Bonds | Interactive Brokers

This document outlines the appropriate format that the traders must follow while writing the webhook payload for setting up the following types of Bonds orders to be executed into Interactive Brokers.

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Market Order

The traders can write the webhook payload for setting up market orders using these four payload fields:

  • Symbol
  • Action
  • Quantity
  • Class

Symbol

The ticker symbol of the bond is represented using a specific bond identifier format that combines the ticker symbol, currency, and maturity year.

The format is: [Ticker Symbol][currency][Maturity Year]

For instance, Interactive Brokers uses symbols like "TMUBMUSD10Y," "TMUBMUSD30Y," and "TMUBMUSD5Y" to represent various U.S. Treasury Bonds.

Let's break down TMUBMUSD10Y for demonstration purposes.

  • TMUBM: This is the ticker symbol used to identify and track the performance of the bond in financial markets.
  • USD: United States Dollar, the currency in which the bond is denominated.
  • 10Y: Represents the maturity period of 10 years, which matches the "10 Year" part.

Action

The signal action indicates the type of trade to be triggered. The action can be any of the following four:

  • Buy: Triggers an action to buy the asset.
  • Sell: Triggers an action to sell the asset.
  • Close/Exit: Triggers an action to close an existing open position and exit the trade.
  • Cancel: Triggers an action to cancel any open orders.

Quantity

The number of assets to be traded. If omitted, the quantity will be dynamically calculated or defaulted to 1.

Note: You can also use the JSON field- quantity_type.

This is an optional field indicating the type of quantity being specified. We have three options - fixed, cash, and percent_of_equity.

Fixed (Default): The trade quantity will be set as a fixed quantity, such as “100” shares or “10” shares.

{
 "quantity": 100,
 "quantity_type": "fixed"
}

Cash: The trade quantity is represented by the available cash amount. For instance, if the quantity_type is set to "cash", and the trader specifies a value of 100, it means they are trading 100 units of the currency value, such as 100 USD or 100 GBP, depending on the currency locale of the trader.

{
 "quantity": 100,
 "quantity_type": "cash"
}

Percent_of_equity: The quantity is calculated as a percentage of the total equity (account balance, not including unrealized p/l). For instance, if the total equity is $50,000 and the quantity_type is set to “percent_of_equity” with the value of “2” then the trade quantity would be $50,000*0.02 = $1000.

{
  "quantity": 2,
  "quantity_type": "percent_of_equity"
}

Class

The Class is a field or property that identifies and categorizes financial instruments such as futures, options, warrants, bonds, CFDs, crypto, forex, stocks, and funds. Required to be specified for assets with time-limited contracts like bonds.

EXAMPLE

I. Buy

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "buy",
  "quantity": 123,
  "class": "bond"
}

II. Sell

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "cancel",
  "quantity": 123,
  "class": "bond"
}

III. Close

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "close",
  "class": "bond"
}

IV. Cancel

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "cancel",
  "class": "bond"
}

Limit Order

The traders can write the webhook payload for setting up Limit orders using these five payload fields:

  • Symbol
  • Action
  • Quantity
  • Limit_price
  • Class

Symbol

The ticker symbol of the bond is represented using a specific bond identifier format that combines the ticker symbol, currency, and maturity year.

The format is: [Ticker Symbol][currency][Maturity Year]

For instance, Interactive Brokers uses symbols like "TMUBMUSD10Y," "TMUBMUSD30Y," and "TMUBMUSD5Y" to represent various U.S. Treasury Bonds.

Let's break down TMUBMUSD10Y for demonstration purposes.

  • TMUBM: This is the ticker symbol used to identify and track the performance of the bond in financial markets.
  • USD: United States Dollar, the currency in which the bond is denominated.
  • 10Y: Represents the maturity period of 10 years, which matches the "10 Year" part.

Action

The signal action indicates the type of trade to be triggered. The action can be any of the following four:

  • Buy: Triggers an action to buy the asset.
  • Sell: Triggers an action to sell the asset.
  • Close/Exit: Triggers an action to close an existing open position and exit the trade.
  • Cancel: Triggers an action to cancel any open orders.

Quantity

The number of assets to be traded. If omitted, the quantity will be dynamically calculated or defaulted to 1.

Note: You can also use the JSON field- quantity_type.

This is an optional field indicating the type of quantity being specified. We have three options - fixed, cash, and percent_of_equity.

Fixed (Default): The trade quantity will be set as a fixed quantity, such as “100” shares or “10” shares.

{
 "quantity": 100,
 "quantity_type": "fixed"
}

Cash: The trade quantity is represented by the available cash amount. For instance, if the quantity_type is set to "cash", and the trader specifies a value of 100, it means they are trading 100 units of the currency value, such as 100 USD or 100 GBP, depending on the currency locale of the trader.

{
 "quantity": 100,
 "quantity_type": "cash"
}

Percent_of_equity: The quantity is calculated as a percentage of the total equity (account balance, not including unrealized p/l). For instance, if the total equity is $50,000 and the quantity_type is set to “percent_of_equity” with the value of “2” then the trade quantity would be $50,000*0.02 = $1000.

{
  "quantity": 2,
  "quantity_type": "percent_of_equity"
}

Limit_price

An optional field specifying the execution price for a “buy” or  “sell” trade. If you specify the limit price the trade will be executed at the specified limit price. Or If you choose not to specify a limit price, the trade will be executed at the current market price.

Class

The Class is a field or property that identifies and categorizes financial instruments such as futures, options, warrants, bonds, CFDs, crypto, forex, stocks, and funds. Required to be specified for assets with time-limited contracts like bonds.

EXAMPLE

I. Buy

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "buy",
  "quantity": 123,
  "limit_price": 123.98,
  "class": "bond"
}

II. Sell

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "sell",
  "quantity": 123,
  "limit_price": 123.98,
  "class": "bond"
}

III. Close

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "close",
  "limit_price": 123.98,
  "class": "bond"
}

IV. Cancel

{
  "symbol": "TMUBMUSD10Y",
  "action": "cancel",
  "limit_price": 123.98,
  "class": "bond"
}




Jan 19, 2024

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