1 杠杆限制

1.1 ESMA保证金
ESMA针对不同的底层证券设置了不同的杠杆限制：

• 货币对为3.33%；主要货币对为美元、加元、欧元、英镑、瑞郎、日元间的任意组合
• 非主要货币对及主要指数为5%；
  • 非主要货币对为包括上方未列出的货币的任意组合，如美元/离岸人民币
  • 主要指数为IBUS500、IBUS30、IBUST100、IBGB100、IBDE40、IBEU50、IBFR40、IBJP225、IBAU200
• 非主要股票指数为10%，包括IBES35、IBCH20、IBNL25、IBHK50
• 个股为20%

 1.2应用的保证金 - 标准保证金要求

除ESMA的保证金要求外，IBKR（英国）还基于底层证券的历史波动率及其它因素实施其自有的保证金要求（IB保证金） 如果IB的保证金率高于ESMA规定的比例，则应用IB的保证金率。

点此可查看适用的IB和ESMA保证金要求详情。

1.2.1应用的保证金 - 最低集中保证金要求

如果您的投资组合包含一小部分CFD头寸，或者如果最大的两种头寸占据了绝大多数份额，则您的账户将应用集中保证金。我们会通过对最大的两种头寸假设30%的跌幅、对其余头寸假设5%的跌幅来对您的投资组合进行压力测试。如果总亏损额高于标准要求，则将用总亏损额作为维持保证金要求。

1.3可用于初始保证金的资金

您只可使用现金作为初始保证金开立差价合约头寸。已实现的差价合约盈利将包括在现金中且立即可用；现金无需先结算。然而，未实现的盈利不得用于满足初始保证金要求。

1.4自动转移资金以满足初始保证金要求（账户F账户段）

IBKR（英国）会自动将您主账户中的资金转移至账户的F账户段，用于满足差价合约的初始保证金要求。

然而，需注意的是，系统不会转移资金用于满足差价合约维持保证金要求。因此，如符合条件的资产（参照下方定义）不足以满足保证金要求，则即使您的主账户中有足够的资金，账户仍会被清算。如您想避免被清算，您必须在账户管理中将多余的资金转移至账户的F账户段。

2 保证金平仓规则

2.1维持保证金计算与清算

如果符合条件的资产跌至开仓初始保证金的50%以下，ESMA要求IBKR最后清算差价合约仓位。如果我们的风险观更为保守，IBKR可能会更早平仓仓位。符合条件的资产包括F账户段下的现金（不包括账户任何其它账户段下的现金）及未实现的差价合约盈亏（盈利及亏损）。

计算的基础为开立差价合约头寸时存入的初始保证金。 换言之，当差价合约头寸的价值发生变动时，初始保证金的金额不会变化，这与非差价合约头寸适用的保证金计算方式不同。

2.1.1举例

您的差价合约账户中有2000欧元现金。您想以100欧元的限价买入100份XYZ的差价合约。首先成交了50份合约，然后再成交其余的50份。随着您的交易成交，您的可用现金如下减少：

*净资产等于现金加未实现盈亏

价格上涨至110。您的净资产现为3000，但由于您的可用现金仍为0，且在ESMA规则下初始保证金和维持保证金不变，您不得开立新的头寸：

 然后价格下跌至95。您的净资产跌至1500，但鉴于净资产仍大于1000，无需追加保证金：

价格进一步跌至85，导致保证金不足并触发清算：

3 负资产保护

ESMA规则规定，您交易差价合约的损失以划拨的专项资金为上限。不得清算其它金融产品（如股票或期货）来填补差价合约的保证金缺口。*

因此，您主账户证券和大宗商品账户段的资产，以及F账户段中持有的非差价合约资产不列入差价合约交易的风险资本。但是，F账户段中的所有现金都可用以弥补差价合约交易产生的亏损。

由于负资产保护对IBKR来说意味着要承担额外风险，对于隔夜持有的差价合约头寸我们会向零售客户额外收取1%的融资息差。您可在此处查看详细的差价合约融资利率。

*我们无法清算非差价合约头寸来弥补差价合约不足，但可以清算差价合约头寸来弥补非差价合约不足。

4 交易差价合约的激励措施

ESMA规定对与差价合约交易相关的金钱及某些非金钱激励均予以禁止。IBKR不对交易差价合约提供任何奖金或其它激励。

1 Leverage Limits

1.1 ESMA Margins
Leverage limits were set by ESMA at different levels depending on the underlying:

• 3.33% for major currency pairs; Major currency pairs are any combination of USD; CAD; EUR; GBP; CHF; JPY
• 5% for non-major currency pairs and major indices;
  • Non-major currency pairs are any combination that includes a currency not listed above, e.g. USD.CNH
  • Major indices are IBUS500; IBUS30; IBUST100; IBGB100; IBDE40; IBEU50; IBFR40; IBJP225; IBAU200
• 10% for non-major equity indices; IBES35; IBCH20; IBNL25; IBHK50
• 20% for individual equities

 1.2 Applied Margins - Standard Requirement

In addition to the ESMA Margins, IBKR (UK) establishes its own margin requirements (IB Margins) based on the historical volatility of the underlying, and other factors. We will apply the IB Margins if they are higher than those prescribed by ESMA.

