Charles Schwab and other online brokerages had technical issues on Monday. Charles Schwab's website and mobile app were down for several hours, making it impossible for users to access their accounts.
Users took to social media to express their frustration with the outages. Charles Schwab's Twitter account acknowledged the issue and apologized for the inconvenience.
The technical issues affected not only Charles Schwab but also other online brokerages, including Fidelity and Robinhood.
Online Brokerages Experience Disruptions
Charles Schwab and other online brokerages experienced outages on Monday, frustrating investors trying to trade during a day of high market volatility.
Frenetic trading activity can sometimes trigger technical problems, raising questions about the capacity of brokerages to handle high volumes.
Online services at Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments faced an outage on Monday, with some users having problems logging into their accounts.
Bouts of extreme market volatility can cause technical issues, which also raise concerns about the capacity of brokerages to handle high volumes.
Fidelity later said it had resolved the issue, but not before over 3,500 users reported outages, according to Downdetector.com.
Schwab was down for more than 3,400 users while outage reports on Fidelity peaked at over 3,500, according to Downdetector.com.
Vanguard also saw nearly 2,500 outage reports, the website showed.
At its peak, Charles Schwab saw nearly 15,000 outage reports from users, according to data from outage tracker Downdetector.
Fidelity and Vanguard saw another 3,800 and 2,900, respectively.
User reports appeared to fall notably for all three platforms an hour later.
The outages occurred during one of the biggest stock market sell-offs of 2024, with many investors dumping risky assets.
Online Brokerages Go Dark
Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard were down for thousands of users on Monday during one of the biggest stock market sell-offs of 2024.
Some frustrated customers online said they were unable to log in or access their account balances.
Charles Schwab saw nearly 15,000 outage reports from users at its peak, with reports peaking around 9:50 a.m. ET.
Fidelity and Vanguard saw another 3,800 and 2,900 outage reports, respectively, closer to 10 a.m. ET.
Bouts of extreme market volatility can sometimes trigger technical problems, raising questions about the capacity of brokerages to handle high volumes.
Schwab's issue was resolved by 12:30 p.m. ET, and Fidelity's intermittent issues were also resolved by then.
Vanguard's outage reports peaked at over 2,500, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.
The outages were frustrating for investors looking to trade on a day when many dumped anything risky from stocks to crypto on fears of a U.S. recession.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my investments if Charles Schwab goes out of business?
If Charles Schwab goes out of business, your investments are protected as separate assets, not liabilities, and are not subject to creditor claims. Your funds will be safe and available to you
Sources
- https://datafloq.com/news/schwab-fidelity-other-online-brokerages-face-disruption-on-frenetic-trading-day/
- https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41450743.html
- https://apnews.com/article/charles-schwab-fidelity-vanguard-outage-216a92fdac853d4c6b4caa91dfcbb22d
- https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/charles-schwab-fidelity-other-brokerages-experience-outages-amid-market-volatility
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/deanbarber_schwab-vanguard-other-online-brokerages-activity-7226256237246476288-vvwP
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