Unit 4 · Level 1 · Getting started
Order basics
Every broker app has the same two core buttons. A market order says 'buy now, at whatever the best current price is': fast, but the price can shift a little in the instant it executes. A limit order says 'buy only at my price or better': you control the price, but the order may never fill. And thanks to fractional shares, you don't need a share's full price. €25 can buy you a slice of almost anything.
Free to play. No ads, no token, no account needed to start.
What you get asked
What does a MARKET order do?
Market order = speed over price control. For big liquid ETFs during trading hours, the price you see is usually near the price you get.
And what does a LIMIT order do?
You name the price; the market either meets it or your order just sits there. The trade-off: price certainty instead of execution certainty.
Buying a piece of a share instead of a whole one is called a ___ share.
Fractional shares mean the share price never blocks you: €25 monthly buys 0.05 of a €500 fund just fine. The habit matters more than the amount.
Put a sensible first ETF purchase in order
Two minutes of clicking once you've done the real work of choosing the fund. The review screen is where typos get caught, so read it.
For a long-term investor buying a broad ETF monthly, why is the market-vs-limit choice usually a small detail?
Whether you paid €100.00 or €100.20 is noise on a 30-year horizon. Traders sweat entry prices; investors sweat staying invested. Different games. 🐜
The rest of this unit
Brokers, orders, automation: from theory to your first standing plan.