I.S.
When the CUBS or TOPS system is down, the full size order is printed at the S&P desk and either arbed or run into the pit. The problem is that L-W gets overwhelmed by orderflow and they can't handle the volume, especially, when the market's on the move.
The unreliability of the CUBS system has been a problem for a long time. You never know when it's going to crap the bed. It may work fine when you enter your position but then you go to take it off and CUBS is down. It's very frustrating and is one of the reasons I trade the mini. L-W claims the problem is at the Merc and not on their end.
Speaking of the mini, you can also experience problems with electronic order execution there as well. Should the TOPS (Trade Order Processing System- it routes orders from your PC into Globex) go down, your order will print at the e-mini desk and be entered into Globex by hand. Again, they become overwhelmed by the volume and run way behind on order entry. At this point, your order is somewhat in limbo, should you want to cxl or change it. At least there is no CUBS involved with the mini and that seems to be where the majority of the problem lies. Here, the full size has the advantage because you can still use the phone and have them arb it in, should there be a problem with electronic order entry.
The best fun I've ever had is when I had a position in the e-mini and Globex crashed, meanwhile, the full-size is still trading. I was stuck, couldn't do a thing.
The broker's have their ass well covered regarding electronic order entry problems, as one would know if they have read the disclaimer.
In general, I like the electronic system because of it's speed. Heck, I can enter an e-mini order and have my fill before the order desk has even entered my account number were I using voice/phone. It's certainly not without problems, though. But, electronic order entry is still fairly new so hopefully these bugs may get worked out. |
