TWS Release Notes


These release notes document the major enhancements and bug fixes distributed in the current TWS version 947.

Show Trades on Chart as Dashes or Triangles

The triangle shape displayed on a chart to indicate a trade is considered too large by some users. To accommodate this concern, we have given you the choice of using dashes (the original display) or triangles to show trades on your chart. To modify this setting, from the chart's Edit menu select Chart Parameters. In the Highlight on Chart section, check My trades as...to activate the feature, and use the drop down selector to choose Triangles or Dashes.

T+2 Stock Settlement Available

Clients writing covered calls will be able to purchase shares that settle in T+2 to satisfy their delivery obligations, instead of using existing shares and potentially incurring a higher tax liability. To specify T+2 for a stock order, from the Destination field select TPLUS2 as the routing destination.

Optimized Smart Routing for Options

For non-marketable options orders, the new default multi-purpose SMART routing algorithm for options finds the sweet spot between maximizing the probability of execution and minimizing venue fees. If you have specialized routing needs, select an alternative default routing algorithm that puts greater priority on maximizing rebates or maximizing the probability of a fill.

Option Routing Strategies

To specify a different default routing algorithm, use the Smart Routing page of Global Configuration. If you also elect to "Display" the alternative routing strategies, they will show up in an order's Destination drop down list so that you can select a different strategy on a per-order basis.

Cheat Sheet Help Added to TWS Windows

A new iteration of context-sensitive help, the Cheat Sheet, is being added to many of the TWS tools and windows. Cheat Sheets are invoked by clicking the available "?" icon in the title bar of the window. Each Cheat Sheet uses clearly numbered steps that are displayed directly on an image of the actual tool. To test a Cheat Sheet, from the Mosaic interface click the "?" on the Order Entry panel.

Option Selector in StrategyBuilder

Stay tuned for more Cheat Sheet help going forward.

Strategy Builder Uses New Option Selector Technology

Add legs to the TWS Strategy Builder quickly and easily with the Option Selector. Opening the Strategy Builder invokes the Option Selector tool. Simply click the Bid or Ask (to create a Sell or Buy leg) and it's instantly added to your strategy.

Option Selector in StrategyBuilder
  • In-the-money contracts are highlighted.
  • Option Chain section is hidden when you move off the display. Click "Option Chain" to display the panel.
  • Underlying and last prices are displayed along the top of the selector for easy reference.
  • The next four quarterly expiries are listed in a tabset along the top of the selector. Click the "More" tab to view all available expirations.
  • The background of the strike price is shaded to indicate the number of standard deviations. Darker color indicates a standard deviation of 1.0 or less. The lighter the color, the greater the standard deviation.

To open the Strategy Builder, from Mosaic use the New Window drop down. From Classic TWS use the Trading Tools menu.

IB Risk NavigatorSM Enhancements

To open the IB Risk Navigator and see the new features, use the New Window drop down list from Mosaic, or the Analytical Tools menu from Classic TWS.

Beta Weighted Portfolio
In addition to measuring delta-weighted portfolio positions, the IB Risk Navigator now also measures beta-weighted performance. This new feature allows traders to consider risk by measuring the correlation of individual components with a market index (the S&P 500 by default) in order to estimate likely gains or losses in the event of a given move in the market.

  • To enable Beta Weighting functionality and fields, from the Risk Navigator View menu select Beta Weighted Portfolio.
  • If you would like to change the reference contract from the default SPX, in the Beta Reference Index box type in a symbol or pick a new index. Note that you can change the beta reference contract at any time by clicking the current Beta Reference: entry in the bottom title bar.
  • Enter your own beta value by typing directly into the beta field for any asset, or using the Manual Beta Editor accessible from the Edit menu.
  • A series of new beta risk columns are added to the Equity page. You can add or remove these columns using the Metrics>Beta Risk menu command. Available Beta Risk columns include: Beta, Weighted Beta, Delta, Delta Dollars and Delta Dollars % NLV for the reference contract, Beta Delta Dollars, Beta Delta Dollars % NLV and Beta Dollars.
  • Switch the calculation for calculated fields from NLV to GMV if needed using the Settings menu and selecting Percentage Column Calculations.
  • Modify the time horizon for the automatic beta calculation using the Beta Calculation Method window which is accessible from the Custom Beta Scenario command on the Edit menu.
  • Additionally, the aggregation method in the P&L Portfolio Relative Graph changes to a Beta Weighted aggregation. You can toggle back and forth between beta weighted and equal percentage move using the labeled toggle button along the top of the graph.
  • The Risk Dashboard shows two new fields, Average Beta and Portfolio Beta.

Greater Price Change Range on Risk NavigatorSM P&L Graph
By default, the Risk Navigator P&L Plot provides a +/-30% range of price change along the horizontal axis. Using the new Range dropdown along the top of plot, you can now change the price change range to a larger interval, from 40% to 100% in 10% intervals.

