Online funds supermarket Ample has added limit and stop orders to its UK sharedealing site for investors to pre-set price levels at which shares will be automatically bought and sold.
The upgraded site also allows users to place contingent stop buy orders, where stock is bought if the price moves up past a pre-determined trigger price range. Ample says this feature makes it easy for customers to catch a stock on the rise, but only up to the maximum price they are prepared to pay. Contingent stop sell orders enable users to sell stock that falls below a trigger price, as long as the cost is above the minimum stipulated, allowing them to reduce their exposure should prices fall.
The new features complement Ample's existing share price alert service, which automatically informs a customer when a share hits the pre-selected price.
Chris Bratchford, head, Ample, says: "These new features will make it much easier for our customers to stay in complete control of their share portfolios."
Ample says it has seen steadily increasing numbers signing up for its UK share trading service - with more than a thousand private investors joining in the month of July.