Precautions

If you trade in the markets, you already know the financial risks involved. This article documents the known limitations and other risks while trading with AutoTrader Web.

This article is about our product AutoTrader Web. It does not explain stock market risks. It explains the risks involved in using our software services.

Trading Precautions

1. Basics

People using this system are expected to know the basic functions of the stock and derivative markets, based on the area in which you trade. You should know:

• Difference between Orders and Positions
• Bracket / Cover order
• Limit / Market / Stoploss / Stoploss-Market types of orders

This knowledge is important so you can take the right decision if any issue comes up.

2. Credentials

The credentials you store in our system are highly secured. More details are in security concerns.

3. Beginners need to GO SLOW

You may have deep knowledge of the stock markets, but if you are a new user, you need to go slow.

AutoTrader Web is a fairly big and internally complex system. We have documented it very well, but most users do not read the documentation, so they are not aware of all features and how they work. If you go slow, you have less chance of heavy losses from known limitations or from lack of knowledge of the system.

What we mean by “going slow”:

• Trade offline (during non-trading hours)
• In a live market, trade in stocks with very small quantity
• Keep very low funds in your account
• Slowly increase your capital as you grow confidence

4. Master Child Auto-Copy (Copy Trading)

The precautions are documented in Copy Trading limitations and precautions.

5. Password Expiry

Every stock broker has different rules for password expiry. Some brokers have a 60 day expiry, while others have no expiry. Check with your stock broker to find out the expiry date.

If your trading account password expires after a certain number of days, it is your responsibility to change the trading platform password before it expires. Otherwise you may find out on a trading day that your password has already expired. The point is to avoid any inconvenience during trading days.

If you hold multiple trading accounts and your broker has password expiry, it is a good idea to change passwords of all accounts once a month on a weekend. This keeps all passwords on the same expiry date. If there is any issue, you still have plenty of time to fix it, because you are doing this on a weekend.

6. API Limits

This is one of the most important concepts. Users doing automated trading must understand it. Read more about API Limits.

If you trade manually from our website and have a large number of accounts (100+), do not refresh the portfolio too often within a short span of time. Keep a gap of at least 15 seconds. Read the link above to know more.

7. Parallel Login

You can view your trading accounts from the AutoTrader Web dashboard as well as your broker’s trading platform. A few brokers do not allow this (Zerodha), with a few exceptions. See the broker-specific limitations at the bottom of this article.

8. Browser Compatibility

We recommend using Google Chrome, as our testing is done in Google Chrome. On Mac or other non-Windows operating systems, we have sometimes seen compatibility issues in a few environments. If you face such issues, please use Firefox.

9. Broker Technical Issues

At times, broker servers can throw errors. These could be rare errors or a major technical problem on the broker’s side. Errors thrown by a broker are easy to identify, as they start with this format:

“Error from <Broker Name>: <ERROR MESSAGE>”

You and we are both users of the broker’s trading platform. If there are issues on their side, there is not much we can do until they fix it on their side.

We send a notification to our Alerts WhatsApp and Telegram groups whenever we observe an issue. These groups can be joined from the contact page.

On days when your broker has issues, it is better to square-off your portfolio and not trade until the issues are resolved. Also log in to your broker’s trading platform to make sure everything is as expected.

IMPORTANT: Those managing multiple trading accounts across different brokers should read this guide on what to do when one of the brokers has a problem.

10. Backup Trading Account

Many things can cause issues in your trading, for example:

• Broker changes their platforms
• Technical issues in the broker’s systems
• Policy changes by the broker

If you are a big trader or portfolio manager, these things can hurt you, as it takes 2-3 days to open an account with another broker. So it is recommended to keep an account with another broker that you can quickly use if there are any issues with your primary broker.

11. Slowness

Sometimes you will see slowness in our system. This mostly happens due to issues with a particular broker or trading account. If you use multiple trading accounts, try to select them individually using the dropdown available on AutoTrader Web.

To understand why a broker’s systems are almost always the reason for slowness, you just need to understand the basic flow of a request:

1. You or your trading system sends a request to AutoTrader Web. A request can be place / modify / cancel order, or read margins / positions / orders.
2. Our system forwards this request to your stock broker’s server and waits for the response.
   • The broker’s server has many internal systems that the order passes through (for example, RMS – risk management system, OMS – order management system).
   • From your broker, the order goes to the exchange.
   • The exchange sends the response back to the broker’s server.
   • The broker’s server processes the response and returns it to us.
3. Once we have the response, we simply return it back to you.

The average time spent in processing by our system is 0.03 seconds for each request, because our system acts like a bridge connecting you (or your trading system) to your stock broker’s system. The majority of the time is spent on your broker’s server and on the exchange.

Our system hardly does any processing, so our CPU usage is around 4-5% on average. Our servers are hosted close to the brokers and exchanges, so network speeds stay fast.

