In this post I provide a complete explanation of the Good till date order condition for trading stocks, forex and futures.
I’ll explain what a Good till date order condition is, how to add a GTD condition to a trade and why you might want to consider using them in your trading.
What is GTD meaning in trading
In stock market, forex and futures trading the acronym ‘GTD’ stands for ‘Good Till Date’. GTD is a type of condition added to an order when placing a trade. GTD is one of several types of ‘time in force’ instructions that allows traders to specify how long an order will remain open.
What is a Good till date order condition?
A GTD order condition is a ‘Time in Force’ instruction.
Time in force is a special instruction sent to your broker when placing a trade that indicates how long an order will remain open.
A Good till date order condition instructs your broker to close the order on a specified date. Depending on your brokers rules. A trader may be able to specify a time as well as date.
A GTD order condition will close an unfilled order or any partially filled order that remains open.
How to add a Good till date order condition to a trade
GTD order conditions can be applied to almost any order type (except obviously market orders). The types of orders available to you will depend on your broker. The most common order types include limit and stop orders.
Most trading platform order panels will offer a ‘Time in Force’ section. In the example below I have used the Tradingview order panel as an example.
To set a Good till date order condition (using Tradingview) follow these steps:
- Create a new order. To do this using Tradingview ‘Right Click’ on the chart where you want to place your trade. Select ‘Trade’. Then select the order type. For a full guide to placing a trade using Tradingview click the link.
- The ‘Order Panel’ will open on the right hand side of the chart.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the order panel to the ‘Time in force’ section,
- Here you will have the option to set the ‘Time in force conditions’ Different platforms and brokers will offer different options. Here you can select GTD or ‘Good till date’. Tradingview also offers the option to select the exact time to cancel the order. (See red box below).
Why use a GTD order condition
Using a ‘Time in force’ instruction like a GTD order condition allows traders to be specific about the time parameters related to an order.
This is useful for a number of reasons including (but not limited too):
- Automating trade exit based on a specific time period without having to be actively trading at the time.
- Exiting a trade before a specific news event
- Remaining active in a trade for only a specific trading session; to avoid changes in trading volume and volatility
