My intuition tells me there are a happy few who made lots of money. I was long enough in forex to see almost on a daily basis things happen that theoretically could never happen and were even forbidden. Even in a big box with over 65.000 employees I saw it happen.
It doesn't matter to me, left forex already years ago. Just wanted to explain to others that things are never what you think they are. Especially in trading.
This thread is a good reminder to know what you are trading and the risks involved. Looks like the OP went into the trade with guns blazing, not a smart thing to do. Pentaquark's EUR/CHF trading style.
Good thing I can still laugh at a joke. Others look more like the piece of meat in the middle of the picture...
I am sorry for the unfortunate loss. Talk about a "black swan" ! I am a micro-scalper in day trading, dipping in and out of the market. However, I also trade a "swing style" via robot and try to maintain diversified currency pairs and long/short positions with modest position sizes. In my micro scalping, since I am in and out, I use much larger position sizes since the exposure time to market fluctuations is strictly limited. But, it could happen to anyone. The OP is taking the right action in offering to negotiate with IB some degree of shared responsibility. Normally "retail traders" will liquidate, and these algorithms work fine. But not with Huge Discontinuities in the market as happened here. HyperScalper
Hi all, thanks for your participation so far, making this thread the most viewed one so far this week. As usual in such controversial discussions the opinions are spread wide between the ones who can relate to the issue and the ones who can’t, yielding some tough comments from both sides. To recap the spectrum of possibilities so far: A) Run away and hope they don’t find you: Personally I think that’s not an option as the world is well connected someone will find you. B) Go the hard way (if you can still afford it) and take your issue to court: It may depend on case by case how good the chances to reach an agreement are. This path will take a long breath from both parties. C) Contact the Financial Ombudsman Service: Probably cheaper than the above but will take significant time like the option above. As it seems it even takes a lot of time to prove that you are actually alive… http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2895425/Lloyds-life-misery-insisting-DEAD.html Who knows how long it takes them to figure out who was supposed to do what and when in the FX market! D) Reach an agreement with the broker: As some suggested, do everything to negotiate a deal to split the loss so that its ok for both sides. Needs a cooperative attitude from both. E) Deal with it: This may range from just paying the amount to negotiating a payment plan to filing for bankruptcy and, depending on your loss, see decades of repayments to come. For the other side there are options as well: I) Hunt down your private customers. Enforce liquidation of private assets. Pass the case to the collections department: Potentially ruining some or driving some into bankruptcy. Short-term the most lucrative option for a firm. Potentially bad for the industry as a whole and loss of long term business by a lot of clients who have friends who again have friends, social media, blogs etc. where they share their stories. I can’t think of any long term positive business effect when people stumble across life changing stories while researching broker firms online. II) Reach settlements on an individual basis: May take up quite a bit of resources. Potential for both sides to leave the table beaten but alive. Potentially doesn’t leave burnt earth as parties agree to something. III) Waive part or complete negative client balances: A brave step to take. Easier if the firm or sub-firm held the opposite side of the trade. Not difficult for a billionaire. Get a reputation for standing on the same side as your private clients. Potentially the best marketing program the firm has ever launched. IV) A mixture model of the above. From what I read on the net so far, most firms are opting for IV), playing the time card, pushing clients to cover and holding further options open if customers don’t abide. Some seem to go straight for option I). Others have immediately gone for option IV). Feel free to comment if I left out any options. As indicated by one member, there are broker representatives present on the forum. If you are one, I invite you to share on how your company is dealing with this or comparable incidents. Thank you. Kind regards
Yes, as someone who's been around the Swiss, with a Swiss mother-in-law and wife, I can't understand why the Swiss were unable/unwilling to do exactly that, with hints, gradually yielding to the inevitable. Why not? HyperScalper