SDIL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULES
This acknowledges that I have received a copy and understand all of the contents of the following Risk Disclosure Schedules documents:
- Schedule 1 – General Risk Disclosure Statement
- Schedule 2 – Risk Disclosure Statement – Margin Trading
- Schedule 3 – Risk Disclosure Statement – Warrants and Callable Bull/Bear Contracts
- Schedule 4 – Risk Disclosure Statement – Trading and Order Routing Systems
- Schedule 5 – Risk Disclosure Statement - Futures and certain Over-The-Counter Derivative Contracts
- Schedule 6 – Risk Disclosure Statement – CFDs Trading
I understand and agree that SDIL has the right to modify or change any or all of these Risk Disclosure Statements at any time, and the modified or changed terms will take effect immediately upon publication. If I continue to use SDIL's services and products thereafter, I understand and agree that I shall be deemed to have read, understood and accepted the modified or changed terms.
RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE 1
GENERAL RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Terms used but not otherwise defined in this Risk Disclosure Schedule shall have the same meanings ascribed to them in the Standard Customer Agreement.
Customers who invest in Financial Products should be aware of the risks which may be involved in doing so. You should not invest in any Financial Product unless you fully understand the nature of such Financial Product, the nature of the contractual relationship which you are entering into and the extent of your exposure to risk. You should carefully consider whether trading in such Financial Product is appropriate in light of your experience, objectives, financial resources, and other relevant circumstances.
The purpose of this General Risk Disclosure Statement is to explain to you briefly the general risks that may be involved when investing in Financial Products. Additional risks and other significant aspects of investing in Financial Products may be disclosed in the Standard Customer Agreement, other risk disclosure statements or other documents relating to specific Financial Products.
In addition, this General Risk Disclosure Statement and other risk disclosure statements do not purport to disclose all risks and significant aspects that may be involved when investing in a Financial Product. You should therefore consult with your own professional advisers (including legal, regulatory, tax, business and/or financial advisers as you may deem necessary) before investing in any Financial Product.
i. Terms and Conditions of Trading/ Investing in Capital Market Products
You should read and understand the terms and conditions spelt out in the Standard Customer Agreement, User Agreement, together with all disclosures, terms, conditions, rules, and regulations included on the Website, as the same may be amended, modified, supplemented, or replaced from time to time (collectively the "Terms"), which are referred to and govern the relationship between you and SDIL.
ii. Risk associated with Trading/ Investing in Capital Market Products
a. Price Fluctuation
The price and value of any investment in capital market products and the income, if any, from them, may fluctuate and may fall against your interest. An individual capital market product may experience downward price movements and may under some circumstances even become valueless. An inherent risk of trading/ investing in capital market products is that losses may be incurred, rather than profits made, as a result of buying and selling such capital markets products.
b. Loss of Principal
The Financial Products usually do not provide a guarantee of the initial principal amount at maturity and may be worth substantially less, depending on the performance of the underlying investments. You may lose part of or your entire principal invested.
Even where a principal amount or interest is stated to be guaranteed, such feature may be contingent on other factors such as the ability of the issuer to repay its senior unsubordinated obligations at maturity. Where a Financial Product is guaranteed by a third party guarantor, you would be exposed to the credit risk of such guarantor. Any change in the creditworthiness of such issuer or guarantor may affect the value of the investment.
c. Suspension or Restriction of Trading
Market conditions (e.g. illiquidity) and/or the operation of the rules of certain markets (e.g. the suspension of trading in any capital markets product because of price limits or trading halts) may increase the risk of loss by making it difficult or impossible to effect transactions or liquidate/ offset positions. The placing of contingent orders, such as "stop-loss" or "stop-limit" orders, will not necessarily limit losses to intended amounts, as market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders. Under certain circumstances, it may be difficult or impossible to assess the value of your position, determine a fair price or assess your exposure to risk.
d. Liquidation may not be possible
Under certain market conditions, you may find it difficult or impossible to liquidate a position. This can occur, for example, when the market makes a "limit move" or trading is suspended by the relevant exchange. In addition, there may not be a ready market for certain investments and market traders may not be prepared to deal in certain investments. Some investments may have to be held to maturity, for instance, some index options can only be exercised on the expiry date, whilst other index may be exercised at any time before expiry. Proper information for determining the value of certain investments may not be available.
e. Market risk of certain products
Certain instruments (such as structured products, structured warrants including callable bull/bear contracts, and single stock options) may give you a time-limited or absolute right to acquire or sell one or more types of investments which is normally exercisable against someone other than the issuer of that investment. You should be aware of the liquidity and market risks associated with these instruments. These instruments carry a high degree of risk as they often involve gearing or leverage, so that a relatively small movement in the price of the underlying investment may result in a much larger movement, favourable or unfavourable, in the price of the instrument. The value of such instruments may fall as rapidly as it may rise due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, systemic risks, variations in the frequency and magnitude of changes in interest rates, inflation outlook and the price/level of any underlying reference to which the structured product relate (e.g. securities, commodities, funds, rates and/or indices). The price of these instruments can therefore be volatile. The value of such instruments may increase or decrease throughout their tenor. These instruments have a limited life, and may expire worthless depending on the performance of the underlying instrument.
f. Past performance is not indicative of future performance
All investments are risky. The historical data of any security or financial product cannot guarantee its future performance or return. Although diversified investment can help you spread risks, it may not help you to benefit or prevent you from losing money in a depressed market. There will always be potential losses in investing in securities or financial products. You need to consider your own investment objectives and risk tolerance before investing.
iii. Risk of Margin Trading
The risk of loss in financing a transaction by deposit of Collateral may be significant. You may sustain losses in excess of your cash and any other assets deposited as Collateral with SDIL. SDIL generally will not issue margin calls, and may liquidate positions in your account in order to satisfy margin requirements without prior notice to you and without an opportunity for you to choose the positions to be liquidated or the timing or order of liquidation. You should therefore carefully consider whether such a financing arrangement is suitable in light of your own financial position and investment objectives.
