hey guys, I have a current issue between myself / my broker vs my trading front-end company regarding a trade that showed up in my account that I never entered, and in fact COULDN'T enter, as the trade size would not have been allowed by my broker's risk management department because it was large enough to put me on call going into the overnight session. Both myself and my brokerage representative have contacted the company in question, have sent them trade logs, entered order logs, excecution logs, brokerage statements, etc etc, and I have e-mails on hand from the RM dept as to what my position sizings are etc, based on my trading style and personal position limits. All of the data CLEARLY shows how this position could have never been entered, as it showed up as an "offsetting" trade, when no prior position in this contract existed. My question is, can any of you recommend a lawyer / legal advisor that specializes in trading and this type of matters? I exited the position as soon as the particular market opened today, but took a VERY sizeable loss. Definitely enough to make me consider my legal options.
just an update. After talking to my tech guys, I may also need to include my broker in this legal action. Basically me vs anybody and everybody now. Is this too much to bite off?
How much is the loss? Remember a lawyer will probably take 30+% of any recovery... it has to be in their interest too.
the loss is enough to make it worthwhile. I may not come out very much ahead after legal fees....but they way I've been getting treated (everyone pointing fingers and in total CYA mode), has me wanting to pursue this just to nail the damn liar. But mostly, I DO want to make sure that this error never happens again, that is my greatest concern...if its happened once it could again. Having said that...this loss only accounts for about a one month paycheck (based on my historical average monthly performance)....but I've also got opportunity losses...as I am a bit hesistant to trade with this particular broker/front end until this issue is resolved. The two parties, however, seem more interested in playing the blame game than figuring out what caused this error and how to prevent it, so mostly i want to threaten suit to get them to shape up and solve this issue.
No lawyer is going to do this on contingency. It will be billed hourly. Do a google search. Tons of lawyers do this kinda work. You are not going to able recover anything like opportunity loss. Too speculative. By
I went through something similiar a few years back with my RIA. Stark and Stark www.stark-stark.com are THE lawyers in the industry. Your firm will try to say you violated their security policy if you have ever logged on outside of a secure connection. (ie Starbucks or a hotel) It's a tough fight. If you owe them money your best bet may be to find a way to settle for a smaller amount. You will have to go through arbitration, which could take up to two years and cost you a small fortune. If you win, then you can try to recoup your legal fees. Good luck
No...luckily I don't owe them...in fact still have a sizeable amount of money with them. This didn't affect my ability (financially speaking) to trade at all...it was no worse than taking losses on a few trades in fact, but why and how it happened is my concern. Also, only have access to the stuff at the office, so no outside "insecure" server problems. Thanks for all the info guys!
kxvid: I don't want to comment on either which brokerage firm I'm using, or which front end I'm using in this particular case until the issue is resolved...don't want to spread bad press about a firm unless its proved and warranted.
I would speak with an attorney. (can't hurt) The front end firm should be able to show the IP address from where the trades took place. You are entitled to this information through discovery. BUT it may take a lawyer to get them to hand over the info. Cross trades happen. Most firms have insurance to cover this type of error. You may need to file a police report. I had to before the insurance company would speak with me. (again, ask the lawyer) Did the firm move the trade to an error account, or did you liquidate the position. If you liquidated, you may have a problem. I would start using a new firm. They can terminate their contract with you at anytime. You don't want to get stuck and not be able to trade while you wait for an ACAT. This is going to be an uphill battle. I ended up splitting the difference with the firm. I didn't want to spend the time in arbitration, even though I had a good chance at winning. Instead I spent my time informing my collegues not to use that firm. I probably hurt their revevnue more than the loss I had incurred. NOTE: I am not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once