This
notice provides you with information about the risks associated with
investment products, in which you may invest, through services provided
to you by GlobalCfdFinance Group entities.
Investment
products offered by GlobalCfdFinance include stocks, Exchange-Traded
Funds (ETFs) and cryptocurrencies, in which you gain ownership of the
underlying asset. In addition, GlobalCfdFinance offers contracts for
differences (CFDs) that offer exposure to currencies, commodities and
indices.
Any transactions relating to stocks, ETFs or
cryptocurrencies in which GlobalCfdFinance offers you leverage (which is
not currently available for cryptocurrencies) or allows you to enter
into short transactions, and/or some copy trading transactions
(including CopyPortfolios), shall be considered CFD transactions.
GlobalCfdFinance
also offers investors the opportunity to buy the underlying
cryptocurrencies, stock or ETFs (i.e., BUY transactions for said assets
using leverage 1) hold such assets and subsequently sell such assets.
All transactions relating to cryptocurrencies are subject to the
Cryptocurrencies Trading Addendum (“Cryptocurrencies Trading Addendum”).
Since
Cryptocurrency markets are decentralised and non-regulated, our
Cryptocurrencies Trading Services as such term is defined in the
Cryptocurrencies Trading Addendum, are unregulated services which are
not governed by any specific European regulatory framework (including
MIFID). Therefore, when GlobalCfdFinance (Europe) Ltd. customers use our
Cryptocurrencies Trading Service, they will not benefit from the
protections available to clients receiving regulated investment services
such as access to the Investor Compensation Fund for Customers of
Cypriot Investment Firms and the UK Financial Ombudsman Service for
dispute resolution. GlobalCfdFinance (Europe) Ltd. customers will
continue to benefit from the rules relating to best execution and client
money and safekeeping of client assets. GlobalCfdFinance (UK) Ltd.
customers using the Cryptocurrencies Trading Service only will not
benefit from the protections available to clients receiving regulated
investment services such as access to the Financial Services
Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Financial Ombudsman Service for
dispute resolution. We will endeavour to enable you to benefit from
rules relating to best execution and safekeeping of client assets.
All
of these products carry a high degree of risk and are not suitable for
many investors. This notice provides you with information about the
risks associated with these products, but it cannot explain all of the
risks nor how such risks relate to your personal circumstances. If you
are in doubt, you should seek professional advice. It is important that
you fully understand the risks involved before deciding to trade with
GlobalCfdFinance, that you have adequate financial resources to bear such
risks and that you monitor your positions carefully. Trading involves
risk to your capital. You should not invest money that you cannot afford
to lose, however, you cannot lose more than the equity in your account.
NOTWITHSTANDING
ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND/OR THIS
GENERAL RISK DISCLOSURE, FRENCH RESIDENTS SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO INTRINSIC
PROTECTION. ACCORDINGLY AND INDEPENDENTLY OF MARKET VOLATILITY, THEIR
MAXIMUM LOSS WITH RESPECT TO EACH TRANSACTION SHALL BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT
INVESTED IN SUCH TRANSACTION, AS UPDATED BY SUCH USER FROM TIME TO TIME.
CFDS
CFD
stands for “Contract For Difference,” meaning you are not buying the
underlying asset, but, rather, purchasing a contract to settle the
difference in the initial and ending price of the asset. When trading
CFDs, you generally trade on margin, which means you only have to
deposit a small percentage of the overall value of your position. This
is known as “Leverage”, and even small market movements may have great
impact, negative or positive, on your trading account.
If
the market moves against you, you may sustain a total loss greater than
the funds invested in a specific position. You are responsible for all
losses in your account up to the equity in your account.
Before
deciding to trade on margin, you should carefully consider your
investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. Our CFDs
are not listed on any exchange. CFDs involve greater risk than investing
in on-exchange products, as market liquidity cannot be guaranteed and
it may be more difficult to liquidate an existing position. The prices
and other conditions are set by us in accordance with our obligation to
provide best execution as set out in our order execution policy, to act
reasonably and in accordance with the applicable Terms and Conditions.