Please also see Risk Disclosure Schedule 2.
iv. Commission, Fees, Interest and Other Charges
You should obtain a clear explanation of all commissions, fees, interest and other charges, including charges for the custody of your investments, and understand that these charges may affect your net profit (if any) or increase your loss. You agree that you will be liable for these charges (as may be amended from time to time).
v. Assets Received or Held Outside Mauritius
Client assets received or held by the licensed person or registered outside Mauritius are subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the relevant overseas jurisdiction which may be different from Mauritius law. Consequently, such client assets may not enjoy the same protection as that conferred on client assets received or held in Mauritius.
vi. Transactions in Other Jurisdictions
Transactions on markets in other jurisdictions may expose you to additional risks. Such markets may be subjected to rules and regulations that may offer different or diminished investor protection. Before entering into such trades, you should be aware of the rules relevant to the particular transactions. You should obtain details about the different types of redress available in both your home jurisdiction and other relevant jurisdictions before you start to trade. There may be restrictions for foreigners, repatriation of capital investments and profits and there may be withholding or additional forms of taxes.
vii. Currency Risks
The potential for profit or loss from transactions on foreign markets or in foreign currency-denominated capital markets products (traded locally or in other jurisdictions) will be affected by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
viii. Trading Facilities
Most open-outcry and electronic trading facilities are supported by computer-based component systems for the order-routing, execution, matching, registration or clearing of trades. As with all facilities and systems, they are vulnerable to temporary disruption or failure. Your ability to recover certain losses may be subject to limits on liability imposed by the one or more parties, namely the system provider, the market, the clearing house or member firms. Such limits may vary. You should ask the firm with which you conduct your transactions for details in this respect.
ix. Electronic Trading and Order Routing Systems
Trading through an electronic trading or order routing system exposes you to risks associated with system or component failure. In the event of system or component failure, it is possible that, for a certain time period, you may not be able to enter new orders, execute existing orders, modify or cancel orders that were previously entered or view the receipt of confirmations. System or component failure may also result in loss of orders or order priority. Electronic trading system may experience outages or delays as the result of, among other events, power failures, programming failures, accessibility, volatile market conditions or heavy volume of trading which may result in delayed or slowed response time. You should be prepared and maintain alternative trading arrangements for order entry in the event that SDIL system is unavailable for any reason.
Please also see Risk Disclosure Schedule 4.
x. Off-Exchange Transactions
In some jurisdictions, firms are permitted to effect off-exchange transactions. The firm with which you conduct your transactions may be acting as your counterparty to the transaction. It may be difficult or impossible to liquidate an existing position, to assess the value, to determine a fair price or to assess the exposure to risk. For these reasons, these transactions may involve increased risks. Off-exchange transactions may be less regulated or subject to a separate regulatory regime. Before you undertake such transactions, you should familiarise yourself with the applicable rules and attendant risks.
xi. Risk of Short Selling
When you short sell a stock, SDIL must borrow such stock on your behalf to effect delivery of such stock to the purchaser. If the lender subsequently issues a re-call notice for such stock, SDIL will attempt to re-borrow the stock on your behalf. You understand and agree that if SDIL is unable to re-borrow such stock, SDIL is authorised by you to, without notice to you, cover your short position by purchasing such stock on the open market at the then-current market price and you shall be liable for any resulting losses and all associated costs incurred.
You are required to furnish and maintain Collateral in your Account with SDIL to meet margin requirements for short selling. Accordingly, you will encounter various risks, including:
- any increase in the value of the borrowed securities and/or decrease in the value of the Collateral may require you to provide additional Collateral to SDIL to avoid SDIL from realising the existing Collateral;
- SDIL can realise the Collateral to cover the deficiency in the margin required for the short sell transaction. You will also be responsible for any shortfall after such realisation;
- SDIL may realise the Collateral without contacting you. SDIL is not required to notify you of any margin calls. However, if SDIL has contacted you and provided a specific date by which you shall meet a call for additional Collateral, SDIL may still take necessary steps to protect its interests. This may include immediately realising the Collateral without notice to you. You are not entitled to choose which Collateral shall be realised to meet and cover the deficiency in the margin required for the short sell transaction. SDIL has the right to decide which Collateral to realise in order to protect its interests;
- SDIL can increase the margin requirement for the short sell transaction at any time and is not required to provide you advance written notice. These changes in SDIL policy often take effect immediately and may result in the issuance of a call for additional Collateral. Your failure to satisfy the call may cause SDIL to realise the Collateral; and
- You are not entitled to an extension of time on a call for additional Collateral. While an extension of time to meet such a call may be made available to you under certain conditions, you do not have a right to the extension.
The interest, dividends and any distribution whatsoever (each a "Distribution") attributable to the Loaned Securities belong to SDIL and you have to pay and deliver to SDIL any such Distribution on its date of payment regardless of whether you receive the same. You are also to exercise any voting rights attached to such Loaned Securities and any other rights arising and attributable to the Loaned Securities in accordance with the instructions of SDIL, if you have agreed to the same. Failure to pay any Distribution to SDIL, or to protect and exercise any rights with respect to the Loaned Securities in accordance with the instructions of SDIL (where you have agreed to do so) may expose you to liability.
xii. Deposited Cash and Property
You should familiarise yourself with the protection accorded to any money or other property which you deposit for domestic and foreign transactions, particularly in a firm’s insolvency or bankruptcy. The extent to which you may recover your money or property may be governed by specific legislation or local rules. In some jurisdictions, property which had been specifically identifiable as your own will be pro-rated in the same manner as cash for purposes of distribution in the event of a shortfall.
xiii. Non-Advisory Nature of Relationship
You should note and accept that SDIL does not provide any investment advisory services on any capital market products. SDIL will act on an execution-only basis and will not be providing any financial advice to you. While information may be shared with you from representatives and/or agents of SDIL, it is to be used solely for educational purposes. You agree that you rely on your own judgement in making any investment decision and neither SDIL nor its representative is liable for any of such investment decision you make.
xiv. General risks associated with each type of capital markets product
a. Bonds and Debt Securities
You should understand and be aware of the nature and characteristics of bonds and debt securities. Bonds and debt securities investments offer fixed returns over a defined period. These instruments carry risks such as credit risk, default risk, liquidity risk, and currency risk.
