There are two ways real trades can connect to Ezana: a native Ezana brokerage account held at Alpaca Securities, or an external brokerage linked with trading access. This article explains what each path does today, what you can already practice with, and what is not available yet, so you know exactly where an order goes.
How it works
Native Ezana brokerage (Alpaca). From the Trading page you apply for an account. Before the application opens you complete the 18 tasks in your Getting Started checklist, then verify your identity with your legal name, date of birth, SSN or tax ID and address. While Alpaca reviews it, the Trading page shows your application status; pending here means your account is not yet active, and you will get an email when that changes. Once approved, the Trading page shows an account snapshot with equity, buying power, cash and a count of open positions.
Order entry inside Ezana is not currently available. The Trading page states that the full trading workspace (order entry, advanced charts and copy-trading controls) ships in a later release, so there is no live order ticket, fill history or pending-order list yet.
Connected external brokerage. When you link a broker through SnapTrade and it supports trading, the connection can be authorized with trading access. Placing orders through that connection from inside Ezana is also not currently available; you keep trading in your broker’s own app, and the resulting positions sync back into Ezana.
Step-by-step: practice with Mock Trading
- Open Trading and click Try Mock Trading, or go to Trading → Mock.
- Search for a ticker and choose Buy or Sell.
- Enter a dollar amount. Ezana converts it to shares at the latest quote, so fractional quantities are normal.
- Submit. The trade fills immediately and appears in your mock positions and trade history.
Things to know
- Market hours: regular US trading runs 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern, Monday to Friday. Mock trades do not wait for the open: they fill at the latest available quote whenever you place them.
- No pending state in Mock Trading: every mock order fills in full on submit.
- Order types and fractions: see Understanding Order Types and Fractional Share Investing for how these work at a broker.
Related articles
- Paper Trading vs Live Trading
- Opening an Ezana Brokerage Account
- Brokerage Access Levels: Read-Only vs Read & Write
- Mock Trading: Practicing With Virtual Cash
- How to Place a Trade
FAQ
Q: My brokerage account is approved. Why can’t I place an order?
A: Order entry is not available in Ezana yet. The Trading page shows your account snapshot until the trading workspace ships.
Q: Does a mock trade ever reach a real broker?
A: No. Mock Trading uses virtual cash and never sends orders to Alpaca or any external broker.
Q: I authorized trading on my SnapTrade connection. What does that change?
A: Today it does not let you place orders from Ezana. Your holdings still sync for analysis.