The characteristics of our CFDs can vary substantially from the actual
underlying market or instrument. Full details of all of our CFDs are set
out on our website. In respect of corporate events, with respect to the
underlying assets, we do not aim to make a profit from our clients from
the outcome of corporate events such as rights issues, takeovers,
mergers, share distributions or consolidations and open offers. We aim
to reflect the treatment we receive, or, would receive if we were
hedging our exposure to you in the underlying market. Ultimately,
however, you are not dealing in the underlying market and, therefore, in
relation to our CFDs, the treatment you receive may be less
advantageous than if you owned the underlying instrument.
CFDs
are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money
rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when
trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you
understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high
risk of losing your money.
CFDs are not suited to the
long-term investor. If you hold a CFD open over a long period of time,
the associated costs increase (such as overnight fees), and it may be
more beneficial for you to buy the underlying asset instead. Sudden
market movements, known as “gapping” may occur, causing a dramatic shift
in the price of an underlying asset. Gapping may occur when the
underlying market is closed, meaning the price on the underlying market
may open at a significantly different level, and at a less advantageous
price for you.
At all times during which you have open
positions, you must ensure that your account meets our margin
requirements, which may change from time to time. Therefore, if our
price moves against you, or if our margin requirements have changed, you
may need to provide us with significant additional funds to meet your
margin requirement at short notice, to maintain your open positions. If
you do not do this, we will be entitled to close one or more or all of
your positions and you alone will be responsible for any losses incurred
as a result.
Appropriateness
Before
we open an account for you, we are required to make an assessment of
whether the product(s) and/or services you have chosen are appropriate
for you, and to warn you if, on the basis of the information you provide
us, any product or service is not appropriate. If you decide to
continue and open an account with us, you are confirming that you are
aware of and understand the risks.
Position Monitoring
You
should further ensure that you are able to monitor positions on your
account at all times, as you are solely responsible for this. We are not
responsible for monitoring positions on your account.
Copy Trading
GlobalCfdFinance
offers Social Trading Features. In making a decision to copy a specific
trader or traders and/or follow a particular strategy, you must
consider your entire financial situation, including financial
commitments. You must understand that using Social Trading Features is
highly speculative and that you could sustain significant losses
exceeding the amount used to copy a trader or traders. The risks
associated with Social Trading Features include, but are not limited to,
automated trading execution whereby the opening and closing of trades
will happen in your account without your manual intervention.
Trading risks
Since
Cryptocurrency markets are decentralised and non-regulated, our
Cryptocurrencies Trading Services are unregulated services which are not
governed by any specific European regulatory framework (including
MIFID). This means that there is no central bank that can take
corrective measures to protect the value of Cryptocurrencies in a crisis
or issue more currency. Therefore, when GlobalCfdFinance (Europe) Ltd.
customers use our Cryptocurrencies Trading Services, they will not
benefit from the protections available to clients receiving regulated
investment services such as access to the Investor Compensation Fund for
Customers of Cypriot Investment Firms and the Financial Ombudsman
Service for dispute resolution. GlobalCfdFinance (Europe) Ltd. customers
will continue to benefit from the rules relating to best execution and
client money and safekeeping of client assets.
GlobalCfdFinance
(UK) Ltd. customers using Cryptocurrencies Services will not benefit
from the protections available to clients receiving regulated investment
services such as access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
(FSCS) and the Financial Ombudsman Service for dispute resolution. We
will endeavour to enable you to benefit from rules relating to best
execution and safekeeping of client assets.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
MARKETS ARE DETERMINED BY DEMAND AND SUPPLY ONLY. The Cryptocurrency
market is a dynamic arena and its respective prices are often highly
unpredictable and volatile. The Cryptocurrency prices are usually not
transparent, highly speculative and susceptible to market manipulation.
