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Non-Tech : Fight The Power! -Your Broker Just Screwed U - Now What? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TFF who wrote (25)	12/3/1998 7:41:00 PM
From: GREATMOOD	Respond to of 323

To: rag2rag (4 ) From: GREATMOOD Tuesday, Nov 10 1998 4:22PM ET Reply # of 11 (Posted on the Discover/Lombard Brokerage board) 1) The past few days, I have waited up to 11 minutes for them to answer their live phone. 2) Their on-line software is clumsy to use, and sometimes doesn't update until the end of the day, so you can never know where you stand in real time. 3) Their telephone "touch tone" system used to be pretty good before they "fixed" it. Now they have a voice recognition system that doesn't always recognize my voice, does recognize background noises, gives me information I don't want, and lists stocks in my portfolio that I never even heard of. 4) The rank and file brokers, when you finally get through are very helpful and admit that they are having problems, but on 2 different occasions, the supervisor that was supposed to call me back within 45 minutes to discuss the problem, never called me back (I'm still waiting). 5) The Morgan Stanley name is on their letterhead, but I doubt that Morgan Stanley has a clue as to how bad Discover's service has become. Discover, I hope you monitor this board so that as least you can become aware of how you are not giving your customers the level of service that they need. GM

To: TFF who wrote (25)	12/4/1998 4:44:00 PM
From: TFF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 323

Fight The Power! - Knowledge Base:(updated - Process Of A Typical NASDAQ Trade) Contents: Evaluating Your Broker Process Of A Typical NASDAQ Trade Remote Execution System Failure - Contingency Plan Fight The Power - Links ________________________________________________________________ Evaluating Your Broker: Ultimately there is no perfect broker for everyone. Because each person has a different approach what is perfect for me, may be terrible for you. Generally speaking, here are some guidelines: Broker: Make sure know what you want from your broker. Good/fast executions, immediate confirmations, reliable data and software, great client service, competitive fees, good website, excellent reporting. Make sure the broker is reputable and has a good capital base behind it. There are two basic kinds of brokers: Brokers who receive orders by direct order entry software and/or those which receive orders via phone. Brokers Offering Direct Order Entry Software Make sure you know your needs before looking at these brokers. They are meant specifically for active traders who are knowledgeable about the ins and outs of trading.Currently Real Tick III dominates the landscape and is very flexible and is offered by many firms including MB Trading,JPR Capital, etc. Also CyberTrader which is offered by CyberBroker, and Tradecast which is offerred by some other firms are widely used. A step below this are the browser based systems such as those offered by Datek,Etrade,Web Street etc. Unfortunately these systems have failed to be reliable during peak market hours and combined with current NASDAQ Order Handling Rules make them useless for short term trading or any other trading for that matter. Phone Based Brokers Using the phone eliminates the worry of reliability of direct order entry and allows you to concentrate on the market and is probably most suitable for the majority of people. The key issue here is the quality of execution you receive and how efficient the firm is at answering the phone and transmitting orders. There are very few quality phone based firms around so look hard. A list of brokers is avaiable at: The Final Frontier Links Subject 20613 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Process Of A Typical NASDAQ Trade(A buy of 200 shares of ONSL through XYZ Securities.Inc): 1) Order Received from client. 2) Order filled by A - Firm's trading desk acting as principal - Firm's trading desk acting as principal and market maker or B - routed to a market maker's trading desk acting as principal 3) The receiving trading desk executes the trade, or re-routes it to an ECN 4) Once executed the seller prints the trade to the Nasdaq on the ACT system with the two firms locking in on ACT. (ACT is a system which permits firms to "meet", electronically, and confirm a trade, lock it in so neither can back away later). 5) ACT sends the trade to your clearing firm. If you bought ONSL ...200 ONSL is delivered electronically (on ACT sheets) to your clearing firm the next day. 6) On trade date, your firm books into your account at the clearing firm the trade. It is matched, reconciled with the stock being delivered by ACT. if the price or any item is booked wrong, it is referred to as a break.ie..you bot 200 ONSL 109 1/4.... clerk enters it incorrectly as 19 1/4. The next day the clearing firm sends a break: XYZ Securities Inc: ONSL 109 1/4...booked 0 Compares 200 ONSL 19 1/4 Booked 200 compares 0 This is referring to what we booked into your account and what the street side is coming in with. In this case, an erroneous confirm goes out to client which is followed with a cancelling confirm and then a corrected confirm. Basically its a small goof up on the trade, yet hopefully the client was not brain dead and didnt think they got 19 1/4. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Remote Execution System Failure - Contingency Plan: 1)Know how to contact your broker in case of problems. Have several backup numbers in case the lines are busy. 2)Know what your broker's procedures are concerning phone in orders/questions. 3)Discuss your broker's liability with regards to missed trades/opportunites. What will he take responsibilty for and under what conditions. Reading the NASDAQ Order Handling Rules is highly recommended(link at bottom of page). 4)Be sure to follow through on orders regardless of execution problems. Hesitation to follow through on trades could cause many headaches including missed opportunities and larger losses. You may not take a loss at the time but a change in your strategy may lead to larger losses down the road if you hold the trade longer because of execution problems. 5) Be sure you now how to reboot your system as quickly as possible. Always find out what the problem is before you waste valuable time trying to reboot. Sometimes the system may be down for lengthy periods of time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fight The Power - Links: Final Frontier Links Subject 20613 From The Trading Desk Subject 15612 Email The SEC To Complain sec.gov How The SEC Handles Your Complaint Inquiry sec.gov NASD Complaint Program nasdr.com NASD nasd.com NASD Links nasd.com NASDAQ Order Handling Rules nasdaqtrader.com NASDAQ Execution Systems Explained yamner.com NASDAQ Market Makers nasdaqtrader.com NASDAQ Trader's Manual nasdaqtrader.com./trader/tradingservices/marketwa... NASDAQ Trader nasdr.com Stock Detective stockdetective.com Discount Broker Hall Of Shame: Subject 19738 ARBITRATION - What to do after your broker screws you? Subject 20254 Caution on discount internet brokers Subject 14021 SEC Rules Subject 23404