As you may already know, new European Securities & Markets Authorities (ESMA) regulations came into effect yesterday (August 1st). ESMA has left the treatment of open positions to each company’s discretion and, as previously communicated to our clients, eToro chose NOT TO apply the new restrictions to old positions, in order to avoid interfering with clients’ existing trades. To clarify: We have not changed Stop Loss settings for open positions.
However, the ESMA regulations state that new orders, which include an adjustment to your Stop Loss settings, must follow the new guidelines. This means that if a trader decides to edit the Stop Loss on an already opened position to a setting of above 50%, the new margin restrictions would apply. We would like to emphasise the fact that editing an existing position’s Stop-Loss is effectively an execution of a new order.
EEA residents who wish to continue using leverage higher than the ESMA limitation, can apply for Elective Professional Status by filling in this form. There are strict criteria for this transition and, if your application meets the criteria, an account manager will contact you.
Non-EEA residents who wish to continue using leverage higher than the ESMA limits, have the option of moving to eToro Australia Capital Ltd, an ASIC regulated entity.
Please note that as a client of eToro Australia ASIC, you will benefit from Australian law and regulations with respect to client money and other retail-client protection. As you will no longer be a client of eToro (Europe) Ltd, you will no longer receive client protection offered under CySEC regulations.
Clients who wish to follow either of these options can do so by opening a new trade, applying a high leverage setting, and following the steps in the pop-up window. You do not have to fulfill the trade, but by applying high leverage you will be given options for continuing to trade with higher leverage.