In the worst-case scenario, the product could be rendered worthless.
It
is important to make a distinction between indicative prices which are
displayed on charts and dealable prices which are displayed on our
trading platform. Indicative quotes only give an indication of where the
market is. Because Cryptocurrency markets are decentralised, meaning
they lack a single central exchange where all transactions are
conducted, each market maker may quote slightly different prices.
Therefore, any prices displayed on any chart made available by us or by a
third party will only reflect “indicative” prices and not necessarily
actual “dealing” prices where trades can be executed.
Cryptocurrency
trading is prone to being misused for illegal activities due to the
anonymity of transactions and investors would be adversely affected if
law enforcement agencies were to investigate any alleged illicit
activities.
ACCORDINGLY, CRYPTOCURRENCIES SHOULD BE SEEN
AS AN EXTREMELY HIGH-RISK ASSET AND YOU SHOULD NEVER INVEST FUNDS THAT
YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE.
Given the foregoing,
Cryptocurrencies are not appropriate for all investors. You should not
deal in these products unless you have the necessary knowledge and
expertise, understand these products’ characteristics and your exposure
to risk. You should also be satisfied that the product is suitable for
you in light of your circumstances and financial position. In addition,
use of our Services can never be considered a safe investment, rather,
only an investment with a high risk of loss inherently associated with
them.
Furthermore, our own spread is added to online quotes which makes a trade on our websites even more volatile.
The
risk of loss in trading Cryptocurrencies can be substantial. You
should, therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable
for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You
should be aware that you may sustain a total loss of the funds in your
account. If the market moves against your position, we may ask you to
provide a substantial amount of additional margin funds on short notice,
in order to maintain your position. If you do not provide the required
funds within the time frame required by us, your position may be
liquidated at a loss, and you will be liable for any resulting deficit
in your account.
GlobalCfdFinance currently allows trading
in cryptocurrencies over the weekend and it reserves the right not to do
so. Should GlobalCfdFinance so elect, trading in cryptocurrencies shall
be allowed only from Monday through Friday. Given that the
Cryptocurrency exchanges may operate over weekends, there may be a
significant difference between Friday’s close and Sunday’s open. All
such factors may result in you either not completing an order on a
specific trading day or completing an order on a substantially less
favourable price.
Under certain market conditions, you may
find it difficult or impossible to liquidate a position. This can
occur, for example, when the market reaches a daily price fluctuation
limit (“limit move”), if there is insufficient liquidity in the market.
Certain crypto assets may carry additional or specific risks.
Newly
issued cryptocurrencies might carry additional risks you need to
consider. Limited liquidity or difficulties to trade the asset after
you’ve bought it. This means prices could be volatile, going up and down
quickly, and liquidity may be limited, all depending on supply and
demand. GlobalCfdFinance cannot control these external factors.
Blockchain Risks
Since
blockchain is an independent public peer-to peer network and is not
controlled in any way or manner by GlobalCfdFinance, GlobalCfdFinance
shall not be responsible for any failure and/or mistake and/or error
and/or breach which shall occur in blockchain or in any other networks
in which the Cryptocurrencies are being issued and/or traded. You will
be bound and subject to any change and/or amendments in the blockchain
system and subject to any applicable law which may apply to the
blockchain. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express
or implied, statutory or otherwise, regarding the blockchain
functionality nor for any breach of security in the blockchain.
Operation of Cryptocurrency Protocols
GlobalCfdFinance
does not own or control the underlying software protocols which govern
the operation of Cryptocurrencies available for trading on our platform.
