not held

Not Held Order

An order to a broker to buy or sell a security where the broker is not held responsible for not obtaining the best available price. That is, the broker is given discretion as to when to execute the order, but if he makes a mistake and obtains an unfavorable price, he is not responsible. This is sometimes used in place of a limit order.

not held

A customer instruction that permits an exchange member to use personal judgment in executing either a market or limit order with respect to the time and/or the price of execution. In theory, this instruction is designed to obtain a more favorable price since the floor broker may have a feel for whether prices are likely to rise or decline. Unlike a regular market order, however, a market not held order does not guarantee that the order will be filled. Also called market not held order.