Erroneous trade by broker/software error - possible?

Discussion in 'Retail Brokers' started by Laissez Faire, Mar 25, 2020.

  1. Hi all,

    Last week I had an overnight trade that I can't account for. I have no recollection of either entering or exiting it. Fortunately, it was a fairly profitable trade even, but in this environment, it could easily have ended up with a margin call.

    Looking over my records - my only explanation is that my exit on a certain long trade have been exceeded by an additional contract making me net short 1 contract overnight, i.e., long 5 contracts -> exit 6 contracts.

    Going over all my executions for said day as reported by my trading platform, the number of buys are matched by the number of sells and all trades have an equal entry/exit size. So, I should be flat by EOD before shutting down. My trading platform also clearly shows when I'm in a position and finally gives a warning before shutting down if I have open positions. No such thing happened. I'm also very careful each day to make sure I'm flat before closing down the shop. In fact, I flatten many times throughout the day to make sure there are no resting orders I've forgotten.

    Opening my charts and execution window would also show if I had an open position on any given day.

    My broker insists that I must have carried a position from some other day and that my platform isn't accurate with matching trades from different days/dates, hence why my platform is showing different data than my broker statement.

    Personally, I believe this must be a software issue and that an actual error have happened here with no fault of my own.

    Has anyone experienced or heard about something similar? Is an error like this even possible?

    I have 1000s of trades under my belt and this is a first for me, but it frightened me a bit as it could easily have ended badly and I'm not sure if I could have done anything about it then.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. traider

    traider

    what software are you using?
     
  3. At this point - I'd prefer to keep both my software and broker private in case the error is not on their end and since I haven't suffered a personal loss from this.

    I've done a few fat finger blunders over the years as I'm sure most other must have, but these have been quickly fixed by closing out positions immediately. This is different. It basically seems like I've been carrying a position unbeknown both to myself and my software.

    It could also have happened that a resting order were triggered overnight such that I was in fact flat by EOD, but the order were triggered in afterhours without me knowing it. But I can't find a record of that either.
     
  4. zdreg

    zdreg

    If you are not willing to share information you don't deserve answers.
     
  5. SanMiguel

    SanMiguel

    Just ask your broker to track placed orders via a report
     
    Laissez Faire likes this.
  6. MattZ

    MattZ Sponsor

    It's simple. Every trade is associated with a user ID, day and order type. Your report for that day would specify all your orders. As suggested, ask your broker for a report and most likely you will find that trade there.
     
    Laissez Faire likes this.
  7. guru

    guru


    It could depend on the broker, as some brokers like IB may close one of your legs during liquidation when you exceed your margin limit.
     
    Laissez Faire likes this.
  8. For said day - I have 25 buys/26 sells making me net short 1 contract. According to my broker and the statement I received.

    However, in my trading software - I have 26 buys/26 sells making me flat by EOD. This was also my intention and what I thought to be true.

    That's why I was very surprised to find myself being net short overnight 1 contract.
     
  9. MattZ

    MattZ Sponsor

    Maybe you were flat when you ended the day but you left a stop or a limit order open. Again, every order has an ID, and an order type attached to it. Find out when the order was triggered for that price. In reality, only your broker can help you resolve this.
     
  10. Yes. I mentioned that earlier as a possible explanation, but I still can't find the execution for it in my trading software. Maybe it's not logged in my trading software if the order was executed after my order were shut down?

    Still, I should be able then to find the the actual order that was submitted to trigger a sell after I shut down. I can't find that either.

    I have been talking to my broker, but the only answer I'm getting is that my trading software is inaccurate for such reports when holding overnight because of how dates are reported. But the main thing here is that I'm 100 % certain I was flat when closing and the trade data in my software supports that.

    So, not really getting anywhere with my broker and I think I'm just going to leave it at this.

    Main purpose with this thread is to hear if anyone else experienced anything similar or heard of such errors happening.
     
    #10     Mar 25, 2020