IB: How to protect yourself from any unexpected execution or position

Due to a recent thread about a "phantom" order being executed later, it is good to think about some precautions to against this risk.

1. TWS is a software. It may be subject to bugs. How can you check to make sure there is clearly no unexpected execution or positions in your account?

2. If you see a seemingly unexpected trade, order or position, you are not sure whether it is real or phantom. What are you going to do?

Thanks for the discussion.

 

As far as I can tell...
The only added layer of protection one can add...
Is sophisticated scanning and error-checking routines using the API.

But you are 100% on your own.

If anything unusual happens in your account...
IB Customer Service will totally stonewall you till you go away...
No one will do anything...
No one will call you back...
No one will even tell you their full name.

If you try to speak with a manager...
They are always "unavailable".

You will just have to absorb any unusual losses that appear in your account.

 

Zen variation: "What is the sound of two wankers having a conversation?"


Listen carefully here

 

If there was an unexpected position in my account then i would look for the execution report that created the positon. If it looked like that execution was a 'phantom' order based on someting i could have submitted then i would close out the position and look at my audit logs to see what happened.
If there was no execution report i would look at my account statement from yesterday. If i still could not find anything then i would not close the position myself before calling IB.

If it was a completely unknown position eg a symbol ive never traded. Then even with an execution report i would still not attempt to close it.

 

You know Quant, your shit is really gettin' stinky.

 

I would close the position immediately, then call IB.

OldTrader

 

That is what I do. When someting goes wrong or unexpected, get flat as quickly as possible.

My app monitors portfolio updates and flags anything unexpected. The TWS now has a portfolio page that does the same thing.

 

Jeez how often does this happen to people with IB? Scary shit.

 

Stuff happens maybe 3 or 4 times per year. It's usually someting different and totally unexpected.

 

That's the problem with this thread. When you stop to think about it, what does "unexpected execution or position" mean? You mean, something just show up in your account that you are completely unaware of? That has never happened to me. Nor do I know anyone it happened to. I've used IB for about 7 years or so.

Does "unexpected" mean an error? For example, you enter a sell, when you intended buy, then hit the transmit button. Later you discover your error. I've done that alot. Nothing to do with IB.

Do we mean orders executed that we forgot to cancel? Again, not an IB problem.

Now, there is a long, involved story about a recent execution problem which took a combination of circumstances to happen, which resulted in a trade that was unintended. It's the only trade of it's type that I'm aware of. The bug that was behind it in TWS was corrected.

I've done thousands of trades in TWS without a hitch. A thread of this type creates a misimpression about IB. IB is without question the best broker I have personally dealt with. And I've dealt with a large number of brokers in my career.

OldTrader