Earlier today, Schwab Institutional’s website was unavailable for investment advisers, including my firm. My access was out for about one hour during the afternoon trading session.
We, like many other wealth managers, use Schwab’s custodial services fairly extensively, including the placing of trade orders online, opening new accounts, and reviewing balance and position history.
Click here to read InvestmentNews’ coverage of the issues related to Schwab’s website access.
Also, here is Schwab’s statement on the issue released this afternoon:
The Schwab Institutional Web site was unavailable today from 11:15 to 12:15 PST. The problem has been resolved, and we don’t anticipate any further unplanned outages. We are investigating the cause and are committed to ensuring that this does not occur again.
We apologize for any problems this may have caused you or your firm. Please call your Institutional Service Team with any questions.
None of our clients were harmed in any way as I was able to connect to Schwab’s trading desk via phone and submit trade orders. Still, I must admit, I have high standards when it comes to custodial services, particularly when trading is involved. Any downtime, especially during trading hours, is frustrating at the very least.
I’m thankful that Schwab was available through their service team and trading desk to take care of my needs.
The lesson: Make sure you have practiced that backup and disaster recovery plan to ensure your firm and your clients are protected when systems go down. This includes plans for your web-based CRM (e.g. RedTail, SalesForce, or Upswing, anyone?), something I hope to blog about in the near future.
