TWAP Order
An execution algorithm that splits an order into equal slices released at even time intervals, targeting the time-weighted average price.
TWAP = average of prices sampled at equal time intervals over the execution window
A TWAP order is an execution algorithm that divides a large order into equally sized child orders released at evenly spaced time intervals over a chosen window — for example, 1% of the order every minute for 100 minutes. Its benchmark is the time-weighted average price: the simple average of prices over the period, ignoring volume.
Because slicing is purely time-based, TWAP is predictable and simple, and it does not need a volume forecast. That makes it useful in thin or hard-to-model names, in markets without reliable intraday volume curves (some crypto and FX venues), or when a trader wants steady, schedule-driven participation.
The weakness is the mirror image of its strength: ignoring volume means TWAP can trade too aggressively during quiet periods and too passively during the busy open and close, raising impact and making its even, metronomic pattern easier for others to detect. VWAP is usually preferred where a good volume profile exists.