Order copying delays. When you copy an order into multiple accounts, our system executes the order into multiple accounts in parallel (in a batch of 8 accounts). Batching avoids sending too many requests to your stock broker at the same time. Although execution is parallel, the system must wait for the response of all orders, because it needs to show the status or order_id of all orders to the user. If one order takes time, or one of your brokers has issues, the whole order copying operation has to wait, even though most of your orders are already placed.

Logging. We are transparent about what our system does. Every activity is logged with a timestamp, and you can view it from the AutoTrader Web menu (Tools -> Activity). If you find any issue with our system, you have the proof in the activity logs and can inform us about it. Activity is kept only for the last 15 calendar days.

12. Square-off (Positions)

Square-off is internally a fairly complex process. You can read more in internal working of the Square-off process.

Although square-off happens quickly, by nature it is not an instantaneous process. To understand why, read the internal working.

When you click a Square-off button, it is a request being submitted to the system. The success message you see simply means a position is accepted for square-off. It is accepted, not completed; the actual square-off could still be running.

So once you square-off, wait a few seconds and then verify the position is squared off by refreshing your positions. If it is not squared off, you can do a manual square-off, or in the worst case, square-off by logging into your trading platform.

• Note: If a position fails to square-off once via the Square-off button, it will not be accepted for square-off again. So there is no point in clicking the square-off button again and again. The only other option is a manual square-off from AutoTrader Web or your broker’s trading platform.
• Bracket / Cover order positions can be manually squared off by cancelling their open child orders.
• Regular positions can be manually squared off by placing a reverse order.

One of the major reasons for square-off failure is when the square-off order placed by AutoTrader Web is rejected by your stock broker. Some known reasons are:

• MARKET orders not allowed by brokers in illiquid option contracts
• Rejection due to shortfall of margin

13. Square-off (Holdings)

Almost all brokers DO NOT update holdings in real-time. So if you have sold some holdings today, you must check the Positions tab for the status of holdings sold on the current day.

The % quantity feature uses the quantity as seen on the holdings page. So take this into account if you are using % quantity to sell the same holdings multiple times.

The system calculates Total Holding Quantity = Quantity + T1 quantity.

To sell holdings, you must have a POA submitted with the broker. See quantity needs to be authorized at depository for more details.

14. Quantity

Almost all brokers take quantity in multiples of lot size. If you are not sure, always try in number of lots first, for example 1 lot (most likely you will get an error). Then you can try in multiples of lot size, for example 75 quantity for taking one lot of NIFTY future.

15. Auto-refresh Not Available

The web dashboard does not have auto-refresh, and there are some reasons behind it. More details on it can be found here.

16. TradingView

TradingView strategies and alerts keep running even if you close your browser. So if you are doing automated trading using TradingView, remember to stop your strategies / alerts when you do not intend to use them.

Please be careful: avoid modifying alerts or strategy settings during a live market. TradingView can repaint a signal when you modify settings in a live market, which may lead to unexpected results. If you are testing, it is okay to modify settings in a live market. Here are some references on repainting:

• Avoiding repainting with alerts
• Indicator repainting

17. at-desktop Client

The client displays a message at the bottom of the screen whenever there is a new version available. It is highly recommended to upgrade your client when a new version is available.

18. Help Links

The system is designed to provide immediate help for all known issues or limitations. If you get a known error, your error pop-up or mail will carry a Help me on this error or Help Me link. These links provide solutions to the relevant problem. They let you resolve the problem quickly instead of approaching the support team, which can take longer.

Broker Limitations / Issues

Zerodha

• M2M & PnL
  • We added a new column called “AT PnL” recently, but that is calculated using our system (not by your broker). So there may be differences. Please notify us if you see any discrepancy.
  • The M2M & PnL values our system receives from Zerodha are updated every 2-5 minutes by them. So they are NOT real-time. Our system fetches it every time from Zerodha, but the values we receive are stale.
  • API users (programmers) should use the AT PnL column or calculate PnL using live data from their market data vendor.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Upstox

• M2M & PnL — PnL and some other important fields are incorrect in position data (for overnight positions). We have opened this ticket with Upstox for this bug.
• Bracket orders are not currently supported by Upstox.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Angel Broking

• Cover order — Their Smart API implementation still does not support Cover order. Once they start supporting it, we will enable support for CO.
• Stability — Stability still needs to be improved on their side (they are working on it, as per our conversation with them).
• Smart API is not as fast as Zerodha in terms of execution speed.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Kotak

• MCX exchange orders are not allowed by Kotak on their APIs. They do not have an approval for the exchange. You can double check this with their customer care.
• PnL – Kotak only provides M2M values; the PnL value is not provided at the time of writing.
• Cover order – In our testing, we found bugs in Kotak’s cover order (so we have disabled it for now). This has been reported to Kotak.
• Bracket order – Kotak Neo API does not support bracket order.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Fyers

