. As the trade moves your way, the stop is raised (or lowered, on a sell) and then trails behind the price. If the price pulls back towards the stop, the Desk sells part of its allocation and banks what that part has made, so its stop can stay further from the price. It never sells everything this way: a small allocation stays in. If the move resumes, the Desk buys back step by step. Your Profit appetite sets how much of your earnings the Desk is prepared to give back before it protects them; your Risk tolerance sets how far against you the Desk stays in at the start.

4. You earn as it goes

Your earnings follow what the Desk's own allocation makes on your trade, and you receive 90% of that. What the Desk banks on its partial sales is part of those earnings. You can watch them live in the Allocation panel and the Positions list. Earnings that are already paid stay paid.

5. The syndication ends

Result shownWhat happened
You closed the tradeYou closed your position, which ends the syndication.
Desk took profitThe Desk closed its allocation in profit.
Desk exitedThe Desk left the trade.
Desk stopped outPrice reached the Desk's stop.
Desk left: overnight carry unfundedYour balance could not pay the overnight charge, so the Desk stepped out.
Desk left: daily risk limitThe Desk reached its own risk limit for the day.
Allocation settledThe allocation finished and settled.
When the Desk finishes before you do. If the Desk's allocation ends while your position is still open, the Terminal tells you that the Desk has finished with this trade and offers Keep it open or Close. From then on you are holding the position on your own account alone, and nothing it does earns Desk money. Consider whether it is still worth keeping open.

The screens come from a demonstration account; prices, sizes and amounts are sample data. Estimates, projections and backtests in the Terminal describe how the Desk behaves. They are not promises of future results. Trading involves risk.