During my week there (I wasn't trading with Swift, I was with another group using a room there) their T1 lines were down over 30% of time. The traders I talked to said that the proprietary software Swift used was junk (when compared to Realtick and the like). The guy in charge of fixxing IT problems just sort of disappeared when he was needed. Worst, I glanced at the educational material that Swift uses and I wasn't impressed. This was March of 2002.
NASD SETTLES CHARGES AGAINST SWIFT TRADE SECURITIES FOR DECEPTIVE TRADING AND NON-BONA FIDE "WASH" TRANSACTIONS IN QQQ
Washington, D.C. â NASD today announced it has reached a settlement with Swift Trade Securities USA, Inc. and its President, Peter Beck, for engaging in a deceptive trading scheme involving fictitious "wash" transactions in the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) in an effort to obtain market data revenue generated from such transactions.
Swift USA and Beck were censured and fined, jointly, $75,000 and were required to give up $26,000, the profits from the fictitious wash sales. NASD suspended Beck for 30 business days in all capacities, and censured and fined Joseph Ianni, Vice President of Compliance and Swift USA, jointly, $25,000 for inadequate supervision.