Professional client eligibility

As a professional client you will waive certain FCA protections, such as:

Client Money

Funds held on your behalf may not be subject to the protections conferred by the client money rules under title transfer of collateral agreements. Consequently, these funds will not be segregated from the firm’s own funds, and you will rank only as a general creditor of the firm in the event of its liquidation.

Negative Balance Protection

You will not have an overall guaranteed limit on the losses you can make on your account. This means your losses can exceed the amount deposited. If your account reaches a negative balance, you will be obligated to make immediate payment to Spread Co Ltd to resolve the negative balance and settle any outstanding deficit.

Leverage and Automatic Close-Out

More leverage will be available to you than is offered to Retail Clients. We may not be obligated to automatically close out your positions where margin falls below 50% of the amount required, as we are with Retail Clients.

Best Execution

In certain circumstances our provision of best execution may not prioritise price and cost over other execution factors, such as the likelihood of execution.

Margin

We are not required to provide you with full details of our arrangements in relation to margin ahead of conducting a transaction with or for you. In particular you may not receive advance notice of the following:

(a) the circumstances in which you may be required to provide margin;

(b) the form in which the margin may be required; or

(c) the steps we may be required or entitled to take if you fail to provide the required margin.

Financial Ombudsman Service

You may not be entitled to refer complaints you may make against Spread Co Limited to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with it.

How do I apply to become a professional client?

You can apply to be categorised as a professional client by contacting our client services team at cs@spreadco.com.

You will need to meet certain criteria, to qualify as a professional client.

Criteria for a professional account

To qualify as a professional client, you will need to satisfy two out of the below three criteria:

1. Trading experience: You must have placed trades of a significant size at an average frequency of 10 per quarter, over the previous four quarters. A significant size is a trade with a notional value of £10,000 for an equity trade and £50,000 for everything else.
2. Financial instrument portfolio: Your portfolio (cash deposits & financial instruments) should be of a minimum of €500,000.
3. Professional experience: You were employed in the financial sector in a professional position for at least a year, which required knowledge of CFDs and spread betting. For example, a position as an accountant will need satisfy these criteria.

Can I change my categorisation if I change my mind?

Yes, you will need to contact our client services team if you no longer want to be classified as a professional client.

What proof will I need to provide?

You will need to provide banks statements and/or a ledger from your portfolio amounting to €500,000.

Which instruments are accepted as part of my financial portfolio?

Acceptable instruments include:

• Stock portfolios
• Trading accounts
• SIPPs (financial instruments only)
• Cash balance
• Stocks and shares ISAs
• Mutual Funds

To meet the trading experience criteria, you can use trades made with Spread Co as evidence. If trades made with Spread Co do not satisfy the criteria, we will ask for an account ledger not done with Spread Co, showing the relevant trades of the required notional value.

To satisfy the professional experience criteria, we will need a thorough description along with evidence of professional experience, explaining your role and how it is relevant to derivatives.

Can I apply for a professional client status with a corporate account?

Yes, however, please bear in mind that if you’re applying based on trading experience or your portfolio, all evidence will need to be provided I the company’s name. The professional experience criteria will need to be based on each individual.

Can I apply for a professional client status with a joint account?

Yes, however, please bear in mind each account holder will need to satisfy the criteria.