d99> what's an iceberg?

trading strategy used to load or unload a large quantity of shares without dramatically affecting the market price.

an order (say 100,000 shares) might be placed with an iceberg 500 allocation, meaning only 500 offered shares are disclosed at a time (the "peak") by the buyer or seller, with the rest reserved.

as the 500 order is filled, more quantity from the reservation is automatically refreshed in the order book; another 500 appear, and so on until the 100,000 order flow is completed (or cancelled as a partial-fill).

think "tip of the iceberg", where the greatest mass remains unseen below the water.

here's a nice paper, if you're into that sort of thing.

enjoy,

R.