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How we are regulated

Selftrade is one of the UK's largest execution-only stockbrokers and is the trading name of Talos Securities Limited, which is a subsidiary of Boursorama, one of Europe's leading online stockbrokers and part of the Société Générale Group.

Talos Securities Limited (Selftrade) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) (FSA Register number 208271) and we are bound by FSA's rules and regulations in the conduct of our investment business. You can telephone the FSA Consumer Help Line on 0845 606 1234 (8am-6pm Monday to Friday), to check our registration or ask other queries. Alternatively, you may write to them at the FSA Consumer Help Line, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HS or you can visit www.fsa.gov.uk.

Talos Securities Limited is registered in England and Wales and consequently is governed by the Companies Act (Company Number 04196325) which includes a requirement to have the financial accounts audited each year by independent accountants. We currently use the international firm Ernst and Young, (previously Deloitte & Touche LLP). They also do our regulatory audit.

We take the security of our client's assets extremely seriously; we want to ensure that everybody who invests with Selftrade is informed about the various protections that are available to them. Accordingly, please feel free to contact us at any time if you would like to discuss this in greater detail.

We undertake regular reporting to the FSA and provide annual audited financial statements to Companies House.

Client Money and investments

As an execution-only broker, we take instructions on behalf of our clients or their representatives and place these in the market place. Sales can only be undertaken on stock deposited in our registered nominee account.

Selftrade does not:

• Engage in stock lending,
• Buy or sell investments for its own benefit
• Provide any credit facilities to customers.

Selftrade is a profitable business, there are no borrowings and it has established a proven business model.

A key component of our income is generated from our customers' trading activity. We have a significant client base which provides protection from low trading periods. An extremely small percentage of our income is dependent on the value of our customers' invested assets.

The security of our clients' assets is paramount to Selftrade: as a result the company is managed conservatively. As part of the Société Générale and Boursorama group we have strong internal controls and audit procedures

The following provides details of how your cash and assets are held, in addition to protections available to private investors together with links to appropriate sites where additional information can be obtained.

1. Cash

When we receive money from any person in connection with your Dealing Account we will either hold it as:

• a deposit in our capacity as a bank; or
• as "client money".

Client Money
Cash held as 'client money' is held in accordance with the FSA rules on Client Money, which requires us to hold it in one or more client bank account(s), segregating your funds from ours with banks that are regulated by the FSA or other European regulators. This money is held on deposit in trust accounts, so that any creditors would have no legal right to it. We cannot use any of this money to cover the company's obligations.

Client money is placed in a pooled client deposit account.

Our policy is to spread client money between different institutions so as to balance risks. We currently place client money with approved UK or European banks, including Boursorama or Société Générale or any other European bank. Our policy is continually reviewed internally by the Selftrade board, and is subject to wider policies within Boursorama and Société Générale. A copy of the list of approved banks is available on request.

The above arrangements do not apply to Selftrade CFD and Spread Betting accounts which are provided in conjunction with City Index Limited. Your contract will be between you and City Index Limited (not Selftrade) and subject to the City Index client money arrangements. For further information, terms and key features please see Selftrade CFD & Spread Betting.

Deposit
Cash held on deposit is held by us as banker and is not held as 'client money' under the FSA Client Money rules. This means that we do not hold that money separately from our own and will not be required to account to you for any profits we make by our use of that money as banker.

How do we hold your money?

We will hold your money as a deposit in our capacity as a bank if any of the following apply:

• you register with us and use our services for the first time on or after the Effective Date (as defined in our Terms and Conditions);
• you are a member of an Investment Club which registers with us and uses our services for the first time on or after the Effective Date;
• you are a SIPP Member and your SIPP Trustee first used our services for your benefit, as your SIPP Trustee, on or after the Effective Date (whether or not the SIPP Trustee has registered with us or used our services for others before that date);
• you open a Deposit Account with us at any time;
• you are a member of an Investment Club which opens a Deposit Account with us at any time;
• you are a SIPP Member and your SIPP Trustee opens a Deposit Account with us at any time for your benefit;
• you expressly agree that the deposit option applies to you (unless you are a SIPP Member, SIPP Trustee, a member of an Investment Club or a joint account holder);
• you are a member of an Investment Club and the lead investor expressly agrees that the Investment Clubs money will be held by us as a deposit in our capacity as a banker;
• you are a SIPP Member and both you and your SIPP Trustee expressly agree that your money will be held by us as a deposit in our capacity as a banker; or
• you hold a joint Account or Account(s) with another person and each of you expressly agrees that your money will be held by us as a deposit in our capacity as a banker.

If the circumstances set out above do not apply to you, your money will be held as client money. We will always hold money in a Child Trust Fund as client money.

If you are in any doubt whether your money will be held as a deposit or client money please contact us.

1. Investments

When you hold stock with us, we hold that stock in a pooled account with Equiniti Financial Services Limited, which holds them through its nominees LR Nominees Limited, or with Cofunds Limited, which holds them through its nominees Cofunds Nominees Limited. Equiniti Financial Services Limited and Cofunds Limited are regulated by the FSA (FSA Register number 468631 for Equiniti Financial Services Limited and FSA register number 194734 for Cofunds Limited). You hold your stock with us in an account with us designated in your name.

Please note, as indicated in the section on Risk Warnings, that your Investments will be held by the nominee in a pooled account together with those of our other clients. Therefore, the investments will not be distinguishable by client/beneficial owner, the type of account within which they were purchased or to which they were transferred or the country of residence of the beneficial owner.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme

As a firm authorised in the UK by the Financial Services Authority, eligible depositors and investors may be covered Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if Selftrade or a UK bank is declared in default. The FSCS can pay compensation:

• to depositors if a UK bank (and certain other banks) is unable to meet its financial obligations; and
• to investors if a UK investment firm (and certain other investment firms) is unable to meet its obligations.

Most depositors and investors - including most individuals and small businesses - are covered by the scheme. Please note that some people may not be eligible for compensation under the FSCS (see section 6 of our General Terms and Conditions).

Deposits: In respect of deposits with a UK bank (like Selftrade and any UK bank in which we hold client money), an eligible depositor is entitled to claim up to £85,000 in compensation for losses across all of his/her deposits with that bank. For joint accounts each account holder is treated as having a claim in respect of their share so, for a joint account held by two eligible depositors, the maximum amount that could be claimed would be £85,000 each (making a total of £170,000). The £85,000 limit relates to the combined amount in all the eligible depositor's accounts with the bank, including their share of any joint account, and not to each separate account. This limit is the sterling equivalent of the €100,000 limit, which applies across the European Economic Area (EEA). Our current policy is to spread deposits of client money between various European institutions (both UK and non UK banks). UK banks are covered by the FSCS; the other European banks are not (please see the section headed 'Other Schemes' below).

Investments: In respect of investments with a UK investment firm (like Selftrade), an eligible investor is entitled to claim up to £50,000.

Cash balances held in Selftrade CFD and SpreadBetting accounts are deposits with City Index Limited, the service provider, and are covered by their client money arrangements. Client Money may be deposited with UK banks or with banks or third parties outside of the EEA: please see the Terms of business for further details.

For further information about the FSCS (including the amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please refer to the FSCS website www.FSCS.org.uk or call 0207 892 7300 or 0800 678 1100. You can also write to the FSCS at 7th Floor Lloyds Chambers, Portsoken Street, London E1 8BN.

Other schemes

We hold some client money with banks situated in the EEA, outside the UK. These accounts will not be covered under the FSCS and may be subject to compensation schemes applicable in those EEA countries in accordance with the €100,000 limit.