Credit risk arises from default events that may result in the inability of the issuer to pay interest or principal outstanding. Default risk is high when the bond or debt securities are rated as non-investment grade or even have no credit rating. In a default situation, the buyer may lose interest and principal. Liquidity refers to the availability for investors to buy or sell a product into a market in an efficient price. Some bonds and debt securities are in poor liquidity since they are not actively traded. Currency risk arises when holding bonds or debt securities denominated in foreign currency, thus exposing you to fluctuations in exchange rate. Under certain market conditions, you may lose more than your original investment amounts if exchange rates move adversely.
b. Equity Securities
Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, equity-linked products, and funds investing in these products. Unlike fixed income products, equity securities do not offer fixed returns over a defined period, and the yield on equity investments depends on multiple factors, such as price difference, dividend distribution, and market conditions.
Equity markets can be volatile. Stock prices rise and fall based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market conditions. Stock prices can decline significantly in response to adverse market conditions, company-specific events, and other domestic and international political and economic conditions.
Investment in mid-cap, small-cap, or micro-cap companies generally involves greater risks than investment in larger companies. The market value of a company may fluctuate dramatically. As a result, under certain conditions, holdings of mid-cap, small-cap, or micro-cap stocks may decline in price even though their fundamentals are solid. They may be more difficult to buy and sell, subject to greater business risks, and more sensitive to market changes, than larger capitalization securities.
c. Over-the-Counter ("OTC") Products
You should understand and be aware of the nature and characteristics of OTC products. Since OTC transactions are individually negotiated, the OTC markets may be not active as the open market, and the OTC product pricing may similarly not be as efficient and transparent. Subject to different regulatory requirements and business practices, OTC markets participants may not disclose enough information as open market participants should do. You may be exposed to credit risk of the counterparty with which you enter into an agreement. You may also be exposed to liquidity risk since an active trading market may not exist.
d. OTC Securities
SDIL accepts orders to trade certain (but not all) symbols from OTC Markets[1] (the "OTC Securities"). Investment in OTC Securities is speculative and involves a high degree of risk because some OTC Securities are not subject to the financial reporting standards or disclosure requirements. Reliable information regarding issuers of OTC Securities, their prospects, and risks associated with the business of any particular issuer or an investment in the issuer's stocks may not be available. As a result, it may not be easy to value an investment in OTC securities properly. The OTC Securities are for professional and sophisticated investors with a high risk-tolerance for trading stocks with limited information available and limited regulatory oversight. Some OTC Securities are typically penny stocks, low-priced shares of small companies or shell companies, shares of distressed companies not willing or able to disclose information, delisted symbols, or foreign equity issues unqualified to list on New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. You must know that you may lose all or part of your initial investment amount in OTC Securities. Given that OTC Securities disclosure requirements are less stringent, OTC Securities are frequent targets of fraud or market manipulation. Dealers may dominate the market and set prices that are not based on competitive forces. Individuals or groups may create fraudulent markets and control the sudden sharp increase or collapse in share price. You should carefully review all of the information regarding the company you intend to invest in, prior to trading in OTC securities, or any other investment. Please report any suspected occurrences of fraud to your state securities administrator, the NASD, or the SEC.
Many OTC Securities are relatively illiquid. Illiquid stocks are often difficult for investors to buy or sell without dramatically affecting the quoted price. Fewer market participants can lead to less liquidity and more volatile price fluctuations. In some cases, the liquidation of a position in OTC Securities may not be possible within a reasonable period of time. You may find it hard selling OTC Securities with little or no value in the open market.
As a brokerage firm, SDIL does not provide any investment advisory services on any capital market products and does not solicit or recommend transactions in OTC Securities. As SDIL will act on an execution-only basis and accounts with SDIL are self-directed, please perform your own due diligence and rely on your own judgement in relation to making any investment decision. In all OTC Securities transactions, the commission charged is publicly demonstrated on SDIL's official website.
You can only trade OTC Securities during regular trading hours, being 9:30 AM to 16:00 PM US Eastern Standard Time. Pre-market and extended trading are not available. On half trading days, the trading hours are from 9:30 AM to 14:00 PM US Eastern Standard Time. The minimum trading unit of OTC Securities is 1 share. You may place trades at tick size of US$ 0.01. Margin trading and short selling are available for some OTC Securities, and such availability may be modified by SDIL from time to time without prior notice.
Due to the volatile nature of OTC Securities, you may only place limit price orders and stop-loss limit orders when trading OTC Securities. The available order types may be updated from time to time without prior notice to you. You must understand that your order may be delayed due to large order volumes.
You must understand that real-time quotation for OTC Securities is not available. The market price displayed is the market price 15 minutes before. Before you begin to trade, you should obtain a clear explanation of all commissions, fees and other charges for which you will be liable. These charges will affect your net profit (if any) or increase your loss.
e. Derivatives (both OTC and exchange-traded)
You should understand and be aware of the nature and characteristics of derivatives. For the purpose of efficient account management, your investments may include derivatives such as futures, options, and warrants. The risk of investment on derivatives includes but is not limited to product terms, underlying assets and their prices, and market volatility. Normally, derivative investment only requires minimum investment amount (a so called initial margin), which increases the leverage for your portfolio. Consequently, unfavourable execution of a short position when price of underlying asset increases rapidly and forced liquidation upon insufficient margin may cause you to lose more than your initial investment amount.
f. Exchange-Traded Funds ("ETFs")
You should understand and be aware of the nature and characteristics of ETFs. ETFs are collective investment schemes traded on stock exchanges and may typically replicate or correspond to a stock market index, market sector, commodity, or a basket of assets. ETFs can be broadly grouped into two types. Traditional ETFs track, replicate, and correspond to the performance of an underlying index, such as Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Hang Seng Index. Synthetic ETFs mimics the behaviour of traditional ETFs by means of leverage and derivatives such as swaps and performance-linked notes. ETFs are exposed to the economic, political, currency, legal, and other risks of a specific sector or market related to the underlying equity, commodity, asset or index that the ETF is designated to track.
ETFs are subject to tracking error risk, namely the disparity between the performance of the ETF, measured by its net asset value, and the performance of the underlying index, measured by asset price of its index components. Tracking error may arise due to various factors, including but not limited to failure of the ETF's tracking strategy, the impact of fees and expenses, foreign exchange spread between the investment currency and currency the index are denominated, and corporate actions by the index component companies.
