ETF Flash Crashes Happen With Big Funds Too

In the aftermath of the 2010 Flash Crash, the SEC investigated ways to prevent the widespread disruption of prices that led to trades at absurd levels.  One of the outcomes was the creation of single-stock circuit breakers across the entire market (SEC document).  These breakers are designed to halt trading at specific points to allow markets to stabilize before restarting.  Bigger drops triggered longer waits …

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Needed—A Way to Flash Proof Your Stop Limit Orders

I’ve never liked stop loss orders.  I’ve seen too many people get blown out of their positions by short term price fluctuations.   A glitch October 24th,  at ATT’s opening shows the typical pattern. I think we need improved stop lost orders to help retail investors avoid being stopped out during events like these—often at the worst possible prices. In the past most gaps were triggered by …

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