Dear Valued Trader,

As you are probably aware, many financial data systems were put under extreme duress during this week. Volume and volatility soared, causing many systems, including Dow Jones and the NY Stock Exchange to experience data disruptions. The RealTick trading platform also felt the stress of this unprecedented volume, resulting in 100% increases over typical data rates.

From what we experienced and have determined through our discussions with RealTick and clients, there have been significant chart delays and unavailability for the last four days. On a small, but positive note, RealTick experienced very little, if any issues with level two data or order routing and execution.

The causes of the disruptions on RealTick were due to limitations of legacy server software and the server’s ability to handle the higher data capacity. The servers failed to store and transmit charting data.

In an effort to alleviate the issues, RealTick implemented a few adjustments this week, including discontinuing the Best Bid/Offer for time and sales.

RealTick has been planning to deploy a new, more robust server infrastructure. Due to the recent issues, the time line for the deployment has been accelerated and RealTick is working to begin implementing the new infrastructure next week to some of their larger customers. We are pleased to announce that Mastertrader.com clients will be among the first few firms to employ the new infrastructure. When the new infrastructure is in place, all historical data for charts should be restored.

Due to the upcoming upgrade, please be sure that you are using a recent version of the RealTick software. Either version 8.4 or 8.5 should be sufficient. RealTick can be downloaded from, http://www.mastertrader.com/download.asp

We apologize for the inconveniences you have experienced this week. If you have questions or need assistance, please call our office. 1-800-424-3934.

Thank you for your continued support,

Joe Ely
Director of Brokerage Services

Mastertrader.com
7-11 South Broadway, Suite 210A
White Plains, NY 10601

The risk of loss in electronic trading can be substantial. Therefore, you should carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. System access and trade executions may be delayed or fail due to market volatility, system failure, high volume or other factors. To read important disclosures, click on the following four links Day Trading Risk Disclosure, Margin Disclosure, Futures Risk Disclosure and the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.