Trading ETFs on an exchange does not guarantee that a liquid market exists for ETFs. A higher liquidity risk is also involved if an ETF invests in financial derivative instruments that are not actively traded or the asset price is not easily accessible. This may result in a bigger bid and offer spread and may cause loss.
Investment on synthetic ETFs may be exposed to both the risks of index components and the credit risk of the counterparty in relation to the investment. Synthetic ETFs typically invest in derivatives, some of which are standardized products while other may be customized and issued by counterparties. Investors of synthetic ETFs may sustain losses potentially equal to the full value of derivatives if the counterparty defaults or more if the market conditions move against their investment objectives.
g. Daily leverage certificates ("DLC")
DLCs seek to achieve short-term investment results that correspond to the daily magnified performance of the underlying asset. Investors should be aware of the underlying risks before investing in these certificates. In particular, DLCs are subject to the risk of substantial losses up to the principal investment amount, possibly within a very short time frame.
h. Leveraged funds[2] and inversed funds[3]
Many leveraged and inverse funds use leverage derivative instruments to achieve their stated investment objectives. As such, these funds can be extremely volatile and carry a high risk of substantial losses. Such funds are considered speculative investments and should only be used by investors who fully understand the risks and are willing and able to absorb potentially significant losses.
Most leveraged and inverse funds "reset" daily, meaning that they are designed to achieve their stated objectives daily. Due to the compounding effect, the return for investors who invest for a period different than one trading day may vary significantly from the fund’s stated goal as well as the target benchmark’s performance. This is especially true in very volatile markets or if a leveraged fund is tracking a very volatile underlying index. Investments in leveraged and inverse funds must be actively monitored daily and are typically not appropriate for a buy-and-hold strategy.
Investors should be aware that leveraged funds typically rebalance their portfolio daily in order to compensate for anticipated changes in overall market conditions. This rebalancing can result in frequent trading and increased portfolio turnover. Leveraged and inverse funds will therefore generally have higher operating expenses and investment management fees than other funds.
In some cases, leveraged and inverse funds may generate their returns through derivative instruments. Because derivatives are taxed differently from equity or fixed-income securities, investors should be aware that these funds may not have the same tax efficiencies as other funds.
xv. Extended Hours Trading
There are special characteristics and unique risks associated with trading in securities and other financial products outside regular trading hours (the "Regular Trading Hours") of the exchange(s) which the securities and other financial products are traded ("Extended Hours Trading" or "Pre/Aft-trading hours"). Such risks include, but are not limited to the following:
a. Risk of Lower Liquidity
Liquidity refers to the ability of market participants to buy and sell securities. Generally, the more orders that are available in a market, the greater the liquidity. Liquidity is important because with greater liquidity it is easier for investors to buy or sell securities, and as a result, investors are more likely to pay or receive a competitive price for securities purchased or sold. There may be lower liquidity in extended hours trading as compared to Regular Trading Hours. As a result, your order may only be partially executed, or not at all.
b. Risk of Higher Volatility
Volatility refers to the changes in price that securities undergo when trading. Generally, the higher the volatility of a security, the greater its price swings. There may be greater volatility in Extended Hours Trading than in Regular Trading Hours. As a result, your order may only be partially executed, or not at all, or you may receive an inferior price in Extended Hours Trading than you would during Regular Trading Hours.
c. Risk of Changing Prices
The prices of securities traded in Extended Hours Trading may not reflect the prices either at the end of Regular Trading Hours, or upon the opening of the next morning. As a result, you may receive an inferior price in Extended Hours Trading than you would during Regular Trading Hours.
d. Risk of Unlinked Markets
Depending on the extended hours trading system or the time of day, the prices displayed on a particular extended hours system may not reflect the prices in other concurrently operating extended hours trading systems dealing in the same securities. Accordingly, you may receive an inferior price in one extended hours trading system than you would in another extended hours trading system.
e. Risk of News Announcements
Normally, issuers make news announcements that may affect the price of their securities after Regular Trading Hours. Similarly, important financial information is frequently announced outside of Regular Trading Hours. In Extended Hours Trading, these announcements may occur during trading, and if combined with lower liquidity and higher volatility, may cause an exaggerated and unsustainable effect on the price of a security.
f. Risk of Wider Spreads
The spread refers to the difference in price between what you can buy a security for and what you can sell it for. Lower liquidity and higher volatility in Extended Hours Trading may result in wider than normal spreads for a particular security.
g. Risk of Lack of Calculation or Dissemination of Underlying Index Value or Intraday Indicative Value ("IIV")
For certain derivative securities products, an updated underlying index value or IIV may not be calculated or publicly disseminated in extended trading hours. Since the underlying index value and IIV are not calculated or widely disseminated during the pre-market and post-market sessions, an investor who is unable to calculate implied values for certain derivative securities products in those sessions may be at a disadvantage to market professionals. Additionally, the underlying securities of the indexes or portfolios will not be regularly trading as they are during Regular Trading Hours, or may not be trading at all. This may cause prices during Extended Trading Hours to not reflect the prices of those securities when they open for trading.
h. Professional Traders
Extended Hours Trading has been traditionally been dominated by professional traders. You may therefore be trading directly with professional traders who have years of experience in Extended Hours Trading and who traditionally have superior information about particular securities, including better prices available in other markets.
During the Extended Hours Trading, SDIL may provide quotations from and execute customer trades through various Electronic Communications Networks ("ECNs"), exchanges or other trading systems ("Extended Hours Trading Facilities"). Quotations provided during Extended Hours Trading may be different than quotations provided during Regular Trading Hours. Likewise, it is possible that the quotations displayed by SDIL from Extended Hours Trading Facilities on which SDIL can execute customer trades may be less favourable than those on other Extended Hours Trading Facilities to which SDIL does not have access. Last sale information provided by SDIL may not reflect the prices of the most recent trades on all of the various Extended Hours Trading Facilities.
RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE 2
RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT - MARGIN TRADING
Sky Dimension International Limited. ("SDIL") and/or clearing and custodial firm (collectively the "Firm") are furnishing this disclosure to you to provide some basic facts about the purchase and sale of Approved Securities/Units (as defined in Section 1 (General Terms and Conditions) of the Standard Customer Agreement) on margin, and to alert you to the risks involved with trading Approved Securities/Units in a margin account. You should carefully review Section 2 (Additional Terms for Margin Trading) of the Standard Customer Agreement prior to trading in any Approved Securities/Units in a Margin Account.
