Deal in Traditional Warrants, Covered Warrants and other securitised derivatives listed on the London Stock Exchange.
You should be aware that special risks apply to dealing in Covered Warrants and other such complex instruments. These risks are documented in a formal risk warning notice. For your protection, and to satisfy the regulations, it is important that you read and understand the contents of this warning and that you complete our appropriateness assessment before we can permit you to deal in complex instruments.
When logged-in to your account you will automatically be asked to complete the appropriateness assessment before trading Complex Instruments for the first time. Alternatively, you can complete a printed copy of the form using the link below, then return it to us.
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Warrants give you the right (though not an obligation) to purchase shares at a fixed price for a specified period of time. A traded instrument, the price of the Warrant is related to the price of the underlying investment: typically it would be higher than the current share price. The closer the warrant gets to its expiry date, the closer its price gets to the underlying share price.
Covered Warrants are issued by large financial institutions, principally Société Générale and Royal Bank of Scotland, and give you the right to buy or sell existing shares at a fixed price by a certain date. 'Covered' relates to the requirement of the issuer to hold (or hedge) a sufficient amount of the underlying asset to cover the issue. However, Covered Warrants are overwhelmingly cash rather than physically settled so investors need never take delivery of the asset, as a result they are exempt from stamp duty. Covered Warrants automatically exercise at expiry, are traded on the stock exchange, and are CREST settled (T+3) through your account in the normal way.
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Turbos (formerly known as Listed CFDs) combine the flexibility of a CFD (Contract for Difference) with the price transparency of a London Stock Exchange listing. Most importantly, a Turbo embeds a Knock Out Barrier at no extra cost, which means you can never lose more than your initial margin payment, no matter how badly markets move against you.
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Issued by a range of investment companies such as RBS, Barclays Capital and Société Generalé, Listed Structured products use different financial instruments such as futures and options to create investments that provide you with a level of exposure to stock market gains coupled with guarantees to limit losses or to lock in gains as the market rises.
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Available through our separate CFD and Spread Betting account services provided in conjunction with City Index, these instruments enable you to take advantage of market movements, both up and down. What's more, there's no UK stamp duty to pay and with Spread Bets there's no liability to Capital Gains Tax either.
As 'margin' products, they aren't suitable for everyone. Effectively, you can trade in stocks, indices, currencies etc without having to pay the full price of the investment, as you would if trading in the underlying investments. Because you only need to deposit a percentage of the value of your trade (typically 10%) you can buy more than you otherwise would, but, conversely your risk is higher. As your return is determined by the price movement on the total trade value, profits and losses can quickly exceed the initial deposit and you may need to make further deposits at short notice. And since you are effectively 'borrowing' to cover most of the cost of your trade, you'll also have a financing cost to cover.
Covered Warrants are traditionally used by investors in an attempt to amplify profits. However, they can also be used in a defensive manner. Warrants specialist, Andrew McHattie has produced a guide with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which details a number of strategies where covered warrants may be used to deliver returns.
Find out more about Société Générale covered warrants, Turbos and Listed Structured products.
Learn about Royal Bank of Scotland covered warrants through video tutorials, factsheets and product guides.
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