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The following general requirements
regarding day-trading have been imposed by
the NASD
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Pattern Day-Traders are characterized by
transacting four or more stock or options
day-trades within a five-day period in a
margin account.
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Pattern Day-Traders must maintain at least
$25,000.00 in account value in order to
continue day-trading practices.
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In the event that a Pattern Day-Trader
does not maintain $25,000.00 in account
value they will be required to provide
cash-on-hand for same-day stock
transactions.
Additionally, an account may be flagged for
day-trading if it regularly recycles funds
within the same day, for example, an
investor sells a security (stock or option)
for a premium of $400 and proceeds to
purchase another security (stock or option)
for $400 when no other capital is available
and prior to funds being cleared.
If
an account becomes designated as a pattern
day-trading account and does not maintain
the minimum required equity, at least
$25,000.00, a call will be issued which must
be met within 5 business days, otherwise the
account will be restricted to Cash only for
a period of 90 days or until the account
equity is brought above the minimum equity
requirement or at least $25,000.00.
Additionally, if your account meets or
exceeds the minimum equity amount, it may be
eligible for day-trading margin, which is 4
times account buying power. This buying
power may only be used intra-day and may not
be held past market close. Orders exceeding
Day-Trading Buying Power will be rejected.
NASD Day-Trading Risk Disclosure Statement
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.
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