Day Trading Risk Disclosure Statement
(NASD Notice to Members 00-62)
1.Day trading can be extremely risky. Day trading 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.
2.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.
3.Day trading requires knowledge of securities markets. Day trading requires
in-depth knowledge of the securities markets, 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.
4.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 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.
5.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 commission that you pay on
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.
6.Day trading 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 of the funds than 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 coerced sales of
those securities or other securities in your account. 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.
|
|