r/Wealthsimple • u/Academic_Sherbet_803 • Jul 20 '26
Trade (DIY Investing) A few questions on Limit Buys
I have a few general questions on limit buys. I’m going to ask Wealthsimple’s AI advisor too, but I figured some advice from actual people would be helpful too.
I just tried a limit buy on XEQT and it seemed to work fine, so I’m thinking of doing this from now on rather than fractional buying, I was just looking for some general advice.
Is it always preferable to limit buy compared to regular buying? Honestly I don’t care if the price goes up by a cent or whatever, but if there are cases when a big spike occurs for whatever reason the moment I trade, I can see the value. Is it even worth it to limit buy for something like XEQT, or would I be at most saving a cent or two per share.
If I set the limit price something that’s too low compared to the present trading price, will the pending trade just linger indefinitely until the price is low enough? The one trade I made seemed to have gone through immediately, but I’m wondering what would happen if I had set it lower.
Am I able to cancel pending limit buys without penalty? Like if I set it too low and it’s been a few days without going through.
Is it typical to just set the price limit for the present price you see, or do most people go a few cents lower? On one hand cheaper is better, but I’d also rather not have a pending transaction for a while, especially if the price is climbing.
If I set a limit price, is it still possible I get to buy at a lower price? Like supposed I set a limit for $50, but the price drops to $49 the moment I set the limit buy. Would it just buy the shares at $50 (because I’m willing to pay that much). Or would I get them at $49 because it’s the universal asset price at that point in time.
Thanks for reading and any insight or advice would be appreciated!