RISK DISCLOSURE
STATEMENT
OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS
INVOLVE THE LEVERAGED TRADING OF CONTRACTS DENOMINATED IN FOREIGN
CURRENCY CONDUCTED WITH A FUTURES COMMISSION MERCHANT OR A RETAIL
FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEALER AS YOUR COUNTERPARTY.
BECAUSE OF THE
LEVERAGE AND THE OTHER RISKS DISCLOSED HERE, YOU CAN RAPIDLY LOSE ALL
OF THE FUNDS YOU DEPOSIT FOR SUCH TRADING AND YOU MAY LOSE MORE THAN
YOU DEPOSIT.
YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF AND CAREFULLY CONSIDER
THE FOLLOWING POINTS BEFORE DETERMINING WHETHER SUCH TRADING IS
APPROPRIATE FOR YOU.
(1) TRADING IS NOT ON A REGULATED MARKET
OR EXCHANGE YOUR DEALER IS YOUR TRADING PARTNER WHICH IS A DIRECT
CONFLICT OF INTEREST. BEFORE YOU ENGAGE IN ANY RETAIL FOREIGN
EXCHANGE TRADING, YOU SHOULD CONFIRM THE REGISTRATION STATUS OF YOUR
COUNTERPARTY.
The off-exchange foreign currency trading you
are entering into is not conducted on an interbank market, nor is it
conducted on a futures exchange subject to regulation as a designated
contract market by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The
foreign currency trades you transact are trades with the futures
commission merchant or retail foreign exchange dealer as your
counterparty. WHEN YOU SELL, THE DEALER IS THE BUYER. WHEN YOU BUY,
THE DEALER IS THE SELLER. As a result, when you lose money trading,
your dealer is making money on such trades, in addition to any fees,
commissions, or spreads the dealer may charge.
(2) AN
ELECTRONIC TRADING PLATFORM FOR RETAIL FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS
IS NOT AN EXCHANGE. IT IS AN ELECTRONIC CONNECTION FOR ACCESSING YOUR
DEALER. THE TERMS OF AVAILABILITY OF SUCH A PLATFORM ARE GOVERNED
ONLY BY YOUR CONTRACT WITH YOUR DEALER.
Any trading platform
that you may use to enter off-exchange foreign currency transactions
is only connected to your futures commission merchant or retail
foreign exchange dealer. You are accessing that trading platform only
to transact with your dealer. You are not trading with any other
entities or customers of the dealer by accessing such platform. The
availability and operation of any such platform, including the
consequences of the unavailability of the trading platform for any
reason, is governed only by the terms of your account agreement with
the dealer.
(3) YOUR DEPOSITS WITH THE DEALER HAVE NO
REGULATORY PROTECTIONS.
All of your rights associated with
your retail forex trading, including the manner and denomination of
any payments made to you, are governed by the contract terms
established in your account agreement with the futures commission
merchant or retail foreign exchange dealer. Funds deposited by you
with a futures commission merchant or retail foreign exchange dealer
for trading off-exchange foreign currency transactions are not
subject to the customer funds protections provided to customers
trading on a contract market that is designated by the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission. Your dealer may commingle your funds with
its own operating funds or use them for other purposes. In the event
your dealer becomes bankrupt, any funds the dealer is holding for you
in addition to any amounts owed to you resulting from trading,
whether or not any assets are maintained in separate deposit accounts
by the dealer, may be treated as an unsecured creditor's claim.
(4)
YOU ARE LIMITED TO YOUR DEALER TO OFFSET OR LIQUIDATE ANY TRADING
POSITIONS SINCE THE TRANSACTIONS ARE NOT MADE ON AN EXCHANGE OR
MARKET, AND YOUR DEALER MAY SET ITS OWN PRICES.
Your ability
to close your transactions or offset positions is limited to what
your dealer will offer to you, as there is no other market for these
transactions. Your dealer may offer any prices it wishes, and it may
offer prices derived from outside sources or not in its discretion.
Your dealer may establish its prices by offering spreads from third
party prices, but it is under no obligation to do so or to continue
to do so. Your dealer may offer different prices to different
customers at any point in time on its own terms. The terms of your
account agreement alone govern the obligations your dealer has to you
to offer prices and offer offset or liquidating transactions in your
account and make any payments to you. The prices offered by your
dealer mayor may not reflect prices available elsewhere at any
exchange, interbank, or other market for foreign currency.
(5)
PAID SOLICITORS MAY HAVE UNDISCLOSED CONFLICTS
The futures
commission merchant or retail foreign exchange dealer may compensate
introducing brokers for introducing your account in ways which are
not disclosed to you. Such paid solicitors are not required to have,
and may not have, any special expertise in trading, and may have
conflicts of interest based on the method by which they are
compensated. Solicitors working on behalf of futures commission
merchants and retail foreign exchange dealers are required to
register. You should confirm that they are, in fact registered. You
should thoroughly investigate the manner in which all such solicitors
are compensated and be very cautious in granting any person or entity
authority to trade on your behalf. You should always consider
obtaining dated written confirmation of any information you are
relying on from your dealer or a solicitor in making any trading or
account decisions.
FINALLY, YOU SHOULD THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE
ANY STATEMENTS BY ANY DEALERS OR SALES REPRESENTATIVES WHICH MINIMIZE
THE IMPORTANCE OF, OR CONTRADICT, ANY OF THE TERMS OF THIS RISK
DISCLOSURE. SUCH STATEMENTS MAY INDICATE POTENTIAL SALES FRAUD.
THIS BRIEF STATEMENT CANNOT, OF COURSE, DISCLOSE ALL THE
RISKS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF TRADING OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY
TRANSACTIONS WITH A FUTURES COMMISSION MERCHANT OR RETAIL FOREIGN
EXCHANGE DEALER.
PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS
Q4 2009 |
Q1 2010 |
Q2 2010 |
Q3 2010 |
|
% Profitable |
26% |
25% |
23% |
23% |
% Unprofitable |
74% |
75% |
77% |
77% |
Total Accounts |
22,371 |
19,049 |
17,771 |
15,023 |
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE
RESULTS