For safety purposes (loss of power, data connection, equipment failure) it is good to have a stop loss order that
resides with your broker's server.
I have asked at different times (at the NT forum) how to tell if orders reside with my computer or the
broker's server. Always I get a canned PDF answer for some generic setup.
I have the DEFINITIVE ANSWER to this question for anyone that is interested.
Taking Ninja Trader as an example. Be sure that your chart trader ( or other used for entering trades) is not
in the automated strategy mode. (strategy --- none). The method is simple and conclusive. Enter a stop loss
order a large distance away from the present price. (Maybe 1 or 2 SD). Exit (turn off) Ninja Trader.
After a minute or two, launch Ninja Trader. Check to see if the stop loss order is active in your log.
If it is still active, the order resides with your broker. If the order does not exist the order resided with your
computer. Delete this active order (if it exists).
What you really want is to make sure your stops reside at the exchange not the broker. That is the safest place for a stop if everything in between goes down. Easiest way to figure that is just ask your broker where stops reside.
Also if using a platform like NT and you want to make sure your broker is telling the truth about where stops reside. If your broker has a secondary platform that you can login into to see your orders can tell a lot that way.
I use NT but can also login via rtrader. Order can be placed via NT and I go to rtrader and see my live position with stops in place. rtrader is not reading that data from NT but from the exchange itself.
"The day I became a winning trader was the day it became boring. Daily losses no longer bother me and daily wins no longer excited me. Took years of pain and busting a few accounts before finally got my mind right. I survived the darkness within and now just chillax and let my black box do the work."
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