Good Till Triggered (GTT)

A Good Till Triggered order — popularly known as a GTT — is a conditional instruction that sits with your broker for up to a year and gets pushed to the exchange only when a price you specify is hit. GTTs are the favourite tool of long-term investors who want to act on dips or pre-decided exits without staring at the screen all day.

What is a GTT order?

The Indian exchanges only support “day” orders — anything unfilled is cancelled at 3:30 p.m. A GTT works around this limitation. You enter a trigger price and a limit price; the broker stores the instruction on its servers and watches the market in real time. The moment your trigger condition is satisfied, the actual buy or sell order is placed on the exchange at your limit price.

Because the exchange never sees the order until it is triggered, no margin is blocked in the meantime (for sell GTTs you need to hold the shares; for buy GTTs you need adequate funds at the time of trigger).

How a GTT actually works

1. You pick a stock and decide your desired action — say, buy HDFC Bank if it falls to ₹1,400.
2. In the order window, switch to GTT and enter trigger price ₹1,400 and limit price ₹1,402 (a small buffer to improve fill chances).
3. The broker accepts and queues the order. It is now live for up to one year.
4. If the live market price touches ₹1,400, the broker fires a limit buy at ₹1,402 to the exchange.
5. If the price keeps falling, your order may not fill; if it bounces back above ₹1,402 within the day, it may also not fill — that is the trade-off of a conditional limit order.

Single GTT vs OCO GTT

Single GTT is used when you have only one objective — buy on dip, sell at target, or set a stop loss. OCO (one-cancels-other) GTT places two legs at once: a profit target above the current market and a stop loss below it. When either leg triggers, the other is automatically cancelled. OCO is ideal for investors who want a hands-off bracket on existing positions.

Type	Best for
Single GTT	Set-and-forget buy on dip or pre-decided exit
OCO GTT	Holding a stock and wanting both upside target and downside protection

Common use-cases for Indian investors

• Buy on dips: You like a stock at a lower valuation. Set a GTT at the desired entry; if the market obliges, you buy automatically.
• Profit booking: You have hit your target return. Set a sell GTT at the target price so emotions do not delay the exit.
• Stop loss for long-term holdings: Protect gains in a multi-bagger by setting a trailing GTT below the current price.
• SIP-style staggered buys: Place multiple GTTs at descending prices so you accumulate more if the stock keeps falling.

Things to watch out for

A GTT is not a guarantee of execution. Three things can break the trade:

• Gap moves: If the stock opens far above (or below) your trigger, the limit may never be touched.
• Corporate actions: Splits, bonuses, dividends or rights issues change reference prices. Brokers usually cancel affected GTTs and ask you to re-place them.
• Trigger window: Brokers require the trigger price to be within a wide but defined range from the live market price (typically ±25–50%). Extreme triggers are rejected.

Frequently asked questions