• Bracket Order in Fyers API does not support trailing s/l.
• The stoploss for Cover Order in Fyers API is different than other brokers (stoploss price is denominated in rupees above and below the trade price). Refer to this link.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

AliceBlue

• PnL & M2M — AliceBlue API does not display overnight pnl for derivative positions.
• Cover orders will be supported if they are enabled by AliceBlue.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Profitmart

• PnL & M2M
  • PnL value is not provided by Profitmart API, so what you see is the value calculated by AutoTrader Web.
  • M2M value is provided by Profitmart API.
• Bracket & Cover orders will be supported if they are enabled by Profitmart. We could not test this feature as it was disabled in our test account. If you face any issues, kindly inform us.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Zebu

• Logout – Users can log in to the Zebu website in parallel, but they should not click Logout. Doing so will make the API login (used by AutoTrader Web) invalid too.
• Holdings data is currently not available. We are working on providing it.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Mastertrust

• Parallel Login
  • Mastertrust does not allow parallel login into their main web-based trading website (https://www.mastertrust.co.in/trade-login). So avoid logging into this website when you are using your account from AutoTrader Web, otherwise you may face errors.
  • However, parallel login is allowed from their other applications:
    • Mobile Application
    • Desktop Application
    • Beta web application (https://masterswift-beta.mastertrust.co.in/)
• Bracket Order — Currently BO is disabled, as Mastertrust API does not support exiting from a BO. Once they support it, we will enable BO from our side. For more details, contact Mastertrust API support.
• M2M & PnL
  • Mastertrust APIs do not provide position pnl.
  • Our system calculates the pnl shown for Mastertrust positions based on the live price received in the position response.
  • Although our testing shows pnl is accurate, if you see any discrepancy, kindly inform us.
• For stocks delivery orders, Mastertrust supports either DELIVERY or NORMAL product type depending on the brokerage plan. So if you are placing a delivery order for stocks and your clients are on different plans, you need to take care of this.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Nuvama

• Cover Order is NOT supported.
• Holdings are only visible if your account has POA submitted. We have raised this issue with the Nuvama team that holdings should be visible for all accounts. Still waiting for them to fix it.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

IIFL

• IIFL changes order id once the order is executed (status goes from OPEN to COMPLETE). This causes problems for those using API requests that want to modify / cancel orders. It even affects order cancellation in master / child auto-copy (order cancellation). For more information, speak to the support team.

5paisa

• 5paisa changes order id once the order is executed (status goes from OPEN to COMPLETE). This causes problems for those using API requests that want to modify / cancel orders. It even affects order cancellation in master / child auto-copy (order cancellation). For more information, speak to the support team.

Motilal Oswal

• Motilal Oswal API does not provide PnL. So the PnL you see is calculated by our system. If you see any discrepancy, please notify us.
• Holdings data is currently not provided by Motilal via APIs. Our team has already requested them to provide this data, just like all other brokers. We are currently awaiting a response.
• We observed a delay in portfolio updates. It takes some time for their system to reflect portfolio updates (like new orders, modifications, cancellations).

Finvasia

• Cover Order — Shoonya uses a different cover order format compared to other brokers. They use a trigger price (or stoploss) which is relative (this is different in design from all other brokers, who use the actual value). Example: if you are buying @ 100 and want a stoploss @ 98, you need to enter 2 in the trigger price column/field. For other brokers, you enter 98.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Choice

• M2M & PnL
  • We do show PnL for Choice now, but that is calculated using our system (not by your broker). So there may be differences. Please notify us if you see any discrepancy.
  • The position data we receive from Choice does not have M2M & PnL values. More details are available in position data does not contain M2M PnL values.
  • API users should also not use these columns and should rather calculate PnL using live data from their market data vendor, or use the AT PnL column.
• Price Conversion — Most price-related columns are accepted in paisa by the Choice API. We have taken care of converting it to/from paisa, so users need not worry about it. You can enter values in rupees. But if you do see any issues, let us know.
• Password Change — If you get a wrong password error while setting up a Choice account, note the following. Choice has 2 different passwords:
  • One that you can set when you log in via your Choice login id (this is the one we need to use in our system).
  • The other one is set up when you log in using your phone number.
• Check the knowledge base for a list of known issues.

Support

Support is always there to help. You can contact us on phone, WhatsApp or email. Please note the following points:

• Use the Activity log to do a self-investigation first (if applicable).
• Always provide as much detail as possible (including screenshots if applicable).
• It might not always be AutoTrader Web’s fault, so try to get to the bottom of the issue.
• The approach should be:
  1. Find the root cause.
  2. Identify the party responsible for the problem (User, AutoTrader Web, Stock Broker, Stock Exchange).
  3. Fix the problem by approaching the responsible party (if possible, or try to come up with a workaround).