What Is a Fill? Definition in Investing, How It Works, and Types (2024)

What Is a Fill?

A fill is an executed order. It is the action of completing or satisfying an order for a security or commodity. Order execution and reporting fills is a fundamental act in the transacting of stocks, bonds or any other type of security. For example, if a trader places a buy order for a stock at $50 and a seller agrees to the price, the sale occurs, and the order fills. The $50 price is the fill or execution price.

Key Takeaways

  • A fill is the result of an order execution to buy or sell securities in the market.
  • A fill will report the price(s), timestamps, and volume of an order that has been sent to the market via a broker or automated trading system.
  • Partial fills are orders that have not been fully executed due to conditions placed on the order such as a limit price.

How Fills Work

There are several types of ways investors may attempt to fill a securities order. The first and most straightforward approach is the market order. In this scenario, an investor instructs a broker to buy or sell an investment immediately at the best available current price.

This is usually a default option on an investor’s trading platform and highly likely to be executed. A market order is also sometimes called an unrestricted order and on average has low commissions, due to the lack of requirements, logistics, and effort needed to complete it.

Types of Fill Orders

In contrast, a limit order is an instruction to buy or sell a set amount of a financial instrument at a specified price or better. A limit order may not fill if the price the investor sets is not achieved during the period of time in which the order is left open. Limit orders may be canceled if this occurs.

Limit orders guarantee that an investor does not miss a chance to buy or sell if the security achieves his or her desired price target. Buy limit orders put a cap on the price above which an investor will not pay, while sell limit orders set a target for the cheapest price the investor will sell for.

A stop order (also called a stop-loss order) is a limit order that becomes a market order once the target price is achieved. For example, if a buy stop order is entered at a price of $20 (above the current market price), and the stock achieves this price, it will automatically purchase specified shares at the next available market price (e.g. $20.05).

In reverse, if a sell stop order is entered for $20, and the stock is declining, when it hits $20, it becomes a sell order at the next available market price, which could be $19.98.

Special Considerations

Investor orders will fill in various ways, based on the type of order entered into a broker’s system. While most orders will fill automatically when the price is triggered or achieved, at times, certain algorithms can specify that an order fills over a set period of time and/or based on the trading volume of a security.

If an order has a stipulation or condition such as a limit price, the order may only be partially filled. A partial fill, for example, would result from only 200 shares executed at a limit price of $53.00 when the complete order is for 1,000 shares.

This can happen if only that smaller number of shares is ever bid for at that limit price while the order still stands. Limit orders and those with time constraints are subject to partial fills, while market orders are almost always executed in full.

How Long Does It Take to Fill a Market Order?

For actively traded stocks, market orders are filled almost immediately. Unusual high volume can delay the trade, however.

Why Won’t My Pre-Market Order Fill?

Pre-market orders might not be filled during pre-market trading (4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. EST) if there are not enough shares to meet your order. Large orders on stocks with low volume are harder to fill, especially in pre-market hours.

Do Limit Orders Fill Immediately?

Limit orders are only filled if the set price (or better) is available. Thus, limit orders only fill if a security reaches a certain price. There is no guarantee the order will be filled immediately or at all.

What Is a Fill? Definition in Investing, How It Works, and Types (2024)

FAQs

What Is a Fill? Definition in Investing, How It Works, and Types? ›

A fill is an executed order

order
Stop-limit orders are a conditional trade that combine the features of a stop loss with those of a limit order to mitigate risk. Stop-limit orders enable traders to have precise control over when the order should be filled, but they are not guaranteed to be executed.
https://www.investopedia.com › terms › stop-limitorder
. It is the action of completing or satisfying an order for a security or commodity. Order execution and reporting fills is a fundamental act in the transacting of stocks, bonds or any other type of security.

What does fill mean in trading? ›

Fill is the term used to refer to the satisfying of an order to trade a financial asset. It is the basic act of any market transaction – when an order has been completed, it is often referred to as 'filled' or as the order having been executed.