Change Source for P&L Graph Data
You can now select either Previous Close or Most Recent as the data source for the base curve; previously only Previous Close was available. To change the source, use the right-click menu within the graph to select Plot data columns and then Settings.

To learn more about the IB Risk Navigator Portfolio P&L Graph, see the TWS Users' Guide.

Additional Percentage Columns
You can add more columns to reports. New columns include:

  • Unrealized P&L %: The unrealized P&L displayed as a percentage of the original investment value. Add from the Metrics>Value columns command.
  • Value % NLV: The value (or Daily P&L for futures and CFDs) displayed as a percentage of the total net liquidation value of the entire portfolio. Add from the Metrics>Value columns command.
  • Delta Dollars % NLV: The Delta Dollars displayed as a percentage of the total net liquidation value of the entire portfolio. Add from the Metrics>Position Risk command.
  • %VAR NLV (or GMV) has been added to the VAR tab in the on-demand VAR report.
  • Days to Liquidate: This has been added to the Equity tab. Add from the Metrics>Value columns command.
  • Gross Value and Gross Value %NLV: These columns can be added on all tabs. Add from the Metrics>Value columns command.

Long/Short Submenus Separated
The Long/Short commands have been separated into their own sub-category (Long/Short) in the Value columns, Position Risk and Beta Risk menus, all of which are available from the Metrics menu.

Risk by Country report
This new report is available from the Risk Navigator Equity tab. It groups positions by region and then by country.

New Portfolio section in Equity Portfolio Statistics Report
The Portfolio Statistics report now includes a Portfolio section that contains:

  • The long/short value of the portfolio
  • Median days to liquidate long/short positions
  • Percentage amount of portfolio that can be liquidated in 3/5/10 days

Volatility Lab Supports Additional Asset Types

The Volatility Lab now supports all stocks (not just US Stocks) and futures. The Volatility Lab is IB's dashboard of volatility tools that provides a snapshot of past and future readings for volatility on a stock, its industry peers and some measure of the broad markets.

Find the Volatility Lab in the File>New Window drop down in both the Mosaic and Classic TWS with the simplified toolbar menus, and in the Trading Tools menu in Classic TWS with the classic menu.

Portfolio Grouping Enhancements

The feature that allows you to group positions on the Portfolio page now provides the ability to group positions by underlying. Additionally, the Group By menu has been simplified by adding two "None" options, one of which will group alphabetically and one of which will group by P&L. To set the Group By criterion, use the right-click menu from the Contract field (on either the Mosaic Portfolio or Classic TWS Portfolio) and select the desired grouping option, including Security Type, Expiry, Industry, Underlying, None (Sort Alphabetically) and None (Sort by P&L). When you select "Underlying," the Contract header changes to read "Sort by Underlying (Asc)." Underlying's with multiple positions start with a Total row identifying the underlying and showing field total (total Position, Total Market Value etc), and are followed by the list of individual positions sorted in ascending order by contract. Underlyings with only a single position are listed individually.

In conjunction with the new Underlying grouping feature, a new optional set of "Portfolio Greeks" fields have been added to the Portfolio. These signed Greeks columns (Portfolio Delta, Portfolio Gamma etc) are calculated using the greek value (for example, Delta) x Position x Multiplier, identical to the Position Greeks calculated in the Risk Navigator. For underlyings with multiple positions, the Total row will include Portfolio Greek totals. The new columns are in the "Greeks" section of the fields list. To add, hold your mouse over any market data field until the Insert Column command appears. From the Greeks section, select any of the new Portfolio Greeks fields.

Dynamic Trendline Percentage on Charts

The vertical percentage change is now displayed above a chart trendline as you draw it, and will also display when you hold your mouse over the trendline. To draw a chart trendline, hold down your mouse key within a chart and drag the mouse to draw a trendline. To disable this feature, open Global Configuration by clicking the wrench icon on the chart, access the Charts>Settings page, uncheck Dynamic Trendline Percentage.

More Technical Indicator Studies Added to Charts

We have added another round of new technical indicators to our interactive charts! Click an indicator below to read about it in the TWS Users' Guide.

To add a study to a chart, use the Studies tab on the Chart Parameters page which is accessed from the chart's Edit menu.

Solicited Orders Checkbox for Compliance Tagging

Customers who have ability to place orders "on behalf of user XYZ" will be required to tag their orders as "solicited" (orders initiated by a broker through the broker's research and design) or "not solicited" (instigated by a broker's customer either through their actions or by the broker at their direction). This setting is displayed in the Order Ticket on the Misc. tab. You can also define the default value (currently set to "unsolicited") through the Order Presets. There are three settings for identifying the solicited flag. If you mark an order as "solicited," you are indicating that the order was solicited by your firm, not by Interactive Brokers. This solicited-order marking facility is provided solely as a supervisory tool for full service introducing brokers and their employees. This annotation will be reflected in the order audit trail and any confirmations and statements containing an execution of an order marked as solicited.