ActivTrades hikes margin requirements over Brexit-related market volatility

Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.

ActivTrades, an FCA-regulated forex, CFD and spread betting broker, announced it is temporarily hiking the margins on some forex pairs, CFDs and indices. According to the e-mail the broker sent to its partners and clients, the measure is provoked by the expected market volatility caused by UK’s EU referendum, due to take place on June 23 and aims at protecting the investors’ capital.

On June 20 ActivTrades temporarily hikes four times the margin requirements for the forex pairs: GBP/USD, GBP/CHF, GBP/AUD, GBP/CAD, GBP/JPY, GBP/NZD and EUR/GBP. The required margin is also quadrupled for the UK100 index.

Also from June 20 the broker temporarily doubles the margin requirements for the forex pairs EUR/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD, EUR/NZD, EUR/HUF, EUR/NOK, EUR/SEK, EUR/SGD, EUR/TRY, EUR/PLN and  EUR/MXN the indices BLG20, ESP35, EURO50, FRA40, GERTEC, GER30, ITA40, NETH25 and CFD instruments on British stocks.

“Should you have open positions on the aforementioned instruments, we advise to watch the margin levels in your trading account and, when necessary, to reduce your positions by the end of the trading session on June 17, Friday,” ActivTrades wrote in its e-mail. “Retaining margin levels of over 400% by end of trading on June 17 would guarantee you sufficient margin to keep your positions when the markets open on June 20 and lowers the risk of automatic stop out.” The broker also reserves the right to change margin requirements for those as well as other instruments, depending on the market situation and will inform its clients in due manner.

ActivTrades is yet another broker to announce a temporary change of the margin requirements because of UK’s EU referendum.

London-based ActivTrades is a financial markets trader, active in the forex, contracts for difference (CFDs), and spread betting markets. Its product portfolio also includes indices, shares, treasuries, and commodities. It is licensed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Since the start of this week so did Saxo Bank, FXCM, Oanda and IG Group, FxPrimus, as well as Invast and Hargreaves Lansdown. Earlier in June JustForex also said it will increase its margin requirements on some instruments.