Double Position > Where did my orders go?

Created at 08 Nov 2018, 16:18
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zeno

Joined 08.11.2018

Double Position > Where did my orders go?
08 Nov 2018, 16:18


From what I understand, the "double position" quick trade button should open a new trade of the same volume in the same direction at the current market rate.

This should be equivalent to manually opening a new market order, which would create two positions -- instead with the double position quick trade it adds a new order to the existing position.

I am currently running tests on a demo account and I noticed the double position function seemed to evaporate my existing order's profits.

Scenario:

  • Opened a buy on instrument GBPUSD at 1.28 for 0.1 lots
  • Later the market has moved positively to 1.31 and my current position, composed of a single order, is in profit about 300 pips
  • The market is still trending, so I click double position.
  • My expectation is that this will add a new market order at 1.31 aiming for the same TP with the same SL. This should not affect my existing order, it is a completely separate order that's aggregated into the same position. So the net P&L of that position would be the P&L of the order opened at 1.28 + the one opened at 1.31.

I did this for multiple positions, and I noticed the next morning that all my profit from the original orders disappeared.

They were all at high net P&L and now my positions had lost that and there was no change in account equity or balance. I checked the orders/history tab and nothing had been closed to realise profit. The current positions show a pip count relative to the latest order only.

I checked the position info and I can clearly see the original order as part of the position, and its also present in the done orders log as a filled order.

Interestingly I could see the original 0.1 pip order line on one of the instrument graphs but not on any others.

As a test I tried closing a position composed of two 0.1 lot orders and indeed it did NOT close the initial 0.1 lot order with the large profit it should technically have.

So, what the hell happened to my original orders and their profits?

I can't find anything anywhere showing the original 0.1 lot orders and their open/close prices, their profits have simply vanished. This gives me little faith in those quick trade buttons vs manually opening a new, entirely separate position. Either that or I am missing something about how "double position" works...

Also, as a feature suggestion, it would be great if the positions tab drilled down to show orders that make up a position. If you're pyramiding orders in a position and want to add to it, its annoying to only see the net sum of the position and not see the order details anywhere. So by default it would be position > orders, and if you turn on aggregation, it would be instrument > positions > orders.

-David

 


@zeno
Replies

PanagiotisCharalampous
09 Nov 2018, 10:39

Hi David,

Double position does exactly what you described. It adds a new deal of the same size to the existing position. Since the new deal is opened at a different price then it is obvious that the position's entry price and profits will be averaged. If you want your positions to be separated then you need to create new positions instead of doubling an existing one. Also I noticed that you use the terms order and position interchangeably which leads to confusion and misunderstandings. For a detailed explanation of these terms and how they are used in our context, have a look at this article.

Best Regards,

Panagiotis


@PanagiotisCharalampous