Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Tech glitches at Schwab, Fidelity and other online brokers mean some missed out on Monday's monster rally

Tech glitches at Schwab, Fidelity and other online brokers mean some missed out on Monday's monster rally

The US stock market rallied early Monday, but not everyone was able to get in on the fun. Several electronic brokers experienced technical issues that kept some customers from using their services as normal.

Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Schwab and Vanguard reported tech problems on Monday, though all said the issues were resolved within several hours. Some attributed the problems to heavy activity early in the day.

US stock futures surged Monday morning before the opening bell after drugmaker Pfizer (PFE) said early data on its coronavirus vaccine shows it's more than 90% effective, and stocks shot up at the open. Individual stocks such as theater chain AMC (AMC) also spiked on the vaccine news. Investors may also have been reacting to the Saturday announcement that Joe Biden was the projected winner of the US presidential election.

"What we're seeing today is primarily issues on authenticating in," said Todd Kenney, chief technology officer of Sterling Trading Tech. "People see news coming in about a potential Covid vaccine, futures were way up this morning ... What's the first thing they want to do? They want to see how their accounts are reacting, maybe initiate some trades, maybe buy some Pfizer or sell some Peloton."

With so many consumers trying to log in and access their financial information at the same time, the tech infrastructure supporting these platforms likely buckled under the stress, Kenney said.

TD Ameritrade and Fidelity both attributed the issues to high levels of usage Monday morning. Fidelity said in a statement that while customers were able to access its online systems, some may have experienced "slower processing speeds" at market open because of "extremely high volumes" but that trades were processed.

"Earlier today, due to unprecedented volumes of activity, we encountered login issues across multiple TD Ameritrade platforms," TD Ameritrade said in a statement, adding that the issues were resolved. "We apologize for the inconvenience and take the performance and reliability of our trading platforms very seriously."

Vanguard and Schwab declined to comment directly on the cause of their glitches. Schwab said it had resolved "technical issues" experienced by some of its applications early Monday morning and it is now working to address client questions.

"We understand that some Vanguard clients may have experienced difficulty accessing their accounts on our systems earlier," Vanguard said in a statement. "The issue has been resolved and we encourage clients to clear their internet cache and cookies, and recycle their web browser, before logging back on."

None of the firms provided information on the number of customers affected by the tech problems Monday. The website Downdetector showed nearly 8,000 reports of problems with TD Ameritrade Monday morning, more than 15,000 reports on Schwab, around 950 reports on Fidelity and 400 reports on Vanguard.

Customers took to Twitter on Monday to express frustration at not being able to access the services on such a big day for the markets.

"You guys are costing us millions of dollars on a big day," one Twitter user said in a tweet to Vanguard. The company responded with an apology and saying its research team would follow up.


The US stock market soared Monday morning after Pfizer announced encouraging data on its Covid-19 vaccine.


Another user said in a tweet to Fidelity: "Customers were not able to sell when markets opened ... Functionality returned while markets were fading well off the highs. Statements of appreciation are just not enough anymore." Fidelity said it would follow up with the customer.

Not being able to log in to one of these platforms on such a busy trading day could have real financial implications for consumers and could mean reputational damage for brokers, Kenney said.

"(For consumers,) it could be an opportunity loss — a trade idea that you're not able to effect on the platform," Kenney said. "If the market were moving in the other direction and you couldn't go into sales and protect yourself from that, there is a propensity for real monetary loss."

It's not the first time this year that online brokerages have experienced tech problems at inopportune times. In August, users of Robinhood, E-Trade and others reported problems accessing the services on the first day that Apple and Tesla shares were trading at newly split prices.

Such problems could be because of the huge uptick in usage of online brokerage services during the pandemic — with so many people sitting at home, more people have been trying their hand at retail investing.

"No one ever accounted for the sheer load that is coming into these platform layers," Kenney said. "People have this expectation that all their information is at their fingertips, by clicking on their iPhones or logging into a website, and all that information will be returned in real time. When you don't have a concept of how to deal with that load or figure out ways to allow more people onto the (service), you run into these issues."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×