In general, the underlying protocols are open source and anyone can
use, copy, modify, and distribute them. GlobalCfdFinance is not
responsible for the operation of the underlying protocols and
GlobalCfdFinance makes no guarantee of their functionality, security, or
availability. The underlying protocols are subject to sudden changes in
operating rules (“Forks”), and such Forks may materially affect the
value, function, and/or even the name of the Cryptocurrency
GlobalCfdFinance holds for your benefit. In the event of a Fork,
GlobalCfdFinance may temporarily suspend GlobalCfdFinance operations (with
or without advance notice) and GlobalCfdFinance may (a) configure or
reconfigure its systems or (b) decide not to support (or cease
supporting) the Forked protocol entirely. GlobalCfdFinance may, but is
not obligated to do so, adjust your account in respect of a Fork,
depending on the circumstances of each event attributable to any
specific Cryptocurrency which you hold.
Third-party Risks.
We
may elect to execute any order and/or hold any fiat money and
cryptocurrencies via a Third Party. Such Third Parties are not banks
that hold their fiat money/virtual currency as a deposit. If any such
Third Party loses any money, fails or goes out of business, there is no
specific legal protection that covers you for losses arising from any
funds you may have held with such a Third Party, even when such party is
registered with a national authority. Depending on the structure and
security of the GlobalCfdFinance Money crypto wallet, some individuals
may be vulnerable to hacks, resulting in the theft of virtual currency
or loss of customer assets. GlobalCfdFinance will not be responsible in
the event of losses caused by those Third Parties.
Delisting
and/or unsupported Cryptocurrencies: if at any time any of the
Cryptocurrencies form the subject of your order are delisted and/or we
no longer support the trading in such Cryptocurrencies for any reason,
then the applicable order will be immediately closed. If GlobalCfdFinance
is notified that a Cryptocurrency you hold in your account is likely to
be delisted and/or removed and/or cancelled from any of the exchanges
(some of them or all) and GlobalCfdFinance believes that it shall not be
able to trade in such Cryptocurrencies, GlobalCfdFinance shall make an
effort to sell the Cryptocurrencies on your behalf at such time and
price, and in such manner, as it determines.
Automated Trading & Internet Risks
While
trading on our website and/or applications, system errors may occur.
You should be aware of the risks that may result from any system failure
which could mean that your order may be delayed or fail.
You
acknowledge that there are risks associated with utilising an
Internet-based trading system including, but not limited to, the failure
of hardware, software, and Internet connections, the risk of malicious
software introduction, the risk that third parties may obtain
unauthorized access to information and/or assets (including your
Cryptocurrencies) stored on your behalf, cyber attack, Cryptocurrency
network failure (such as blockchain), computer viruses, communication
failures, disruptions, errors, distortions or delays you may experience
when trading via the Services, howsoever caused, spyware, scareware,
Trojan horses, worms or other malware that may affect your computer or
other equipment, or any phishing, spoofing or other attack. You should
also be aware that SMS and email services are vulnerable to spoofing and
phishing attacks and should use care in reviewing messages purporting
to originate from GlobalCfdFinance.
Fees and Costs
Our
fees and charges are set out on our website GlobalCfdFinance.com under
the ‘Fees’ section. Please be aware of all costs and charges that apply
to you, because such costs and charges will affect your profitability.
Information
Any
opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information
contained on this website are provided as general market commentary, and
do not constitute investment advice. GlobalCfdFinance shall not be
responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any
recommendation, forecast or other information provided.
SPAC Risks
Investing
in SPACs carries different risks to investing in other stocks on
GlobalCfdFinance. Unlike other listed companies, SPACs are shell
companies when they become public and, therefore, they do not have an
underlying operating business. This means that you are relying on the
managers of the SPACs to realise your investment. There is no guarantee
that SPACs will be managed by individuals and firms that may not be
competent or qualified to do so. You should read the SPAC’s IPO
prospectus and any reports or other key information documents filed or
published to understand the terms of your investments and the economic
interests and motivations of the SPAC you are investing in. Moreover,
SPACs that do not carry out an acquisition within a certain time period
will be liquidated. As a result, there is a risk that you may not
recover some or all of the money directly invested by you into the SPAC.