How To Buy Shares Through COL Outside Trading Hours

Just like a regular market, the stock market is open only at certain times of the day. In the Philippines, the market is open between 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Mondays to Fridays. It closes for an hour and half for lunch. Then it reopens at 1:30 p.m. and closes for the day at 3:30 p.m. Given these trading hours, it would seem that those who are at work or somewhere else during said hours won't have the chance to participate in the market. That is, they won't be able to buy or sell shares. Well, thanks to COL's online platform, those of us who are not available during said hours can still place our buy or sell orders. Simply use its O-H Order feature under the Trade tab.

What's the O-H Order feature?
As earlier said, with this feature you can buy or sell shares of stock even when the market is out. Generally, you can place your order anytime between 1 p.m. of the current trading day to 8:55 a.m. of the next trading day. As soon as the clock hits 9:01 a.m. on the next trading day, your order is sent to the Exchange. Just like when you place your order during trading hours, you'll have to wait for a match. If your buy or sell order is matched, then the number of shares in your portfolio will be updated (shares added if you placed a buy order or deducted if you placed a sell order). If your order is not matched, then nothing happens and you get to do the same thing the next day at your next free time outside trading hours. The money in your Cash Balance will remain as it was before you made your placements.
Check the images below to get idea on how to buy shares when the market is closed: Step 1 of 3

Click on the image to enlarge the picture. Step 2 of 3

Step 3 of 3

The above steps are exactly the same steps you take when you place a sell order. The header will be red for sell orders.

Update: The buy order I made last night via the O-H Order feature of COL was matched! Thus, when I opened my account tonight, I got this Acknowledge Transaction Confirmation:

Well, that's how simple it is to make your placements outside the regular trading hours. It won't take you five minutes to do this. I hope people who are contemplating on opening a stock trading account will be encouraged that they can still do so even if they're not available during the day. Happy investing, folks!