Slippage isn't a technical glitch or a bug. It’s simply the difference between the price you expect and the price at which your trade actually closes, and it is a natural part of the market. To execute a trade, the market must have enough available volume at your chosen price. If that price is missing due to market shifts, your order fills at the next best available level. This process creates slippage, which is much more common during high volatility or low liquidity.
Slippage is included in our simulated environment to replicate real-market conditions as closely as possible.
Many beginners struggle and, unfortunately, lose significant personal capital when transitioning to a live market because they’ve only traded in "perfect" conditions. In the real world, prices move fast and liquidity shifts. That is why our SimFi™ environment incorporates real market mechanics like margin utilization, stop-out levels, and slippage - to help traders develop skills and prepare for live markets.
Possible reasons for encountering slippage
Market Volatility: Fast movements. Mainly during high-impact news (CPI or FOMC Press, for example).
Low Liquidity: Usually, during the market opening (rollovers) = best avoided.
Gaps in the Market: This happens when the price literally jumps from one level to another. Often, during openings after the weekend or major news.
Large order Volumes: Trading larger positions increases the probability of encountering slippage.
How to minimize the occurrence of slippage
Avoid high volatility events: Even if we allow trading news in certain situations, it is not recommended, as these are precisely the moments with the highest probability of slippage.
Order size: E8 Markets is very tolerant when it comes to position size and limits; however, we recommend that traders consider whether it is appropriate to open the maximum position allowed by the account.
Focus on Liquidity hours: The overlap between the London and New York sessions is very popular.
Use Limit orders instead of Market orders: Can be very helpful to set a limit order instead of blindly jumping in with a market order. However, the position might not always be executed.
While these tips will help you minimize slippage, remember that markets are unpredictable.
E8 does not reimburse, rebalance, or adjust positions affected by slippage. This applies across all SimFi accounts.