Details of applicable IB and ESMA margins can be found here.

1.2.1 Applied Margins - Concentration Minimum

A concentration charge is applied if your portfolio consists of a small number of CFD positions, or if the three largest positions have a dominant weight. We stress the portfolio by applying a 30% adverse move on the three largest positions and a 5% adverse move on the remaining positions. The total loss is applied as the maintenance margin requirement if it is greater than the standard requirement.

1.3 Funds Available for Initial Margin

You can only use cash to post initial margin to open a CFD position. Realized CFD profits are included in cash and are available immediately; the cash does not have to settle first. Unrealized profits however cannot be used to meet initial margin requirements.

1.4 Automatic Funding of Initial Margin Requirements (F-segments)

IBKR (UK) automatically transfers funds from your main account to the F-segment of your account to fund initial margin requirements for CFDs.

Note however that no transfers are made to satisfy CFD maintenance margin requirements. Therefore if qualifying equity (defined below) becomes insufficient to meet margin requirements, a liquidation will occur even if you have ample funds in your main account. If you wish to avoid a liquidation you must transfer additional funds to the F-segment in Account Management.

2 Margin Close Out Rule

2.1 Maintenance Margin Calculations & Liquidations

ESMA requires IBKR to liquidate CFD positions latest when qualifying equity falls below 50% of the initial margin posted to open the positions. IBKR may close out positions sooner if our risk view is more conservative. Qualifying equity for this purpose includes cash in the F-segment (excluding cash in any other account segment) and unrealized CFD P&L (positive and negative).

The basis for the calculation is the initial margin posted at the time of opening a CFD position. In other words, and unlike margin calculations applicable to non-CFD positions, the initial margin amount does not change when the value of the open position changes.

2.1.1 Example

You have EUR 2000 cash in your CFD account. You want to buy 100 CFDs of XYZ at a limit price of EUR 100. You are first filled 50 CFDs and then the remaining 50. Your available cash reduces as your trades are filled:

*Equity equals Cash plus Unrealized P&L

The price increases to 110. Your equity is now 3000, but you cannot open additional positions because your available cash is still 0, and under the ESMA rules IM and MM remain unchanged:

 The price then drops to 95. Your equity declines to 1500 but there is no margin violation since it is still greater than the 1000 requirement:

The price falls further to 85, causing a margin violation and triggering a liquidation:

3 Negative Equity Protection

The ESMA Decision limits your CFD-related liability to the funds dedicated to CFD-trading. Other financial instruments (e.g. shares or futures) cannot be liquidated to satisfy a CFD margin-deficit.*

Therefore assets in the security and commodity segments of your main account, and non-CFD assets held in the F-segment, are not part of your capital at risk for CFD trading. However, all cash in the F-segment can be used to cover losses arising from CFD trading.

As Negative Equity Protection represents additional risk to IBKR, we will charge retail investors an additional financing spread of 1% for CFD positions held overnight. You can find detailed CFD financing rates here.

*Although we cannot liquidate non-CFD positions to cover a CFD deficit, we can liquidate CFD positions to cover a non-CFD deficit.

4 Incentives Offered to trade CFDs

The ESMA Decision imposes a ban on monetary and certain types of non-monetary benefits related to CFD trading. IBKR does not offer any bonus or other incentives to trade CFDs.

Introduction

IBKR LME OTC Futures provide clients synthetic access to the London Metal Exchange, a peer to peer exchange not generally available to non-member investors.

The LME OTC Futures are OTC derivative contracts with IBUK as the counterparty. The LME OTC Futures reference the corresponding LME future in terms of price, lot size, type and specification but are themselves not registered contracts. Physical delivery is not permitted.

IBKR LME OTC Futures are traded through your margin account, and you can therefore enter long as well as short leveraged positions. Margin rates equal those established by the LME. Like other futures they are risk-based (SPAN), and therefore variable. Current margins range between 6 and 9% depending on the contract.

Contracts

IBKR offers OTC Futures on the 3rd Wednesday expirations for the following metals:

3rd Wednesday Expirations

The LME features a range of contracts adapted to the needs of physical traders and hedgers. The principal among them are daily 3-month forwards used by physical traders to precisely match their hedges to their needs.

