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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