Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

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."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
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!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×