The 3rd Wednesday contracts are monthly contracts, like futures, and as such better adapted to the needs of financial traders. As the name suggests, they expire on the 3rd Wednesday of each month and, although physically settled on the LME, are strictly cash-settled at IBKR. The 3rd Wednesday contracts have become increasingly popular and account for 65% of open interest on the LME.

Quotes and Market Data

IBKR streams quotes from the LME (L2 market data) and does not widen the quote. Every client order is first hedged on exchange and the LME OTC order filled at the price of the hedge.

Cash Flows

Daily variation margin and realized P&L for the IBKR LME OTC Futures are cash-settled daily, like a standard future. By contrast, cash flows for the underlying LME contract are only settled after the contract has expired.

Margins

The margin requirements for the IBKR LME OTC Futures equal the requirement for the underlying contract on the LME. LME uses Standard Portfolio Analysis of Risk (SPAN) to calculate Initial Margin.

Like for other futures, the margin rates are established as an absolute value per contract and usually updated monthly.

Trading Permissions

You will need to set up permissions for United Kingdom Metals in Client Portal.

Market Data

You will need a subscription for Level II London Metal Exchange, currently GBP 1.00.

LME OTC Resources

Product Listings & Links to Contract Details
Commissions
Margin Requirements

Frequently asked Questions

What do I need to do to start trading LME OTC Futures?
You need to set up trading permission for United Kingdom Metals in Client Portal. If you have an IB LLC or an IB UK account carried by IB LLC we will set up a new account segment (identified with your existing account number plus the suffix “F”). Once the set-up is confirmed you can begin to trade. You do not need to fund the F segment separately; funds will be automatically transferred from your main account to meet margin requirements.

How are my LME OTC Futures trades and positions reflected in my statements?
Your positions are held in a separate account segment identified by your primary account number with the suffix “F”. You can choose to view Activity Statements for the F-segment either separately or consolidated with your main account. You can make the choice in the statement window in Client Portal.

What account protections apply when trading LME OTC Futures?
LME OTC Futures are contracts with IB UK as your counterparty, and are not traded on a regulated exchange and are not cleared on a central clearinghouse. Since IB UK is the counterparty to your trades, you are exposed to the financial and business risks, including credit risk, associated with dealing with IB UK. Please note however that all client funds are always fully segregated, including for institutional clients. IB UK is a participant in the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme ("FSCS"). IB UK is not a member of the U.S. Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”).

Can I trade LME OTC Futures over the phone?
No. In exceptional cases we may agree to process closing orders over the phone, but never opening orders.

Share CFD Definition

IBA CFDs are OTC contracts which deliver the return of the underlying stock, including dividends and corporate actions (read more about CFD corporate actions). You can enter long as well as short leveraged positions.

Said differently, it is an agreement between the buyer (you) and IBA to exchange the difference in the current value of a share, and its value at a future time. If you hold a long position and the difference is positive, IBA pays you. If it is negative, you pay IBA.

IBA’s CFDs work on an Open Trade Equity model. With IBA’s CFDs, the Open Trade Equity (OTE) represents the cumulative unrealised profit/loss on the CFD position relative to movements in the current price of the Reference Underlying. The profit/loss is realised when the position is closed. If the profit/loss is in a currency other than AUD or USD it is converted to the base currency of your account and credited/debited to cash.

The price of the CFD is the exchange-quoted price of the underlying share. In fact, IBA CFD quotes are identical to the Smart-routed quotes for shares that you can observe in the Trader Work Station and IBA offers Direct Market Access (DMA). Similar to shares, your nonmarketable (i.e., limit) orders have the underlying hedge directly represented on the deep book of those exchanges at which it trades. This also means that you can place orders to buy the CFD at the underlying bid and sell at the offer.

To compare IBA’s transparent CFD model to others available in the market please see our Overview of CFD Market Models.

IBA currently offers approximately 6200 Share CFDs covering the principal markets in the US, Europe and Asia. The constituents of the major indexes listed below are currently available as IBA Share CFDs. In many countries IBA also offers trading in liquid small cap shares. These are shares with free float adjusted market capitalization of at least USD 500
million and median daily trading value of at least USD 600 thousand. Please see CFD Product Listings for more detail. More countries will be added in the near future.

*not available to Singapore residents

Comparison Between CFDs and Underlying Shares

Depending on your trading objectives and trading style, CFDs offer a number of advantages compared to stocks, but also some disadvantages:

Worked Example

Opening the position:

You purchase 30,000 CFDs at $10.00 for $300,000, which you then hold for 30 days.

