Unicapital Securities does not offer forex or CFD order types, because it does not offer forex or CFD trading at all. It is a Philippine cash-market broker: an SEC Philippines-licensed broker/dealer and PSE Trading Participant, founded in 1997, and the orders you place here route to the Philippine Stock Exchange, not to an offshore currency venue.
That single fact reshapes how you should read every order ticket on the platform. Scalpers looking for limit-order games against a 0.1-pip spread will find nothing here. Equity traders who want a working online order book, a local settlement currency, and a broker that answers to the SEC PH will find the essential tools. The distinction matters more than most comparison pages admit.
The Order Menu in Practice
Unicapital's order set belongs to the PSE cash market for listed equities. In practical terms, that means the standard instructions you would expect from any exchange-participant broker: market, limit, and the day and validity conditions attached to them. The broker routes through UTrade, its own online platform, rather than through MT4, MT5, or cTrader.
| Order instruction | What it does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Market order | Executes at best available price | Fast entry or exit on liquid names |
| Limit order | Executes only at your stated price or better | Price control on thinner names |
| Day validity | Expires at the end of the session | Standard intraday instruction |
| Board lot sizing | Minimum share quantity per price band | Required on every PSE order |
A nuance that catches newcomers: PSE trading runs in two windows, roughly 09:30 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 14:45 Philippine Standard Time, with no continuous session overnight. An order type that works around the clock in your head is really only active during those hours. Anything queued outside them waits for the next open.
What Traders Search For First
The most common question from Filipino investors is whether this broker supports forex or CFD orders, and the honest answer is no. The broker's instruments are PSE-listed equities, with references to mutual funds, bonds, and other securities. There is no retail forex desk and no CFD book, so there is no leverage toggle on the order screen either.
The second recurring question is about margin. Margin here exists only in the cash-market sense: settlement obligations and any broker-approved arrangements tied to listed shares, not the multiplied exposure that overseas CFD brokers advertise. If your strategy depends on holding a currency pair overnight at 1:100, this is simply not the venue for that order type.
Third, traders ask about stop orders. The broker's public materials do not verify a native stop-loss or take-profit order type at review, and we do not invent features that are not documented. If protective automation is central to your plan, confirm directly with the broker before funding.
Two Doors, Different Tickets
Unicapital offers two account routes, and they do not produce identical ordering experiences. The online UTrade account gives you a self-directed ticket through the desktop web platform and the UTradePH mobile app. The full-service account puts a broker or advisor between your instruction and the exchange, which changes how discretionary and conditional orders are handled in practice.
| Account route | Order placement | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| UTrade online | Self-directed via web or mobile app | Hands-on investors who watch fills |
| Full-service | Placed with a broker or advisor | Less frequent, guidance-led instructions |
For both routes, the minimum initial investment sits at around PHP 10,000, and settlement runs in PHP. That local currency base removes the PHP-to-USD conversion layer that costs roughly 1% to 3% at offshore brokers, which is a real, measurable saving for a Philippine resident placing regular share orders.
Fees, and Whether They Shift Your Order Type
Cost does not change what an order type is, but it does change which ones are worth using. Unicapital's commission structure runs at approximately 0.25%, plus 12% VAT, plus PSE, SCCP, and transfer fees. A sell order adds a 0.6% stock transaction tax. The exact minimum fee was not verified at review, which matters because a fixed floor can make small orders disproportionately expensive.
| Cost component | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Broker commission | ~0.25% | Buy and sell |
| VAT on commission | 12% | Buy and sell |
| PSE, SCCP, transfer fees | Passed through | Buy and sell |
| Stock transaction tax | 0.6% | Sell only |
The practical read: round-trip friction on a Philippine share trade is meaningful, so splitting one idea into many tiny limit orders can quietly erode the edge. Fewer, better-sized instructions usually beat a scatter of small ones.
What the Fine Print Changes
Three things sit outside the order ticket and deserve a look before you size anything.
- Session limits: the exchange is open only during its morning and afternoon windows, so day orders cannot work while you sleep.
- Sizing floors: board lots set a minimum share quantity that varies by price band, which constrains very small positions.
- Fee floors: the commission minimum is unverified at review, so confirm it if you plan frequent small trades.
On the regulatory side, this is a domestic broker under SEC Philippines oversight. That matters for a different reason than most offshore comparison pages suggest. Because the SEC does not currently issue local retail forex or CFD dealer licences, most Filipinos who want leveraged currency exposure end up with offshore-regulated firms. If you do go that route, the standard to hold those brokers to is a serious one: tier-one oversight such as FCA, CySEC, or ASIC, segregated client funds, transparent fee schedules, a long operating record, and support that answers. Unicapital's SEC registration tells you it is a legitimate Philippine securities broker, not that it will ever offer you a leveraged FX order.
First Weeks, Realistic Expectations
The first week or two with an equity-only broker tends to follow a predictable arc. You fund in PHP by local bank transfer, wait for verification, and then discover that your old habits from a CFD platform do not transfer. There is no leverage slider, no one-click hedge, and no overnight session. What replaces them is a real exchange order book, a settled cash position, and pricing you can verify against the PSE.
Expect the learning curve to sit in order mechanics rather than in market selection. Board lot sizes, session windows, and the gap between placing and filling a limit order all take a few sessions to feel natural. Newer investors using the full-service route usually get there faster because someone else handles the ticket mechanics while they learn the market.
The honest summary for strategy fit is narrower than a marketing page would suggest.
Cautious, patient share investors who want SEC-regulated local execution and PHP settlement are well served here, and the absence of leverage is a feature rather than a flaw for that group. Active forex or CFD traders who need bracket orders, 24-hour sessions, and multiplied exposure should treat Unicapital as the wrong instrument and look instead at a strongly regulated international broker, applying the FCA/CySEC/ASIC test above rather than settling for convenience. For anyone running daily equity strategies on PSE names, the deciding factor is not order-type richness but execution discipline and fee awareness.
Answers to common questions
Are limit orders available on PSE-listed shares?
Yes. Limit orders are part of the standard exchange order set, and they are the sensible default on thinner names where a market order can fill poorly. Remember that they are active only during PSE session windows.
How much does a sell order cost in total?
A sell carries the standard commission of roughly 0.25% plus 12% VAT and PSE, SCCP, and transfer fees, and then a 0.6% stock transaction tax on top. The exact minimum commission was not verified at review, so confirm it if you trade in small sizes.
Does Unicapital Securities offer stop-loss or take-profit orders?
The broker's public materials do not verify a native stop-loss or take-profit order type as of our review. Do not assume protective automation exists. Confirm directly with the broker, and if it is missing, plan to manage exits manually during PSE session hours.