(1)(2) who cares, sheet happens (4) hold the order off screen...

(1)(2) who cares, sheet happens (4) hold the order off screen until sells become available, like the rest of us FGS.

So, it is number (4) then, is it?

In other words, a case of:

"Sorry, Mr Institutional Client, we know that you have an imperative to transact in Stock XYZ, but actually, we can't find any contra-orders that match your order for both price and quantity, so - while we know you gave us an instruction to execute the order - you know what we are going to do instead? We are going to just sit on it for a while, until something comes up whereby we can complete the order on your terms, by crossing the stock in the market. Sorry about that, but we are sure you won't mind. After all, "sheet happens", eh? We'll let you know when we are done."

How long do you think it will it be before the broker, who adopts that sort of business model, goes out of business? Six months? Three months? Two weeks?


(One for the books, that one...)

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