Closing the position:

1) Assuming minimum margin of 20%
2) IBA spread is 1.5% for all AUD tiers. Other currencies have additional tiers of 1%
and 0.5%

CFD Resources

Below are some useful links with more detailed information on IBA’s CFD offering:
 

CFD Contract Specifications
CFD Product Listings
CFD Commissions
CFD Financing Rates
CFD Margin Requirements
CFD Corporate Actions
 

The following video tutorial is also available:
How to Place a CFD Trade on the Trader Workstation

Frequently Asked Questions

What Stocks are available as CFDs?

Large and Mid-Cap stocks in the US, Western Europe, Nordic and Japan. Liquid Small Cap stocks are also available in many markets. Please see CFD Product Listings for more detail. More countries will be added in the near future.

Do you have CFDs on Other Underlying Types?

Yes. Please see IBA Index CFDs - Facts and Q&A and Forex CFDs - Facts and Q&A.

How do you determine your Share CFD quotes?

IBA CFD quotes are identical to the Smart routed quotes for the underlying share. IBA does not widen the spread or hold positions against you. To learn more please go to Overview of CFD Market Models.

Can I see my limit orders reflected on the exchange?

Yes. IBA offers Direct market Access (DMA) whereby your non-marketable (i.e., limit) orders have the underlying hedge directly represented on the deep book of those exchanges at which it trades. This also means that you can place orders to buy the CFD at the underlying bid and sell at the offer. In addition, you may also receive price improvement if another
client’s order crosses at a better price than is available on public venues.

How do you determine margins for Share CFDs?

IBA establishes risk-based margin requirements based on the historical volatility of each underlying share. The minimum margin is 20% for long positions, 25% for short positions. In addition IB applies a concemtration charge margining the two largest positions at 30%, standard margin applied to additional positions. There are no portfolio off-sets between individual CFD positions or between CFDs and exposures to the underlying share. A large position charge applies if the CFD position exceeds 0.5% of the market capitalisation of the underlying share.  Please refer to CFD Margin Requirements for more detail.

Are short Share CFDs subject to forced buy-in?

Yes. In the event the underlying stock becomes difficult or impossible to borrow, the holder of the short CFD position will become subject to buy-in.

How do you handle dividends and corporate actions?

IBA will generally reflect the economic effect of the corporate action for CFD holders as if they had been holding the underlying security. Dividends are reflected as cash adjustments, while other actions may be reflected through either cash or position adjustments, or both. For example, where the corporate action results in a change of the number of shares (e.g. stocksplit, reverse stock split), the number of CFDs will be adjusted accordingly. Where the action results in a new entity with listed shares, and IBA decides to offer these as CFDs, then new long or short positions will be created in the appropriate amount. For an overview please CFD Corporate Actions.

Please note that in some cases it may not be possible to accurately adjust the CFD for a complex corporate action such as some mergers. In these cases IBA may terminate the CFD prior to the ex-date.

What do I need to do to start trading CFDs with IBA?

You need to set up trading permission for CFDs in Account Management, and agree to the relevant trading disclosures.

Are there any market data requirements?

The market data for IBA Share CFDs is the market data for the underlying shares. It is therefore necessary to have market data permissions for the relevant exchanges. If you already have set up market data permissions for an exchange for trading the shares, you do not need to do anything. If you want to trade CFDs on an exchange for which you do not
currently have market data permissions, you can set up the permissions in the same way as you would if you planned to trade the underlying shares.

Can I transfer in CFD positions from another broker?

IBA will be glad to facilitate the transfer of CFD positions, subject to the agreement of the other broker. As the transfer of CFD positions is more complex than is the case for share positions, we generally require the position to be at least the equivalent of USD 100,000.

Are charts available for Share CFDs?

Yes.

What account protections apply when trading CFDs with IBA?

CFDs are contracts with IBA as your counterparty, and are not traded on a regulated exchange and are not cleared on a central clearinghouse. Since IBA is the counterparty to your CFD trades, you are exposed to the financial and business risks, including credit risk, associated with dealing with IBA. IBA will handle the client money it receives in accordance
with the rules set out in Part 7.8 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Client Money Rules) and to the extent applicable the ASIC Market Integrity Rules (ASX market) 2010. Where required, IBA will pay such client money into a trust account. Please refer to the IBA CFD Product Disclosure Statement for further detail on risks associated with trading CFDs.

What are the maximum a positions I can have in a specific CFD?

There is no pre-set limit. Bear in mind however that very large positions may be subject to increased margin requirements. Please refer to CFD Margin Requirements for more detail.

Can I trade CFDs over the phone?

No. In exceptional cases we may agree to process closing orders over the phone, but never opening orders.

Related Articles

• IB Index CFDs - Facts and Q&A
• IB Forex CFDs - Facts and Q&A
• IB Metal CFDs – Facts and Q&A
• Overview of ASIC CFD Rules Implementation at IBKR (Australia) – Retail Investors Only