Disaster Planning

[dgevans]

Hello everyone,

I'm interested in what steps home based traders take to cover themselves in case of technical failure. What happens if trading platform is down and you have open positions? What steps to you take to limit your risk from this scenario?

Also seems to me any deep discount online brokerage business model is sure to struggle to cope with a system failure. Is anybody using a broker where they have recieved good service by phone when online system was down?

thanks for you answers

 

[foredog]

1 have a stoploss firm with your broker

2 have your brokers phone number to hand or stored on speed dial

3 have a back up pc/laptop

4 have a back up internet connection (maybe one of these wireless 3g things)

5 hope they honour your stops if they crash!!!!!!!!

 

[dgevans]

1 have a stoploss firm with your broker

can you explain what you mean by that? are you just saying to be sure every postion has a stop entered, or is it possible to agree a stop that applies to all orders with your broker?

 

[foredog]

Some may disagree but....
as you place the order place a firm stoploss at the same time, not a mental one,

 

[dgevans]

Some may disagree but....
as you place the order place a firm stoploss at the same time, not a mental one,

ah ok. thanks foredog.

 

[blackcab]

Good question. One thing I've never seen here is how to plan for other disasters, e.g. health-related. Have you got a plan for what happens if you have a heart attack with open positions? Or power cut, or a fire starting in the house, etc.

 

[0007]

1 have a stoploss firm with your broker

2 have your brokers phone number to hand or stored on speed dial

3 have a back up pc/laptop

4 have a back up internet connection (maybe one of these wireless 3g things)

5 hope they honour your stops if they crash!!!!!!!!

Agree all that. I use a laptop in pref to desktop (with a serviceable battery and duplicate trading data /software) fired-up and ready to go (ie logged on to broker site) in case of desktop PC fail or mains electric fail. Never needed it yet but I know as soon as i stop using it the worst will happen.

 

[mlbuzz]

That is great advice. I have a laptop and desktop, but they both use the same DSL connection. I think I'll be getting one of those wireless internet cards. They have a monthly recurring cost that will be in addition to my DSL, but at least it will be a back up! (Besides, then I can take the laptop out and trade from anywhere I want!)

MB

 

[luckyd1976]

1 have a stoploss firm with your broker

2 have your brokers phone number to hand or stored on speed dial

3 have a back up pc/laptop

4 have a back up internet connection (maybe one of these wireless 3g things)

5 hope they honour your stops if they crash!!!!!!!!

ForeDog is right on.

And since every position I take usually has the Hard Stops/or Hedges in place, Im never worried about it. Only time I worry is on my Iron Condors but then I have Price alerts sent to my cell phone for me to take action.

My setup is simple.
Main trading station Desktop w/broadband
Backup trading station Laptop /Aircard.
Broker on Speed-Dial.
Thats it!

And for those of you who manage money at home, Never use your primary setup (desktop) for personal surfing during working hours. Trust me, during the your first IRS audit and or first Virus attack, you'll thank me for that advice!

 

[sneville]

For me i like to double up on everthing.

2 Internet connections one from a cable provider and a ADSL connection from BT.
2 Internet routers
2 desktop PC's one wired connected to each internet router both using the same IP address ranges if one internet connection/router fails i simply repatch the cable.

I also have a laptop which is on all the time which has a 3G card which is always connected just in case I have power cut. This laptop battery will last 6 hours. I also have a personal laptop which can be used as a backup just in case.

As a last resort I have my broker on speed dial on my mobile

 

[glyder]

For me i like to double up on everthing.

2 Internet connections one from a cable provider and a ADSL connection from BT.
2 Internet routers
2 desktop PC's one wired connected to each internet router both using the same IP address ranges if one internet connection/router fails i simply repatch the cable.

I also have a laptop which is on all the time which has a 3G card which is always connected just in case I have power cut. This laptop battery will last 6 hours. I also have a personal laptop which can be used as a backup just in case.

As a last resort I have my broker on speed dial on my mobile

Agreed, all good advice, also have a 2nd funded account (particularly if spreadbetting), so if you lose access to the main provider, you can hedge your positions on the second account.

 

[shahram2611]

sorry to say that but if someone dies how should his family know what he was doing...in my case nobody even my wife know what i am doing,,,,she knows i am trading but she donno where i have left my money...........do you write something or told someone what you are doing.
another disaster is that if both die at the same time like plane crash or car accident....sorry for these words but we are human and have ending maybe b4 what we are prepare to.

 

[luckyd1976]

sorry to say that but if someone dies how should his family know what he was doing...in my case nobody even my wife know what i am doing,,,,she knows i am trading but she donno where i have left my money...........do you write something or told someone what you are doing.
another disaster is that if both die at the same time like plane crash or car accident....sorry for these words but we are human and have ending maybe b4 what we are prepare to.

Very good point. For me I've taught my brother everything I know. Automated the ones I could. And if thats not an option for most and you truly are making money. If you want to pass it on, Put it in writing and in a safety deposit box at your bank with an * in will for the safety box to go to whom you think is best suited for that info.

 

[Dinos]

Hello everyone,

I'm interested in what steps home based traders take to cover themselves in case of technical failure. What happens if trading platform is down and you have open positions? What steps to you take to limit your risk from this scenario?

Also seems to me any deep discount online brokerage business model is sure to struggle to cope with a system failure. Is anybody using a broker where they have recieved good service by phone when online system was down?

thanks for you answers

Hi, before placing a trade, my trading plan dictates that I place a disaster stop on my deal ticket, together with a limit order, whilst in normal trading conditions I wouldn't allow for the disaster stop to be hit, its there for capital protection in such events I cannot access the platform, if I traded without them, I'm not trading a plan but simply "gambling", something as a trader I won't do. All imho