While stocks tumbled Monday amid increased fears of the coronavirus becoming a pandemic, Charles Schwab, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade investors experienced additional aggravation by not being able to access their retirement accounts at those firms' websites.
There were widespread complaints on Twitter from investors who could not get into their accounts online or experienced either slowness or an inability to access certain online features.
Some investors complained that they accessed their Fidelity accounts and saw they suddenly had a $0 balance — an issue that some had experienced only a few days earlier, they said.
"Looks like @Fidelity is trying to protect investors from themselves? MarketCashCapital tweeted, adding: "Or I just lost all my monies already today. @Fidelity it would be great on a day like today if your site worked." MarketCashCapital complained about not being able to get into the account for over 20 minutes at the opening of the market, pondering whether it was time for a new provider, possibly Schwab.
In response, a user named Cheryl loves life! complained that it was the "2nd time in a week" that the site crashed, adding: "this firm needs to be spanked."
Few specifics were provided by the firms about the online problems. "Some customers experienced technical issues this morning," a Fidelity spokesman said, adding: "They are now resolved."