When you purchase Approved Securities/Units, you may pay for the Approved Securities/Units in full or borrow part of the purchase price from SDIL. If you choose to borrow funds from SDILr, you must have a Margin Account with SDIL. The Approved Securities/Units purchased are the Firm’s collateral for the loan to you. If the Approved Securities/Units in your account decline in value, so does the value of the collateral supporting your loan, and, as a result, the Firm can take action, such as issue a margin call and/or sell the relevant Approved Securities/Units and/or other assets in any of your accounts, in order to maintain the required equity in the account.
You should understand that pursuant to Section 2 (Additional Terms for Margin Trading) of the Standard Customer Agreement, SDIL generally will not issue margin calls, and may liquidate positions in your account in order to satisfy margin requirements without prior notice to you and without an opportunity for you to choose the positions to be liquidated or the timing or order of liquidation. The liquidation will incur a fee plus the broker commission.
In addition, it is important that you fully understand the risks involved in trading Approved Securities/Units on margin. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. You can lose more funds than you deposit in the margin account.
A decline in the value of the Approved Securities/Units that are purchased on margin may require you to provide additional funds to the Firm to avoid the forced sale of those Approved Securities/Units and/or other Securities and/or CIS Units in your account(s).
2. The Firm can force the sale of the Securities and/or CIS Units in your account(s).
If the equity in your account falls below the margin maintenance level requirement, or SDIL’s higher "house" requirements, SDIL can sell any or all of the Securities and/or CIS Units in any or all of your accounts held at the Firm to cover the margin deficiency. You will also be responsible for any and all shortfall in the account after such a sale.
3. The Firm can sell your Securities and/or CIS Units without contacting you.
The Firm is not required to notify you of any margin calls. However, even if the Firm has contacted you and provided a specific date by which you shall meet a margin call, the Firm can still take necessary steps to protect its financial interests, including immediately selling or buying back Securities and/or CIS Units without notice to you. SDIL generally will not issue margin calls and can immediately sell your Securities and/or CIS Units without notice to you in the event that your account has insufficient margin.
4. You are not entitled to choose which Securities and/or CIS Units in your account(s) are liquidated or sold to meet a margin call.
The Firm has the right to decide which Securities and/or CIS Units to sell or liquidate to protect its financial interests.
5. SDIL can increase its "house" margin requirements at any time and is not required to provide you with advance written notice.
The Firm may change its margin requirements at any time and is not required to provide you with advance written notice. These changes in the Firm policy often take effect immediately and may result in the issuance of a maintenance margin call. Your failure to satisfy the margin call may cause the Firm to liquidate or sell Securities and/or CIS Units in your account(s).
6. You are not entitled to an extension of time on a margin call.
While an extension of time to meet margin requirements may be available to clients under certain conditions such as if SDIL chooses to issue margin call rather than immediately liquidating under margin positions, you do not have the right to the extension.
7. On-lending/Pledging of Securities and/or CIS Units by SDIL.
Securities and/or CIS Units that are purchased using a Margin Facility granted by SDIL are assigned to SDIL by way of collateral, coupled with such title transfer rights as to enable SDIL to borrow for its own, or on-lend to other SDIL customers, its Intermediary's customers or to other market participants. You verify that you understand the associated risks including the failure of counterparties to return the borrowed Securities and/or CIS Units and any other default risks associated with such on-lending and agree to proceed on such basis.
(a) A lender of securities faces the risk of a borrower defaulting on its obligations and failing to re-deliver the borrowed Securities and/or CIS Units, typically as a consequence of an insolvency. The lending of the your borrowed Securities and/or CIS Units to a borrower means that you are exposed to the risk that the borrower may default. This risk is heightened if the on-lending transaction is not collateralised. There is also a risk that the borrower may not settle an obligation for full value on the due date, but on some date thereafter.
(b) The lending of your Securities and/or CIS Units means that you lose ownership rights to the said Securities and/or CIS Units. In its place, you will only have a right, to claim for equivalent Securities and/or CIS Units from the borrower. In the event of the insolvency of the borrower, you may not be able to assert any proprietary claim over its securities and may only have an unsecured claim against the borrower.
(c) Market risk is the risk of loss from adverse movements in the level or volatility of the market prices of assets. In the case of an uncollateralised on-lending transaction, a default by the borrower may expose you to market risk from an upward movement in the market price of the borrowed Securities and/or CIS Units during the terms of the loan. In the case of a collateralised on-lending transaction, market risk may still arise from movements in the market price of the borrowed Securities and/or CIS Units relative to the collateral. If the borrower does not or cannot top up the collateral, part of the on-lending transaction may become unsecured.
(d) There are operational and settlement risks, or risk that deficiencies in a party's systems or internal controls could result in an unexpected loss. Such on-lending can involve a variety of complex administrative, trading, operational and accounting activities, and proper procedures and controls needs to be in place to ensure timely settlements.
(e) In so far as you will receive manufactured dividends, you may be required to treat the entire amount as income for tax purposes.
(f) There is risk of loss because a contract cannot be enforced, or because of the unexpected application of, or changes in, laws or regulations.
RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE 3
Risk Disclosure Statement – WARRANTS AND Callable Bull/Bear Contracts
i. Issuer default risk
In the event that a structured product issuer becomes insolvent and defaults on its listed securities, you will be considered as unsecured creditor and will have no preferential claims to any assets held by the issuer. You should therefore pay close attention to the financial strength and credit worthiness of structured product issuers before you participate in trading this kind of product.
ii. Uncollateralized product risk
There are no assets guarantee for uncollateralized structured products. In the event of issuer bankruptcy, you can lose your entire investment. You should read the listing documents to confirm if a product is uncollateralized.
iii. Gearing risk
Structured products such as derivative warrants and CBBCs are leveraged and can change in value rapidly according to the gearing ratio relative to the underlying assets. You should be aware that the value of a structured product may fall to zero resulting in a total loss of the initial investment.
iv. Expiry considerations
Structured products have an expiry date after which the product may become worthless. You should be aware of the expiry time horizon and choose a product with an appropriate lifespan for your trading strategy.
