Dear Investor,
On 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom EU Referendum (“Brexit” vote) will take place, creating potential for heightened market movements, including the real possibility of significant price gaps and periods of exaggerated illiquidity.
It is important that you be aware of the potential risk of this upcoming event, so that you can be both prepared and positioned properly as the date approaches. We encourage you not to over-leverage yourself, and to exercise extra care, diligence and discipline in your investment and trading.
In the period leading up to, during and shortly after this BREXIT vote, we will be closely monitoring market volatility, concentration and liquidity, among other things. There is a high probability of margin requirement increases, as well as restricted availability of certain trade and order types. We will do our best to inform you of any upcoming changes, but please be aware of margin requirements leading up to the referendum and ensure that your account has sufficient collateral to meet margin requirements at all times.
You should also be aware that events like the Brexit vote which result in heightened gap risk can potentially put your account on a margin call, so you should make sure that margin collateral is properly managed before and during periods of heightened volatility. Any reasonably appropriate changes in leverage or trading access should be temporary, however, and we expect a return to normal levels and operation depending on market conditions following the UK referendum.
We suggest that you place relevant resting orders well in advance of the referendum, as availability of liquidity on the platform for new trade requests and orders can vary substantially during periods of market illiquidity. We would also like to stress that Stop Loss orders are not guaranteed to be filled at your order level: Stop orders are converted to Market orders once triggered, and dislocations in available liquidity could result in significant slippage on Stop orders.
Please be extra careful during this period to protect your portfolio from any unexpected surprises.
All the best in your trading,
JR