What is the difference between fill and execution? ›

If the order is filled, it will only be at the specified limit price or better. However, execution is not guaranteed, because even if the stock reaches the specified limit price, it's possible that orders ahead of yours may exhaust the availability of shares at that price, so your order cannot be executed.

What is the average fill price? ›

Each bar indicates the average price of all fills since the order was placed until either the start of the next bar of the last transaction of the order, whichever is first.

What is the fill price and price? ›

The “fill price” in trading refers to the actual price at which a trade order is executed. This can apply to both buy and sell orders for a variety of financial instruments, including stocks, bonds, futures contracts, and forex pairs.

What is a fill policy in trading? ›

A Fill-Or-Kill order is an order to buy or sell a stock that must be executed immediately in its entirety; otherwise, the entire order will be cancelled (i.e., no partial execution of the order is allowed).

What is minimum fill trading? ›

A special term order with a minimum fill condition will only begin to trade if its first fill has the required minimum number of shares. For example, an order to buy 5,000 shares with a minimum volume of 2,000 shares can only trade if 2,000 or more shares become available.

How long do market orders take to fill? ›

Market Orders: Immediate Fills

A market order in a liquid stock such as Apple (AAPL) or Meta (META) is almost always filled and confirmed immediately. However, an order for a smaller, less liquid stock may take longer to fill and receive confirmation from a broker.

What happens when a stock order is partially filled? ›

A partial fill happens when only a portion of a limit order is executed, the share price surpasses the specified limit order target during the trade. In this instance shares will only be exchanged up to the price on the limit order, and the rest remain unfilled.

What does fak mean in trading? ›

Fill and Kill (FAK) Order - FAK orders are immediately executed against resting orders. Any quantity that remains unfilled is cancelled.

What is the best fill rate? ›

On average, companies typically maintain a fill rate of about 85%-95%. But ideally, you should strive for a fill rate between 97% and 99%. A fulfillment partner like ShipBob can help you achieve these high numbers using a distributed fulfillment network and robust automation tools.

What is a fill cost? ›

Cavity fillings cost anywhere from $100 to $1,150 per tooth and sometimes more. The cost varies based on the type of dental filling and other factors. The table below shows the average cost and cost range of the different types of dental fillings. Filling material.

How do you calculate average fill price? ›

In basic mathematics, average price is a representative measure of a range of prices. It is calculated by taking the sum of the values and dividing it by the number of prices being examined.

How is fill rate calculated? ›

To calculate the fill rate, divide the number of orders filled by the total number of orders placed and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

What does "filled" mean in stocks? ›

In a nutshell, when your order has been fully executed, it's said to be in a 'filled' status. It's the point where your buy or sell order has been processed by the exchange, and you've either purchased shares or sold them successfully.

What is the fill rate in trading? ›

The order fill rate is a percentage of the orders you fill without backorders or stock-outs compared to the orders placed in a given time. Happy customers depend on a high order fill rate. If you can't meet your orders, you'll lose sales, customer trust, and loyalty.

What does it mean to fill an order? ›

Order filling is the process of delivering purchased items to the intended customer. Also known as order fulfillment, order filling is an essential part of a business' supply chain management process.

What does back and fill mean in stocks? ›

Within that price action is something MrTopStep calls “back and fill” or “back and filling.” This occurs after a low is made and the S&P is deciding if it's going to hold or sell off again. It is back and filling when it holds a low and trades sideways.

How long does it take for an order to fill? ›

Market orders provide for fairly immediate fills, but you cannot control the prices you'll receive on your orders. Limit orders guarantee a price, but may not get filled until the stock price reaches your limit. Most trades settle in one business day although it can vary based on the type of asset traded.

What is meant by the term stock and fill? ›

A "fill" in investing is the execution of a buy or sell order for a financial instrument, like stocks or bonds. The exact moment when your order is matched with a willing buyer or seller in the market is represented by a 'fill' which usually determines the price and quantity of the trade.

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