v. Extraordinary price movement
The price of a structured product may not match its theoretical price due to outside influences such as market supply and demand factors. As a result, actual traded prices can be higher or lower than the theoretical price.
vi. Foreign exchange risk
Your trading structured products with underlying assets not denominated in your account’s base currency are also exposed to exchange rate risk. Currency rate fluctuations can adversely affect the underlying asset value, also affecting the structured product price.
vii. Liquidity risk
The exchange requires all structured product issuers to appoint a liquidity provider for each issue. The role of liquidity providers is to provide two way quotes to facilitate trading of their products. In the event that a liquidity provider defaults or ceases to fulfil its role, you may not be able to buy or sell the product until a new liquidity provider has been assigned. There is no guarantee that you could be able to buy or sell the structured product at the target price.
viii. Additional Risks Involved in Trading Warrants
a. Time delay risk
In the normal course of events, the value of a warrant will decay over time as it approaches its expiry date. Warrants should therefore not be viewed as long term investments.
b. Volatility risk
The price of warrants can increase or decrease in line with the implied volatility of underlying asset price. You should be aware of the underlying asset volatility.
c. Market risk and turnover
The price of warrants is also affected by its supply and demand in the market in addition to basic factors that decide the theoretical price of the warrants, in particular when the warrants are about to be sold out or new warrants are issued by the issuers. The turnover of warrants should not be considered as the basis of its value increase, and the value of warrants is also affected by other factors, such as the price of relevant assets and volatility, remaining time, interest rates and expected dividend.
ix. Additional Risks Involved in Trading Callable Bull/Bear Contracts (“CBBCs”)
a. Mandatory call risk
When trading CBBCs, you should be aware of their intraday "knockout" or mandatory call feature. A CBBC will cease trading when the underlying asset value equals the mandatory call price/level as stated in the listing documents. You will only be entitled to the residual value of the terminated CBBC as calculated by the product issuer in accordance with the listing documents. You should also note that the residual value can be zero.
b. Funding costs
The issue price of a CBBC includes funding costs. Funding costs are gradually reduced over time as the CBBC moves towards expiry. The longer the duration of the CBBC, the higher the total funding costs. In the event that a CBBC is called, you will lose the funding costs for the entire lifespan of the CBBC. The formula for calculating the funding costs are stated in the listing documents.
c. Trading close to the call price
When the price of the underlying asset is close to the call price, the price of a CBBC may become more volatile with wider spreads and the turnover may also be reduced. The CBBC may be called at any time, and the trading ceased. Since the mandatory call may not take place at the same time as the CBBC trading ceases, some trading may only be reached and confirmed by the participator of the relevant stock exchange after the mandatory call takes place. However, any trade being executed after the mandatory call event will not be acknowledged and will be cancelled. Therefore, you should be particularly cautious when deciding to trade CBBC at the price close to call price.
RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE 4
Risk Disclosure Statement – Electronic Trading and Order Routing Systems
1. Electronic trading and order routing systems differ significantly from traditional outcry pit trading and manual order routing methods. Transactions using an electronic system are subject to the rules and regulations of the exchanges offering the system and/or products. You must understand that the exchanges may be located in different time zones, therefore, you are obligated to know and conduct your trading according to the business hours of the various exchanges. You are responsible for directing your trading in accordance with the relevant policies, procedures and trading rules of the exchanges to which your orders are routed.
2. Trading or routing orders through electronic systems varies widely among different electronic systems. The orders are subject to the rules and regulations as prescribed by the various exchange(s) offering the system and products you are trading, hence, before you engage in transactions using an electronic system, you should carefully review the applicable rules and regulations of such exchanges to understand, including but not limited to, the system’s order matching procedure, opening and closing procedures and prices, error trade policies, and trading limitations or requirements, qualifications for access and grounds for termination and limitations on the types of orders that may be entered into the system and the risk involves in such matters.
3. Trading through an electronic trading or order routing system exposes you to risks associated with system or component failure. In the event of system or component failure, it is possible that, for a certain time period, you may not be able to enter new orders, execute existing orders, modify or cancel orders that were previously entered or view the receipt of confirmations. System or component failure may also result in loss of orders or order priority. Electronic trading system may experience outages or delays as a result of, among other things, power failures, programming failures, accessibility, volatile market conditions or heavy volume of trading which may result in delayed or slowed response time. You should be prepared and maintain alternative trading arrangements for order entry in the event that SDIL system is unavailable for any reason.
4. To the extent that you or SDIL use Internet services to transport data or communications, SDIL disclaims any liability for interception of any such data or communications. SDIL is not responsible, and makes no warranties, regarding the access, speed, availability or security of Internet or network services.
5. Exchanges offering electronic trading or order routing system and/or products may have adopted rules to limit their liability in regards to software and communication systems failure. As such, you may be limited in the amount of damages that may be collected in the event of a system failure. These limitations of liability vary among the exchanges. You should consult the rules and regulations of the relevant exchanges you plan to enter trades for execution.
6. Some contracts offered on an electronic trading system may be traded electronically and through open outcry during the same trading hours. You should review the rules and regulations of the exchange offering the system and/or listing the contract to determine how orders that do not designate a particular process will be executed.
7. You will find that it is extremely difficult or impossible to cancel market orders before execution in the electronic markets. While limit orders do not ensure execution of your order, limit orders may reduce your execution risk.
RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE 5
RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT – FUTURES AND CERTAIN OVER-THE-COUNTER DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS
1. This statement does not disclose all the risks and other significant aspects of trading in futures, options, over-the-counter derivatives contracts where the underlying is a currency or currency index ("OTCD currency contracts") and spot foreign exchange contracts for the purposes of leveraged foreign exchange trading ("Spot LFX trading contracts"). In light of the risks, you should undertake such transactions only if you understand the nature of the contracts (and contractual relationships) into which you are entering and the extent of your exposure to the risks. Trading in futures, options, OTCD currency contracts and Spot LFX trading contracts may not be suitable for many members of the public. You should carefully consider whether such trading is appropriate for you in the light of your experience, objectives, financial resources and other relevant circumstances. In considering whether to trade, you should be aware of the following:
(a) Futures, OTCD currency contracts and Spot LFX trading contracts
(i) Effect of ‘Leverage’ or ‘Gearing’
Transactions in futures, OTCD currency contracts and Spot LFX trading contracts carry a high degree of risk. The amount of initial margin is small relative to the value of the futures contract, OTCD currency contract or Spot LFX trading contract transaction so that the transaction is highly ‘leveraged’ or ‘geared’. A relatively small market movement will have a proportionately larger impact on the funds you have deposited or will have to deposit; this may work against you as well as for you. You may sustain a total loss of the initial margin funds and any additional funds deposited with the firm to maintain your position. If the market moves against your position or margin levels are increased, you may be called upon to pay substantial additional funds on short notice in order to maintain your position. If you fail to comply with a request for additional funds within the specified time, your position may be liquidated at a loss and you will be liable for any resulting deficit in your account.
