Clock drift on the trading computer

[Fairman]

Clock drift on the trading computer

Computer clocks drift. A machine that is a second or two off is common, and several seconds happens if time synchronisation is turned off or fails.

For most tasks that is harmless. For a scalper who trades the seconds around news releases, it matters. A trader who thinks it is 8:29:55 may actually be at 8:30:01, with the data already out.

Drift also muddles analysis. Trade timestamps in the log do not line up with broker timestamps, making it hard to measure slippage or study fills around events.

The fix costs nothing. Enable automatic time sync, use a reliable time server, and check against an atomic clock website now and then. On a VPS, the host usually handles it, but verification is still wise.

Some traders keep a small clock on the screen, synchronised to a trusted source, and use that rather than the system tray.

It takes about a minute to verify: compare the system clock with a time server, note the offset, and write it down. If it exceeds a second, fix the sync settings before the next session.

How far off is the clock on the trading machine right now?