The IBKR reference for order implementation doesn't look right to me. I tried, out of curiosity, to look up a few orders that I routinely use and know from TWS indications that they are routed directly to the exchange once ready for submission. The result was messy at best. Firstly, they have different exchange pages for NASDAQ and ISLAND which, while supposed to be the same, seem to show the same set of listed stocks but different sets of native and simulated orders. Second, for the ISLAND they show MOC (market on close) orders as simulated and for NASDAQ these orders are not shown to be implemented at all. However MOC orders are native to Nasdaq, they are governed by a few custom rules for placement and cancellation which are set by the exchange and followed meticulously by IBKR, and simply cannot be simulated. If they are implemented, and they absolutely are, they must be native.
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Best,
DS
