Extended hours trading may not be suitable or appropriate for all investors and poses certain risks. In some cases it may be more difficult to execute your order. We’ve summarised some of the key risks you may want to consider below.

Lower liquidity: Extended hours trading generally has less trading volume, which can make it harder to execute your order. Some orders may only be partially filled, may not execute at all, or may execute at worse prices than during regular hours. Unfilled orders will be cancelled by Freetrade one minute after you’ve placed your order. You can try placing your order again, or queue your order for regular market hours.

Higher volatility and wider spreads: Prices can fluctuate from market close or the next day’s market open, and spreads may be wider than during regular market hours. Trading activity during extended hours may influence prices more than during regular market hours. You may get a worse price in extended hours than in regular market hours.

Unlinked markets: Unlike the regular market session, quote and sale information is not consolidated during the extended hours trading period across all markets. We will still seek to ensure your oder is executed at the best possible price across the electronic markets that are participating in the extended hours trading session.

News announcements: News announcements are often made after the regular market session. These may have a sharp impact on extended hours prices due to the lower liquidity and higher volatility of the extended hours session.

Institutional competition: Many extended hours traders are professionals and are associated with large institutions. They may therefore have access to more information than individual investors.

You can find more information about the risks associated with extended hours trading on this SEC page: https://www.sec.gov/about/reports-publications/investorpubsafterhourshtm