Frequently Asked Questions
How do I open a Derivatives Trading Account with DBS Vickers Securities? What are the account opening requirements? What is the initial deposit required?
To open an account, individuals must be at least 21 years old. Application must be made in person at our office with these documents -
Necessary documents:
| For Singaporeans |
NRIC (Pink) |
| For Singapore PRs |
Passport & Valid Re-entry Permit or NRIC (Blue) |
| For Malaysians |
Malaysian Identity Card |
| For Foreigners |
Passport |
The initial deposit required is USD 10,000 for Singaporeans, PRs, and Employment Pass holders and USD 50,000 for all others.
Account application in person with our Derivatives officers is at
8 Cross Street
#02-01 PWC Building
Singapore 048424
For overseas clients, you may call our Derivatives officers at +65 6398 6078.
What is Margin trading & how is it different from share margin financing?
Margin trading provides you with leverage to trade on a contract of a larger nominal value. The initial margin required to establish a trade covers the price risk of the contract for a specified period and is around ...% of the entire contract value.
Share margin financing, on the other hand, allows investors to obtain financing by pledging the shares in their portfolio and using the collateral obtained for the purchase of additional shares.
Why should you consider trading Derivatives with DBS Vickers Securities?
We have a round the clock dealing desk with extensive linkages to many of the major exchanges. We offer accurate and fast execution at competitive rates and pay interest on positive account balances.
What are the products that we offer?DBS Vickers Securities (S) Pte Ltd offers a wide range of financial products that are traded actively in the global market. We offer an array of financial products.
| Stock Index Futures |
MSCI Singapore Index, Straits Times Index, Hang Seng Index, Nikkei 225 Index, S&P, DJ, Nasdaq |
| Currency Futures |
Japanese Yen, Euro, Aussie Dollar, Swiss Franc |
| OTC Spot Forex |
USD/YEN, USD/CHF, EUR/USD, EUR/YEN, AUD/SGD |
| Interest Rate Futures |
Eurodollar, Japanese Government Bond, T-Bonds, Singapore Dollar Interest Rate, Euribor |
| Energy Futures |
Brent Crude, Light-Sweet Crude Oil, Heating Oil, Gas Oil, Natural Gas |
| Agriculture Futures |
Corn, Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar, Cotton, Wheat, Soybean, Rubber, Crude Palm Oil |
| Metal Futures |
Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, Aluminium, Copper |
| OTC Clearing Contracts |
Wet Tanker FFAs, Dry Bulk FFAs, Oil Derivatives |
*This list is not exhaustive.
How do I get started?
Submit the complete set of account opening documents together with the minimum deposit. Upon the account being approved and the funds cleared, trading can commence.
| Residents |
USD10,000 or equivalent |
| Non-residents |
USD50,000 or equivalent |
How much commission must I pay per trade?
The commission you pay differs from products and exchanges. We offer very competitive rates across all products, which can be as low as SGD10 for single stock futures contracts and 1 pip for foreign exchange. You may ask for a Schedule of Standard Commissions & Margins, although the margins required do change frequently due to market volatility.
When will I have a margin call & how much do I need to top up?
Your open positions are marked-to-market to the closing prices obtained at the end of each trading session. Most of the time, the Initial Margin (IM) is sufficient to buffer some losses. However, when your losses deplete your equity below the Maintenance Margin (MM) required, you will then receive a margin call, which requires the account holder to top up their equity to the IM level.
You can top up your Derivatives Trading Account by giving us a cheque. Alternatively, if you have a DBS account, you can deposit your cash or cheque at any one of the DBS branches; or remit funds via ATM transfer, internal or telegraphic transfer, internet banking, internet kiosk, Nets kiosk and phone banking.
How long should I hold on a position?
Depending on your personal preference and perspective, you may wish to adopt a short term trading approach (taking a position for 1 day, 1 hour, or even just a few minutes); or longer term trading approach (several days to several weeks).
How do I obtain the latest updates on market price?
Trading activities can be monitored daily in the money pages of the local press. Alternatively, price information is also available from sources such as InTV page, SGX-DT member brokering companies, information vendors such as Reuters, Dow Jones, Bloomberg, etc and web sites such as www.sgx.com. Alternatively, you can also call us to get the latest updates of the market prices.
What are the risks involved in Derivatives trading?
Transactions in leveraged foreign exchange and futures carry a high degree of risk. Due to the transaction being highly leveraged, a relatively small market movement will have a proportionally larger impact on the funds you have deposited or will have to deposit. This may work against you as well as for you.
In addition, the placing of certain orders (e.g. 'stop loss' orders, or 'stop-limit' orders) that are intended to limit losses to certain amounts may not be effective because market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders.
