Global IT Outage Disrupts U.S. Wealth Management and Brokerage Firms
The recent worldwide IT outage that has grounded flights has also caused disruptions at U.S. wealth management and brokerage firms, leaving investors frustrated and unable to access their accounts. Charles Schwab, one of the nation’s largest brokerage firms, notified customers of potential disruptions in online and phone services due to a third-party, global issue. Despite deploying a fix, some functionality may still be slow or unavailable.
Merrill Edge, the online brokerage platform of Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley also experienced technical issues, with some clients reporting log-in problems. While Morgan Stanley’s market research section for investors was temporarily unavailable, Commonwealth Financial Network assured that advisors were still able to trade and conduct business-critical activities.
On the other hand, companies like Fidelity and Vanguard reported no impact from the outage, with Vanguard ensuring business continuity for its clients globally. Some advisors, like Paul Fenner of Tamma Capital, had to find workarounds to navigate the tech glitches at banks during client meetings.
The outage has prompted discussions on social media and message boards, with investors sharing their experiences and frustrations. Have you been affected by the IT outage? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
As this is a developing story, stay tuned for updates. For more information, reach out to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com.