We are seeing unprecedented volatility in GME, AMC, BB, EXPR, KOSS and a small number of other U.S. securities that has forced us reduce the leverage previously offered to these securities and, at times, limit trading to risk reducing transactions. Outlined below are a series of FAQs relating to these actions.

Q: Are there any current restrictions on my ability to trade GME and the other US securities that have been subject to the recent heightened volatility?

A: IBKR is currently not restricting customers from trading shares of AMC, GME, BB, EXPR, KOSS or the other stocks that have been the subject of extreme market volatility. That includes orders to open new positions or close existing ones.

Like many brokers, IBKR placed limits on opening new positions in certain of these securities for a period of time. Those restrictions have since been lifted.

IBKR has not restricted customers’ ability to close existing positions and does not plan to do so.

Q: Can I use margin in trading stocks, options or other derivatives on these products through IBKR?

A: IBKR has increased its margin requirements for securities in GME and the other US securities subject to the recent volatility, including up to 100% margin required for long positions and 300% margin on the short side. You can see these margin requirements in your trading platform prior to submitting an order.

Q: Why did IBKR place these restrictions on my ability to open new positions in certain securities?

A: IBKR took these actions for risk management purposes, to protect the firm and its customers from incurring outsized losses due to wild swings in prices in a volatile and unstable marketplace.

IBKR remains concerned about the effect of this unnatural volatility on the clearinghouses, brokers and market participants.

Q: Does IBKR or its affiliates have positions in these products that it was protecting by placing these restrictions?

A: No. IBKR itself has no proprietary positions in any of the securities.

Q: What allowed IBKR to place those restrictions?

A: Pursuant to its customer agreement, IBKR may decline to accept any customer’s order at IBKR’s discretion.

IBKR also has the right to modify margin requirements for any open or new positions at any time, in its sole discretion. After all, IBKR is the one whose money is being loaned in a margin trade.

Q: Did those restrictions apply to all or just some of IBKR’s customers?

A: All restrictions – all limits on opening new positions and margin increases – applied to all IBKR customers. They were placed based on the security, not based on the customer.

Q: Is my money at IBKR at risk? Has IBKR suffered material losses?

A: IBKR did not incur substantial losses. Through its prudent risk management, IBKR has navigated this market volatility well. In any event, on a consolidated basis, IBG LLC exceeds $9 billion in equity capital, over $6 billion in excess of regulatory requirements.

Q: What will IBKR do going forward? How will I know?

A: IBKR will continue to monitor developments in the market, and will make decisions based on market conditions. For current information, please continue to visit our website.

Regulators expect brokerage firms to maintain controls designed to prevent the firm from submitting orders to market centers that create a risk of disruptive trading (e.g., the risk of sudden, transient price moves).

To comply with these expectations, Interactive Brokers implements various price filters on customer orders. Those price filters may, in certain circumstances, price cap customer orders in order to avoid market disruption, and those Price Caps will generally be in a % range from a reference price range calculated by IB. (The range of the Price Cap varies depending on the type of instrument and the current price.)

Although the price caps are intended to balance the objectives of trade certainty and minimized price risk, a trade may be delayed or may not take place as a result of price capping. More information is available in Interactive Broker’s Order Routing and Payment for Order Flow Disclosure.

If a customer’s order(s) are price capped by IB’s systems, that customer will either receive (i) real-time notification of those price cap(s) in Trader Workstation or via the API or FIX tag 58 (for FIX users); and/or (ii) a daily FYI message containing a digest of the first 10 order(s) that were price capped the prior day, the initial price cap(s) for those order(s) (if applicable), and the Price Cap Range(s) for further Price Cap(s) of those order(s). 

Customers may opt out from receiving future FYI Messages by clicking the relevant opt-out link within an FYI Message. By opting out from receiving these future FYI Messages, a customer: 

• Agrees to waive any further notifications from Interactive Brokers about the application of the firm’s Price Caps to that customer’s order(s); and
• Acknowledges that he or she understands that his or her orders may be price-capped in the future, but that the customer does not wish to be notified again about the application of any Price Caps to any of his or her orders.

   

背景
2018年，一項歐盟新規生效，該新規旨在對“零售”客戶進行保護，確保其在買入某種產品時能夠獲得充分的披露信息。該法規被稱為零售及保險投資產品組合法規（MiFID II指令2014/65/EU）或PRIIP，其覆蓋了所有應付給客戶的金額會受參考值或一種或多種并非由該等零售投資者直接買入之資產的業績表現影響而波動的投資。常見列子包括期權、期貨、差價合約、ETF、ETN和其它結搆性產品。

值得注意的是，經紀商不得允許零售客戶購買PRIIP覆蓋的產品，除非該產品的發行機搆已經備好了要求的披露文件讓經紀商提供給客戶。這種披露文件被稱為關鍵信息文件（“KID”），包括產品描述、成本、風險回報情況及可能的業績情境等信息。美國客戶不受PRIIP影響，因此，某些美國掛牌ETF的發行機搆通常不會創建關鍵信息文件。這就意味著，歐洲經濟區（“EEA”）的零售客戶可能無法購買此類產品。

客戶分類
IBKR默認將所有個人客戶分類為“零售”客戶，因為這樣可以給與客戶MiFID提供的最廣泛的保護。被分類為“專業”客戶的客戶無法享受“零售”客戶級別的保護，但同時也不需要受KID文件要求的限制。根據MiFID II的定義，“專業”客戶包括受監管的實體、大型客戶和要求被重新分類為“選擇性專業客戶”并且在知識、經驗和財務實力方面滿足MiFID II要求的個人。

