Just so we know what we are talking about here. I called IB to close a trade. They refused to take the order saying they had no connection to the exchange. When asked what the status of my position was (closed, up or down) they said we don't know. This means that I couldn't place an offsetting order with my backup broker because I had no way of knowing what type of order to place! So for those thinking about trading these markets, ask yourself what you would do if you have no way of offsetting a trade and no way of knowing what your position is. If I remember correctly there are a lot of traders out there small accounts. Imagine sitting there watching your account move towards zero while the broker (or the exchange) tries to get their act together. Steve46
The problem was not unique to IB. Other firms also had data issues this morning. Eurex trading was not halted, though, as I was watching every tick on eSignal.
Yes, thank you. Trading was not halted on Eurex. I also watched every tick on MyTrack. This problem was not a "Eurex" problem. When you call to close a position, they ought to have the character to admit that they are having a problem, instead of pawning it off on the exchange.
Steve, The exchanges zurich access point was down. We have redundent lines into that link. However, with the exchanges link down, we had no way to access the exchange. The problem was not an IB problem and the rep correctly told you that. It affected other brokers/trading firms who connect via that link. If I recall, there might be tax and regulatory reasons behind having the exchange set up a Zurich access point but I'm not 100% certain of that. In any event, I know that discussions are taking place about us setting up backup link via Frankfurt or another access point.
def, What do IB / Timberhill's prop traders/group do when IB / TH's link to Eurex goes down ? Also, you mentioned after the NY power outages IB would investigate why the back up power did not function correctly - what was the outcome of that ? Cheers, Wallaby
Eurex: Wait till it comes back up. Power: That's outside of my domain and I haven't heard the latest. Naturally the UPS vendor was called in and I imagine adjustments were made or new equipment was installed. If you want, send me a PM next week as a reminder and I'll make some calls to find out the resolution.
I think it depends on how seriously you take the work, and what your perspective is. Seems to me that after working hard to get a winning game, it is a shame to have a days work go down the drain because the broker cant keep it together. It may be worth an extra fee to use a broker like Man Financial in Chicago (I'm sure there are others) who have multiple connection points to the major markets. In my opinion you have to decide what its worth to you, and how much risk you want to be exposed to. Bottom line is if every so often you get zapped, you cant really trust the connection. So far this month, I have seen multiple disconnects for periods ranging from seconds to about 10 minutes. I could accept the idea that it was a problem with the internet, but I have two separate data feeds running side by side and if that was the problem, both feeds should be interrupted. Its not. Do ALL the other brokers have this problem from time to time. I don't know. I do know that during the 5 years I had an account with Man, two interruptions, period. Why did I leave. To get lower commission rates. Was it worth it. Well to date I have been a little more profitable, but I bet that it is because I improved my game (discipline) rather than lower commssions.
To me this is just a play on words to say it's not an IB problem. It certainly is an IB problem if you don't have multiple links into the exchange! To (effectively) say: "well, there are other brokers who also only use one link and were also affected" just isn't good enough. Why must IB be reactive? How come a second backup link wasn't implemented a long time ago? Clearly some other brokers already use more than one link ...why not IB? As a trader, I accept that there are inherent technological risks in trading in a general sense, and I realise that no broker can guarantee to be perfect all the time. I'll even accept lower lowels of customer service in exchange for lower commissions. But I have a harder time accepting the fact that due to their own internal IT decision-making, there may be MORE finanical risk in trading with IB compared to a different broker with greater redundancy built into their technology. And I agree with Steve, that the attitude is the worst part. If IB put their hands in the air and said "sorry we don't have a second link ...we're working on getting one real soon, please bear with us and thank you for being a client" ....that would foster a lot more goodwill than the current attitude of "it's not our fault, and no I can't help you with your position". I dunno who trains IB reps in customer service but a refresher course wouldn't go amiss. I'll bet that in this situation (where Eurex was still trading) that IB could have called the exchange to check on customer orders, instead of just sitting on their hands waiting for their single link computer screen to come back alive before giving a client any information.
Well boys, it happened again just now. IB connection lost for three (3) minutes. No way to logon. No way to close trades except to call Europe. This is just great. Keep up the good work IB!!!
as often occurs, you guys take what I write and read more into it or comment making assumptions on things that may not be possible. I don't fully know our setup in europe but I do know that we are one of the most active trading firms and any down time costs us a significant amount of money. we take precautions with redundant lines, servers, etc. In this case, an access point to the exchange where we have multiple backup lines and the exchange supposedly has the same went down. thus, that might be one of the reasons accessing a second site hasn't been considered. BTW, I have a suspicion that most firms access the exchange via one access point and if say the chicago access point went down along with it's backups similar questions would be raised towards other brokers. I'm sorry that you'd prefer I state "we are working on getting a second link". But I nor the help desk will be involved in the decision to get a second link and thus can't in good faith make that statement. The best I can say is that I know it is being addressed. Personally, I think it would be prudent to find out what happened on the exchagne side and why the backups on their end didn't kick in before taking the next step.