In this article:
Overview
Wealthsimple offers 24-hour trading for U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
24-hour trading refers to the buying and selling of securities during and outside market hours. You can buy and sell U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, from Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) to Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET.
When you place an order, you'll choose between two trading sessions: Market hours or the 24-hour market.
Market hours run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday.
The 24-hour market runs from Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET to Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET. It covers four trading sessions:
- Pre-market hours (4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET)
- Market hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET)
- Post-market hours (4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET)
- Overnight hours (8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET)
The difference is how long your order stays open: a Market hours order expires at 4:00 p.m. ET, while a 24-hour market order stays open until 4:00 a.m. ET the next trading day.
Trading in the 24-hour market offers the following benefits:
- Adapt to your schedule: Trade at convenient times based on your schedule.
- React to market news: Make decisions and respond to company news outside of market hours.
- Global market influence: Events in foreign markets can impact U.S. stocks. Trade in response to global market activities.
How to place a 24-hour trading order
To trade outside of market hours, you'll need to place a limit order on an eligible security.
Follow these steps to place a 24-hour order:
- Log in to the Wealthsimple app
- Tap the Discover (search) tab at the bottom of the screen
- Enter the name or symbol of a security in the search bar
- Select the security
- Tap Buy
- Enter the number of shares to buy
- Select the account to purchase the shares in
- Tap Next
- If eligible, you'll see the option to choose a Trading session
- Follow the prompts to place your 24-hour order
- Log in to your Wealthsimple profile
- Select the Search tab from the left-side menu
- Enter the name or symbol of a security in the search bar
- Select the security
- Enter the number of shares to buy
- Select the account to purchase the shares in
- Select Next
- If eligible, the 24-hour trading session will populate in the order summary
- Follow the prompts to place your 24-hour order
Restrictions and considerations
You should be aware of the following restrictions and considerations when submitting orders to trade in the 24-hour market through Wealthsimple:
- Order type: All 24-hour market orders are submitted as limit orders. These orders may participate in opening and closing auctions or crossing sessions.
- Ineligible trades: The 24-hour market isn't available for Canadian-listed stocks or ETFs, U.S.-listed options, or over-the-counter (OTC) stocks.
- Fractional shares: Fractional shares aren't supported in the 24-hour market.
- Portfolio holdings: Your portfolio holdings and account values fluctuate outside of market hours, due to real-time security price updates.
- Settlement: Orders placed after 8:00 p.m. ET are treated as trades made on the next business day. This means your trade won't settle on the day immediately following your request. For example, if you place an overnight trade on December 10, it's processed as a December 11 trade and will settle on December 12.
- Quotes: We provide real-time bid and ask prices as well as the last traded price, which reflects trades placed in the 24-hour market.
For more information, please refer to the 24 Hour Trading Disclosure and the Best Execution and Order Handling Disclosure.
Trading sessions schedule
There are four trading sessions, all of which fall within the 24-hour market:
| Trading session | Days of operation | Hours of operation |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-market hours | Monday to Friday | 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET |
| Market hours | Monday to Friday | 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET |
| Post-market hours | Monday to Friday | 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Overnight hours | Sunday to Friday | 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET Note: Trading ends Friday at 4:00 a.m. ET. |
Order duration
The duration your order remains active for depends on which trading session you placed your order in:
Market hours orders
- Orders placed during market hours remain active until 4:00 p.m. ET.
- Market hours orders placed outside of market hours will be queued for the next day's market session.
24-hour market orders
- Orders remain active throughout all trading sessions (4:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET) and won't carry over to the next trading session.
- Unfilled 24-hour market orders will be cancelled at the close of the overnight trading session (4:00 a.m. ET).
Frequently asked questions
Learn more about the 24-hour market through Wealthsimple below. For more details, please see our 24 Hour Trading Disclosure and Best Execution and Order Handling Disclosure.
Are there additional fees for trading in the 24-hour market?
There are no additional fees for trading in the 24-hour market. Learn more about the Wealthsimple Fee Schedule.
What securities can I trade in the 24-hour market?
Follow these steps to browse eligible securities:
- Log in to the Wealthsimple app
- Tap the Discover (search) tab at the bottom of the screen
- Scroll down and tap Categories
- Select Extended hours trading
- Browse stocks available in the 24-hour market
- Log in to your Wealthsimple profile
- Select the Search tab from the left-side menu
- Enter the name or symbol of a security in the search bar
Why is my account value fluctuating outside of market hours?
Your portfolio holdings and account values fluctuate outside of market hours, due to real-time security price updates.
Can I modify a pending order in the 24-hour market?
Yes, you can modify pending limit orders in any trading session.
What happens if I submit a market order by accident?
Market orders entered outside of market hours will be queued for the next market session.
How do corporate actions affect my 24-hour market orders?
Corporate actions like stock splits, dividends, mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs can impact your trades if they occur around the same time you place a 24-hour market order.
When these corporate actions happen, they create two different environments for trading:
- Pre-corporate action: This is the period before the corporate action takes effect.
- Post-corporate action: This is the period after the corporate action takes effect.
Trades placed during pre-market hours will be processed in the post-corporate action environment.
- Example: If you own ABC stock valued at $50 per share, and a 2:1 stock split occurs, trades placed in pre-market will be executed at $25 per share.
Trades placed in post-market hours before the corporate action date are processed in the pre-corporate action environment.
- Example: If you buy 100 shares of ABC stock at $50 per share in post-market, and a 2:1 stock split occurs the next trading day, you'll end up with 200 shares, each valued at $25.
How does overnight trading work at Wealthsimple?
Wealthsimple executes overnight trades through Blue Ocean Alternative Trading System (BOATS). To protect investors, BOATS uses a system that limits how much a stock's price can change during the overnight session. Specifically, BOATS has a 20% price band. This means that if you place an order and the price you set is more than 20% away from the stock's reference price, BOATS will reject your order.
The reference price is the stock's last sale price on a main exchange as of 7:30 p.m. ET. This price is used as a benchmark to determine if an overnight order falls within the 20% band. In addition to this, Wealthsimple and any brokers we use may employ a more conservative price band to limit order rejections for overnight orders submitted before 7:30 p.m. ET when the overnight session opens.
In addition to this price band, BOATS also has rules about the size and value of orders.
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