bobwest 

It means that OCO orders ("Order Cancels Order" = having both a stop and a target, and if one is hit, the other is cancelled) are held on your trading service's server instead of sitting on your PC. If there is an issue with your computer or your platform or your internet connection, the server-side OCO will still be executed, because it doesn't depend on your local machine. Many (probably most) trading platforms support this, if the trade service provides it. ("Trade service" would be a data network, such as CQG or Rithmic, which connects the trader, the broker and the exchange and routes the orders. You'd have to check if yours supports this.) Access is via normal internet, and "servers" do not mean exchange servers. It's just that the OCO is "server side," not local. Bob.

What @bobwest says is spot on, but there's is even more complexities. Your order can basically be held in one of three places.
- Your software/computer
- Server Side at your Software/Data Provider/Brokers servers
- On Exchange.

Obviously having orders held server side greatly reduces the technology risk of your own software and your connection to the server. This doesn't protect you from issues on their server or on their connection, but that is rarer. In my many years of trading full time this has probably happened less than 10 times. The safest way is to use exchange supported order types and have the exchange hold the orders. Unfortunately this is limiting as exchanges often do not have native OCO order types.

The difference between Server Side and On Exchange is most pronounced with Stop Orders. If your stop order is on exchange, it is already queued and will get the "fastest" possible fill. If your Stop Order is Server Side (or even worse on your computer) the order isn't even sent to the exchange until the software identifies that the stop has been breached, so your order is behind all the exchange held orders, and behind everybody who reacted to the stop level breach faster than you.

A lot of generic responses, so I'll add some different advice.

If you and the broker are from the USA, then you have options. You can shame the broker on social media. Calling out a legitimate businesses on social media often leads to a quick settlement. Use social media to find others in the same situation. There is strength in numbers. You can also file suit, especially if you find many others in the same situation suspecting foul play by the broker.

As an example, Robinhood app crashed back in March during the covid crash. Robinhood offered everyone that complained some small amount of money to not sue them. Others who lost large amounts and blame Robinhood for not allowing to sell during the crash are continuing to sue the broker. Some have already settled out of court.

In conclusion, in addition what everyone else has already said, maybe there are some low probability next steps you can take besides just being screwed. But it all starts with telling us the broker name. Hopefully it's not a no name, non US, new startup.


But as most in this thread replied, we typically see this as the cost of doing business. Even if there is foul play, it will happen a very small number of times per year. Your edge needs to be large enough to cover these shenanigans.

As a personal example, in the past I had ninjatrader (broker and platform) execute an ATM that always places an OCO stop and target. This one time I lost internet connection at the exact moment an entry for 10 ES contracts was triggered with an attached OCO. By the time I reconnect, the market dropped 10 pts, the stop only had 1 contact instead of 10, but the target had 10 contracts. Ninjatrader support said that the stop was only placed for 1 contract instead of 10 due to my lost internet connection, how does that even make sense?... I took that as a learning opportunity and switched to trading on a VPS that same day. Since then I've found other new ways to lose money, but have not lost a single cent due to lost internet connection.

Do I feel scammed by NT? Yes. How can internet connection explain that the ATM placed a stop with only 1 contract instead of all 10? Does NT really place stops 1 contract at a time? So a stop for 10 contracts is actually 10 individual stop orders placed in sequence?
I think NT knows most of its users treat the platform like a casino and will blow out in a few months, which is why they push the lifetime license so hard.

As NT, and all brokers expect, I didn't pursue it further. Maybe there was no foul play and there was a legitimate explanation, but I never found out.

planetkill 

If you and the broker are from the USA, then you have options. You can shame the broker on social media. Calling out a legitimate businesses on social media often leads to a quick settlement.

Oh the beauty of social media, the distributor of fake news, the destroyer of democracies, and now the agent of blackmail.

planetkill 

You can also file suit, especially if you find many others in the same situation suspecting foul play by the broker.

Should he sue his internet provider as well. Maybe his computer maker? And his modem maker too? Who made the cables connecting them, maybe his virus scanner kicked in... maybe it was their fault. To quote the Op... So the error lies in either the broker, the platform, or whatever He doesn't know what happened. He just wants somebody to blame.

Agree with others here. OCO's are typically Server side while strategy orders are client/computer side. That depends on your IB.

However. if your computer froze and the orders were not sent then it is on you. As others mentioned, the risk of trading is your, not theirs. They are not responsible for anything - they pass your orders to the exchange and even then they are not responsible for anyone's infrastructure's failure along the line - even their own.

I have had local platforms go down, IB/Broker Side Feeds go down, bad data from providers or frozen data in fast markets. Even the CME go down and had issues where I didn't know where I was filled and if I was in or out. Back in the days of pit trading I had a pit broker in the CL pit during a market pandemonium have a nervous breakdown, throw his deck up in the air and walk out of the pit. YOu would think that would be something that would be actionable for the clients. It went to arbitration and guess who the exchange found for? The clearing firm. Why - "fast market conditions" - which means - not held, not responsible - good luck Charlie.

I've been caught in other fast markets where nothing is held to anything. Stops mean basically nothing under certain conditions. This is all reflected in the Risk Disclosure Statement. You should read it if you haven't.

I have traded through Limit Down locked markets that went against me for several days, 1987 market crash in full-sized S&P's where there was no market and the spread was 10 pts + and 9/11 in Globex when the planes hit the Twin Towers, not to mention others.

When they say there is unlimited risk in futures, it is true. Of course, statistically the odds are not high you will experience them but if you trade long enough - you will.

You need to be adequately capitalized for the outlier events - they will show up it is just a matter of time. In addition, if you get caught and you go debit - you will have to pay up. You don't need a large account to trade but if 8 pts in ES is a problem then trade the Micros and reduce your leverage.

Regards Tom B.