Definition
Disclosed Quantity Order
A disclosed quantity (or iceberg) order reveals only part of a large order to the market, hiding the full size to avoid moving prices.
If you want to buy 10,000 shares but don't want to show your hand, a disclosed quantity order displays only, say, 1,000 in the order book; once that fills, the next tranche appears automatically. This conceals your total intent and reduces impact cost.
Known as iceberg orders, they are used by large traders and institutions to execute big positions discreetly. The exchange enforces a minimum disclosed percentage so the feature isn't abused to game priority in the order queue.
Related terms
- Order BookThe order book is the real-time list of all outstanding buy and sell orders for a stock, organised by price.
- Market DepthMarket depth shows the quantity of buy and sell orders waiting at each price level, indicating how much volume the market can absorb.
- Impact CostImpact cost is the percentage cost of executing a specified order size relative to the ideal mid-price, and is the liquidity measure the NSE uses to assess stocks for index inclusion.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.