MARGIN AND DAY TRADING DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
We are furnishing this document to you to provide some basic facts
about purchasing securities on margin, and to alert you to the risks
involved with trading securities in a margin account. Before trading
stocks in a margin account, you should carefully review the margin
agreement provided by your broker. Consult your broker regarding
any questions or concerns you may have with your margin accounts.
When you purchase securities, you may pay for the securities in
full or you may borrow part of the purchase price from your brokerage
firm. If you choose to borrow funds from your firm, you will open
a margin account with the firm. The securities purchased are the
firms collateral for the loan to you. If the securities 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 securities in your account,
in order to maintain the required equity in the account. It is important
that you fully understand the risks involved in trading securities
on margin.These risks include the following:
- You can lose more funds than you
deposit in the margin account. A decline in the value of
securities that are purchased on margin may require you to provide
additional funds to the firm that has made the loan to avoid the
forced sale of those securities or other securities in your account.
- The firm can force the sale of
securities in your account. If the equity in your account
falls below the maintenance margin requirements under the law,
or the firms higher house requirements, the
firm can sell the securities in your account to cover the margin
deficiency. You also will be responsible for any shortfall in
the account after such a sale.
- The firm can sell your securities
without contacting you. Some investors mistakenly believe
that a firm must contact them for a margin call to be valid, and
that the firm cannot liquidate securities in their accounts to
meet the call unless the firm has contacted them first. This is
not the case. Most firms will attempt to notify their customers
of margin calls, but they are not required to do so. However,
even if a firm has contacted a customer and provided a specific
date by which the customer can meet a margin call, the firm can
still take necessary steps to protect its financial interest,
including immediately selling the securities without notice to
the customer.
- You are not entitled to choose
which security in your margin account is liquidated or sold to
meet a margin call. Because the securities are collateral
for the margin loan, the firm has the right to decide which security
to sell in order to protect its interests.
- The firm can increase its house
maintenance margin requirement at any time and is not required
to provide you advance written notice. These changes in
firm policy often take effect immediately and may result in the
issuance of a maintenance margin call. Your failure to satisfy
the call may cause the member to liquidate or sell securities
in your account.
- 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 customers under certain
conditions, a customer does not have a right to the extension.
Day-Trading Risk Disclosure Statement
Rule 2361 NASD
You should consider the following points before engaging in a day-trading
strategy. For purposes of this notice, a "day-trading strategy"
means an overall trading strategy characterized by the regular transmission
by a customer of intra-day orders to effect both purchase and sale
transactions in the same security or securities.
Day trading can be extremely risky. Day trading generally is not
appropriate for someone of limited resources and limited investment
or trading experience and low risk tolerance. You should be prepared
to lose all of the funds that you use for day trading. In particular,
you should not fund day-trading activities with retirement savings,
student loans, second mortgages, emergency funds, funds set aside
for purposes such as education or home ownership, or funds required
to meet your living expenses. Further, certain evidence indicates
that an investment of less than $50,000 will significantly impair
the ability of a day trader to make a profit. Of course, an investment
of $50,000 or more will in no way guarantee success.
Be cautious of claims of large profits from day trading. You should
be wary of advertisements or other statements that emphasize the
potential for large profits in day trading. Day trading can also
lead to large and immediate financial losses.
Day trading requires knowledge of securities markets. Day trading
requires in-depth knowledge of the securities markets and trading
techniques and strategies. In attempting to profit through day trading,
you must compete with professional, licensed traders employed by
securities firms. You should have appropriate experience before
engaging in day trading.
Day trading requires knowledge of a firm's operations. You should
be familiar with a securities firm's business practices, including
the operation of the firm's order execution systems and procedures.
Under certain market conditions, you may find it difficult or impossible
to liquidate a position quickly at a reasonable price. This can
occur, for example, when the market for a stock suddenly drops,
or if trading is halted due to recent news events or unusual trading
activity. The more volatile a stock is, the greater the likelihood
that problems may be encountered in executing a transaction. In
addition to normal market risks, you may experience losses due to
system failures.
Day trading will generate substantial commissions, even if the per
trade cost is low. Day trading involves aggressive trading, and
generally you will pay commissions on each trade. The total daily
commissions that you pay on your trades will add to your losses
or significantly reduce your earnings. For instance, assuming that
a trade costs $16 and an average of 29 transactions are conducted
per day, an investor would need to generate an annual profit of
$111,360 just to cover commission expenses.
Day trading on margin or short selling may result in losses beyond
your initial investment. When you day trade with funds borrowed
from a firm or someone else, you can lose more than the funds you
originally placed at risk. A decline in the value of the securities
that are purchased may require you to provide additional funds to
the firm to avoid the forced sale of those securities or other securities
in your account. Short selling as part of your day-trading strategy
also may lead to extraordinary losses, because you may have to purchase
a stock at a
very high price in order to cover a short position. Potential Registration
Requirements. Persons providing investment advice for others or
managing securities accounts for others may need to register as
either an "Investment Advisor" under the Investment Advisors
Act of 1940 or as a "Broker" or "Dealer" under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such activities may also trigger
state registration requirements.
I/We have read and understood the Day-Trading Disclosure Statement
and have been furnished a copy of this statement for my records.
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