Skip to content

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Fill definition

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. However, it is worth noting that there is no guarantee that every trade will become filled.

For an order to be filled, there are certain parameters or conditions that have to be met. To successfully fill an order there has to be enough trading volume on the market – if there is no one to buy from or sell to, then your transaction cannot take place. It is also important to make sure that your trade has not expired and that the market is currently within trading hours, as only orders that are open and on live markets can be filled.

There are different ways that trades can be filled, depending on the type of order being given. Market orders, for example, are filled at the best available price as quickly as possible, whereas limit orders are filled at a specific price. If the conditions of your order are not met, it means that your trade will not be filled, and it will remain on the market or expire worthless

Market orders are the most common way of filling an order – with IG, our platform default is the equivalent of a market order.

Discover our online trading platform

Our best execution helps you to open, close and edit positions faster than ever before.

Example of a fill order

Let’s say that you want to place an order to buy shares of company ABC. You decide to place a limit order with a strike price of £25. Another market participant is looking to sell shares of company ABC and agrees to your offer price of £25. This means that the transaction can take place and your order will be filled.

In this instance, the £25 price is the fill or execution price.

Build your trading knowledge

Discover how to trade with IG Academy, using our series of interactive courses, webinars and seminars.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - Y

See all glossary trading terms

Help and support

Get answers about your account or our services.

Get answers

Call 010 500 8626

Or ask about opening an account on 010 500 8624 or newaccounts.za@ig.com.

We're here 24hrs a day from 9am Saturday to 11pm Friday.