A specific amount of securities that is targeted as part of an order. In other words, the order will not be filled in its entirety, but rather is sliced and executed in proportion to market volume and is not linked to a given price or period of time. For example, a trader may seek to purchase 6% of the average volume of a firm’s shares and his broker will implement the trades as soon as possible.

Volume targeting (target volume strategy) is typically implemented by means of target volume orders (TVOL orders), which allow an investor to participate in the market at the rate targeted by the trader. The trader can modify the participation rate as he deems necessary.