Good Through

Good through is a type of limit order used to buy or sell a security or commodity at a certain price for a specified period of time. Typically, a good through order is a stop loss or limit order that remains valid until the expiration date passes unless the order is executed, canceled or amended.

Good through refers to an order that investors can set as GTW (Good This Week), GTM (Good This Month) or for any other specified period of time. For example, suppose an investor places an order at the start of September to buy 100 shares of Facebook with a limit of $178. This means the investor is happy to purchase the shares for $178 or less.  Conversely, if the investor places an order at the beginning of September to sell 100 shares of Facebook with a limit at $178, they are not prepared to accept a price below $178. If the investor adds a GTM to the order, it will expire and be automatically canceled at the close of business on September 30 if it has not already traded.

Pending News: Investors could consider using a good through order if a company has pending news, such as reporting its earnings. Setting an expiry date on a good through order one day before the major news announcement ensures it gets canceled before the release. Using this order type means the investor does not need to set a reminder to manually cancel the order before an expected increase in volatility.

Time-based Trading Strategy: Some trading strategies require entry into a stock before a specific date. For instance, a trader may anticipate that the price of a stock is going to break out of a trading range within the next five trading days and will want to buy before the breakout but cancel the order if it fails to execute before the expected move. In this instance, using a good through order is the perfect solution.

Illiquid Markets: Good through orders can help investors reduce risk in an illiquid stock by automatically canceling open orders that have not been filled by a specific date. Some illiquid stocks don't trade for days or even weeks and experience large price swings when a trade finally occurs. Using a good through order protects the investor from continual exposure to these significant price movements. (See also: Introduction to Order Types: Duration.)