IB提供了線上程序可供“零售”客戶申請將其分類更改為“專業”。重新分類的資格要求以及申請重新分類的步驟，請參見KB3298，如果要直接申請更改分類，可通過客戶端/賬戶管理中的相關問卷進行。
 

簡介

2019年1月30日，iPath S&P 500 VIX短期期貨（VXX）和中期期貨（VXZ）交易所交易票據（ETN）即將到期。考慮到VXX和VXZ即將到期，其發行機搆巴克萊銀行發行了iPath“B系列”的S&P 500 VIX短期期貨（VXXB）和中期期貨（VXZB）交易所交易票據，於2018年1月開始交易，并將於2048年到期。

持有與即將到期的ETN及/或其衍生產品相關之頭寸的客戶應熟悉事件的時間安排、可做的選擇以及相關風險和保證金影響。請注意，如不釆取相應行動，或釆取行動時不考慮保證金影響，可能會將您的賬戶置於不符合保證金要求的境地，從而導致強制清算。

下方常見問題提供了與該事件相關的背景信息。

常見問題解答

問：VXX和VXZ交易所交易票據何時到期？答：VXX和VXZ將在2019年1月30日開槃時到期并摘牌。問：VXX和VXZ的最后交易日是哪天？

答：2019年1月29日將會是該等即將到期之ETN的最后交易日和最后估值日。

問：到期后VXX和VXZ會如何處理？

答：發行機搆為VXX和VXZ的持有者提供了選擇，即贖回票據兌換現金或以1:1的比例兌換對應的“B系列”票據。或者，該等票據持有者還可選擇在2019年1月30日前平倉并將頭寸替換成二級市場上對應的“B系列”票據。

問：如果贖回兌現該等即將到期的票據，可以獲得多少現金？

答：如選擇兌現票據，您每張票據可獲得的現金將等於2019年1月29日（即最后估值日）所適用的收槃指示性價值。

問：贖回交易何時會記入我的賬戶？

答：贖回交易，無論是兌現還是兌換“B系列”票據，都會在2019年1月29日收槃后處理，并會於2019年1月30日開槃前記入您的賬戶。

問：如何將我的贖回決定告知IBKR？

答：我們會通過消息中心和電子郵箱向多頭持有即將到期之頭寸的客戶發送通知，屆時會開放選擇窗口。通知會詳細說明如何通過客戶端/賬戶管理內的自願公司行動工具提交選擇。

問：是否可以選擇提早贖回？

答：客戶可以在到期前提早贖回票據兌換“B系列”票據或現金（即提前贖回），但需付$500.00美元費用。到期贖回沒有費用。

問：選擇決定是否可以撤銷？

答：提前贖回選擇不可撤銷。到期贖回選擇在選擇窗口關閉前均可撤銷。

問：IBKR是否支持現金和“B系列”票據結合的方式贖回？答：不支持。客戶只可在全現金和全“B系列”票據之間選擇一個。問：如果在選擇窗口關閉前沒有提供選擇決定會怎么樣？

答：如果您決定不釆取行動或未能在截止時間前釆取行動，到期頭寸將兌換為現金。

問：如果在最后交易日前持有即將到期票據的空頭頭寸會怎么樣？

答：如果在最后交易日前持有即將到期票據的空頭頭寸，出借方有權平倉您的空頭頭寸，強制您交付現金或對應的“B系列”票據。如果您沒有足夠數量的“B系列”票據多頭頭寸可供交付，則您會被分配一個空頭頭寸，如果無法借到該ETN，您將面臨強制平倉。

問：如果在最后交易日后持有即將到期票據的空頭頭寸會怎么樣？

答：如果在最后交易日后持有即將到期票據的空頭頭寸，則您必須交付現金。

問：與該事件相關的保證金影響有哪些？

答：在投資組合保證金賬戶中持有即將到期ETN的客戶需要特別注意票據到期和贖回選擇對其保證金要求的影響。盡管VXX、VXZ及其相關衍生品列入了美國貨幣監理署（OCC）的客戶投資組合保證金文件，IB對這些產品提供投資組合保證金交易，但其對應的“B系列”票據并沒有列入OCC的投資組合保證金文件，因此IBKR不會對該等產品提供投資組合保證金交易。這些“B系列”ETN和衍生品將根據Reg.T規定計算保證金要求。

因此，在當前投資組合保證金框架下支持的VXX和其它短期波動率產品（如VIXY、VIIX、UVXY、TVIX和SVXY）之間的保證金對銷將不會適用於VXXB。同樣，當前支持的VXZ和其它中期波動率產品（如VIXM和ZIV）之間的保證金對銷也不會適用於VXZB。此外，由於Reg. T只對一部分期權策略提供保證金減免，Reg.T保證金框架下持有包含VXXB或VXZB的復合期權頭寸的客戶其保證金要求可能會高於投資組合保證金框架下對應VXX或VXZ頭寸的保證金要求。

客戶可通過在風險漫游中創建“What-if“投資組合來模擬VXX和VXZ到期的影響以及相關贖回選擇。

注：如果贖回即將到期的ETN將其兌換成對應的“B系列”票據會導致賬戶保證金不足，IBKR有權禁止該等贖回，并強制進行現金贖回。