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You should
consider the following points before engaging in a day-trading strategy.
For purpose 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 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 systems 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. |