(ii) Risk-Reducing Orders or Strategies
The placing of certain orders (e.g. ‘stop-loss’ orders, where permitted under local law, or ‘stop-limit’ orders) which are intended to limit losses to certain amounts may not be effective because market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders. At times, it is also difficult or impossible to liquidate a position without incurring substantial losses. Strategies using combinations of positions, such as ‘spread’ and ‘straddle’ positions may be as risky as taking simple ‘long’ or ‘short’ positions.
(b) Options
(i) Variable Degree of Risk
Transactions in options carry a high degree of risk. Purchasers and sellers of options should familiarise themselves with the type of options (i.e. put or call) which they contemplate trading and the associated risks. You should calculate the extent to which the value of the options would have to increase for your position to become profitable, taking into account the premium paid and all transaction costs.
The purchaser of options may offset its position by trading in the market or exercise the options or allow the options to expire. The exercise of an option results either in a cash settlement or in the purchaser acquiring or delivering the underlying interest. If the option is on a futures contract, OTCD currency contract or Spot LFX trading contract, the purchaser will have to acquire a position in the futures contract, OTCD currency contract or Spot LFX trading contract, as the case may be, with associated liabilities for margin (see the section on Futures, OTCD currency contracts and Spot LFX trading contracts above). If the purchased options expire worthless, you will suffer a total loss of your investment which will consist of the option premium paid plus transaction costs. If you are contemplating purchasing deep-out of-the-money options, you should be aware that, ordinarily, the chance of such options becoming profitable is remote.
Selling (‘writing’ or ‘granting’) an option generally entails considerably greater risk than purchasing options. Although the premium received by the seller is fixed, the seller may sustain a loss well in excess of the amount of premium received. The seller will be liable to deposit additional margin to maintain the position if the market moves unfavourably. The seller will also be exposed to the risk of the purchaser exercising the option and the seller will be obligated to either settle the option in cash or to acquire or deliver the underlying interest. If the option is on a futures contract, OTCD currency contract or spot LFX trading contract, the seller will acquire a position in the futures contract, OTCD currency contract or spot LFX trading contract, as the case may be, with associated liabilities for margin (see the section on Futures, OTCD currency contracts and Spot LFX trading contracts above). If the option is ‘covered’ by the seller holding a corresponding position in the underlying futures contract, OTCD currency contract, spot LFX trading contract or another option, the risk may be reduced. If the option is not covered, the risk of loss can be unlimited.
Certain exchanges in some jurisdictions permit deferred payment of the option premium, limiting the liability of the purchaser to margin payments not exceeding the amount of the premium. The purchaser is still subject to the risk of losing the premium and transaction costs. When the option is exercised or expires, the purchaser is responsible for any unpaid premium outstanding at that time.
(c) Additional Risks Common to Futures, Options and Leveraged Foreign Exchange Trading
(i) Terms and Conditions of Contracts
You should ask the corporation with which you conduct your transactions for the terms and conditions of the specific futures contract, option, OTCD currency contract or spot LFX trading contract which you are trading and the associated obligations (e.g. the circumstances under which you may become obligated to make or take delivery of the underlying interest of a futures contract, OTCD currency contract or spot LFX trading contract transaction and, in respect of options, expiration dates and restrictions on the time for exercise). Under certain circumstances, the specifications of outstanding contracts (including the exercise price of an option) may be modified by the exchange or clearing house to reflect changes in the underlying interest.
(ii) Suspension or Restriction of Trading and Pricing Relationships
Market conditions (e.g. illiquidity) or the operation of the rules of certain markets (e.g. the suspension of trading in any contract or contract month because of price limits or ‘circuit breakers’) may increase the risk of loss by making it difficult or impossible to effect transactions or liquidate/offset positions. If you have sold options, this may increase the risk of loss.
Further, normal pricing relationships between the underlying interest and the futures contract, and the underlying interest and the option may not exist. This can occur when, e.g., the futures contract underlying the option is subject to price limits while the option is not. The absence of an underlying reference price may make it difficult to judge ‘fair’ value.
(iii) Deposited Cash and Property
You should familiarise yourself with the protection accorded to any money or other property which you deposit for domestic and foreign transactions, particularly in a firm’s insolvency or bankruptcy. The extent to which you may recover your money or property may be governed by specific legislation or local rules. In some jurisdictions, property which had been specifically identifiable as your own will be pro-rated in the same manner as cash for purposes of distribution in the event of a shortfall.
(d) Commission and Other Charges
Before you begin to trade, you should obtain a clear explanation of all commissions, fees and other charges for which you will be liable. These charges will affect your net profit (if any) or increase your loss.
(e) Transactions in Other Jurisdictions
Transactions on markets in other jurisdictions, including markets formally linked to a domestic market, may expose you to additional risk. Such markets may be subject to a rule which may offer different or diminished investor protection. Before you trade, you should enquire about any rules relevant to your particular transactions. Your local regulatory authority will be unable to compel the enforcement of the rules of the regulatory authorities or markets in other jurisdictions where your transactions have been effected. You should ask the firm with which you conduct your transactions for details about the types of redress available in both your home jurisdiction and other relevant jurisdictions before you start to trade.
(f) Currency Risks
The profit or loss in transactions in foreign currency-denominated futures and options contracts (whether they are traded in your own or another jurisdiction) will be affected by fluctuations in currency rates where there is a need to convert from the currency denomination of the contract to another currency.
(g) Trading Facilities
Most open-outcry and electronic trading facilities are supported by computer-based component systems for the order-routing, execution, matching, registration or clearing of trades. As with all facilities and systems, they are vulnerable to temporary disruption or failure. Your ability to recover certain losses may be subject to limits on liability imposed by the one or more parties, namely the system provider, the market, the clearing house or member firms. Such limits may vary. You should ask the firm with which you conduct your transactions for details in this respect.
(h) Electronic Trading
Trading on an electronic trading system may differ not only from trading in an open-outcry market but also from trading on other electronic trading systems. If you undertake transactions on an electronic trading system, you will be exposed to risks associated with the system including the failure of hardware and software. The result of any system failure may be that your order is either not executed according to your instructions or not executed at all.
(i) Off-Exchange Transactions
In some jurisdictions, firms are permitted to effect off-exchange transactions. The firm with which you conduct your transactions may be acting as your counterparty to the transaction. It may be difficult or impossible to liquidate an existing position, to assess the value, to determine a fair price or to assess the exposure to risk. For these reasons, these transactions may involve increased risks. Off-exchange transactions may be less regulated or subject to a separate regulatory regime. Before you undertake such transactions, you should familiarise yourself with the applicable rules and attendant risks.
Note: "Margin" means an amount of money, securities, property or other collateral, representing a part of the value of the contract or agreement to be entered into, which is deposited by the buyer or the seller of a transaction in a futures contract, OTCD currency contract or spot LFX trading contract to ensure performance of the terms of the transaction in the futures contract, OTCD currency contract or spot LFX trading contract.
RISK DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE 6
RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT – CFDS TRADING
1. This statement does not disclose all the risks and other significant aspects of trading in CFDs. In light of the risks, you should undertake such transactions only if you understand the nature of the contracts (and contractual relationships) into which you are entering and the extent of your exposure to the risks. Trading in CFDs may not be suitable for many members of the public. You should carefully consider whether such trading is appropriate for you in the light of your experience, objectives, financial resources and other relevant circumstances. In considering whether to trade, you should be aware of the following:
(a) CFD Trades may not be appropriate for you
Transactions in CFDs carry a high degree of risk. The amount of initial margin is small relative to the value of the CFD contract so the transaction is highly ‘leveraged’ or ‘geared’. A relatively small market movement will have a proportionately larger impact on the funds you have deposited or will have to deposit; this may work against you as well as for you. You may sustain a total loss of the initial margin funds and any additional funds deposited with the firm to maintain your position. If the market moves against your position or margin levels are increased, you may be called upon to pay substantial additional funds on short notice in order to maintain your position. If you fail to comply with a request for additional funds within the specified time, your position may be liquidated at a loss and you will be liable for any resulting deficit in your account.
(b) We do not provide investment, tax, legal, regulatory or financial advice
We do not provide investment, tax, legal, regulatory or financial advice relating to investments or possible CFD trades and/or Countdowns. Any information we provide to you is purely factual and does not take into account your personal circumstances. Therefore, you may wish to obtain independent professional advice from a suitably qualified advisor on any investment, financial, legal, regulatory, tax or similar matter before opening an Account with us or entering into any CFD trades.
(c) CFD trades are OTC products
When you enter into any CFD trade with us, you will be entering into an off-exchange (sometimes known as an ‘over-the-counter’, or ‘OTC’) contract, which is non-transferable. This means you will enter into CFD trades directly with us, and also that those CFD trades (or ‘Positions’) can only be closed with us. This involves greater risk than investing in a transferable financial instrument traded on a regulated market or trading venue such as a share or dealing in an exchange-traded derivative, because your ability to open CFD trades is solely dependent on our Platform. In certain circumstances, it may not be possible to open or close CFD trades.
All of your CFD trades with us are settled in cash, and you do not have any rights to any underlying instrument (as applicable). You can only profit from our CFD trades through changes in our Prices. This is different from other transferable financial instruments traded on regulated markets or trading venues where you can profit from real market fluctuations and where you may be entitled to dividends or interest.
(d) We act as a market maker
Our Prices take into consideration current exchange and market data from various sources. This means that our Prices may not be identical to prices for similar financial instruments or the relevant underlying instrument quoted on an exchange or other regulated market or other trading venues.
(e) You may lose more than any deposit
When you enter into CFD trades with us, you risk losing more than the amount that you deposited with us and you may be required to make further payments. CFD trades involve leverage (also known as ‘gearing’ or ‘margining’), which means that the effects of small movements in Price are multiplied and may have large impacts on the value of your Positions, both in respect of profits made and losses incurred and the higher the leverage rate, the higher the risk involved. In addition, the nature of leverage means that your losses may exceed the amount of any deposit that you hold with us when entering into a CFD trade. It is therefore important that you monitor your CFD trades closely and the rate of leverage utilised. A small movement in Price may have a large impact on your CFD trades and Account and may result in immediate auto liquidation.
There are costs associated with trading with us. Depending on the CFD trades you enter into, and how long you hold them for, we may require you to pay commission and/or holding costs. If you keep CFD trades open for an extended time, the aggregate holding costs may exceed the amount of any profits or increase your loss.
(f) Past performance is not indicative of future performance
You should bear in mind that any past performance, simulation or prediction is not indicative of future performance. Therefore, you cannot and must not make any assumptions as to future performance based on any past performance, simulation or prediction.
[1] https://www.otcmarkets.com/
[2] Leveraged mutual funds and ETFs seek to provide leveraged returns at multiples of the underlying benchmark or index they track. Leveraged funds generally seek to provide a multiple (i.e. 200%, 300%) of the daily return of an index or other benchmark for a single day excluding fees and other expenses. Besides using leverage, these funds often use derivative products such as swaps, options, and futures contracts to accomplish their objectives. The use of leverage as well as derivative instruments can cause leveraged funds to be more volatile and subject to extreme price movements
[3] Inverse mutual funds and ETFs, which are sometimes referred to as “short” funds, seek to provide the opposite of the performance of the index or benchmark they track. Inverse funds are often marketed as a way to profit from, or hedge exposure to, downward moving markets, Some inverse funds also use leverage, such that they seek to achieve a return that is a multiple of the opposite performance of the underlying index or benchmark (i.e. -200%, -300%). In addition to leverage, these funds may also use derivative instruments to accomplish their objectives. As such, inverse funds are volatile and provide the potential for significant losses.