Euro Pacific Bank

October New Products and Platform Updates

Improvements to “Transactions not booked”

“Transactions not booked” in Account Details has been expanded to include provisional amounts that are calculated daily, but booked monthly. Provisional amounts now include:

  • CFD finance
  • Futures and listed option carrying costs
  • Option holding fees

CFD finance and interest calculations details are available in detailed reports.

We made these improvements in an ongoing effort to improve the user experience and accuracy of account value details.

.NET Version 4.62 required in GTS Pro

An upgrade to GTS Pro Desktop Application will soon be released which requires the .NET Framework 4.62

New Account Section Coming to GTS

As communicated previously, a New Account Section is getting rolled out to GTS in November. To stay up-to-date with the newest info, see here.

More updates to follow

Trading with Sub-Accounts

Establish sub-accounts for instrument currencies you commonly trade to eliminate paying conversion fees on each individual trade back to your account currency.

Notes about trading with sub-accounts

A few things to be aware of when trading from sub-accounts:

  • Whenever you trade you need to choose the specific sub-account you want to trade from – the platform does not automatically chose the most appropriate sub-account for you. However the platform will warn you if you try to place a trade on an account when a sub-account with a matching currency is available.
  • If you have two opposite positions in two separate sub-accounts, they will not net out at the end of the day.
  • When placing a trade, the platform takes into consideration the total funds and margin available to the sub-account, not only the assets available on the sub-account. If you do not have enough funds you will still be allowed to place trades on a sub-account if free funds or margin are available in other accounts. 
  • If you trade on a sub-account which has insufficient funds or margin, you may get a negative balance on the sub-account and will be charged interest on this negative balance. To avoid this, make sure you keep your sub-account balances positive.
  • You always need to maintain sufficient funds in your main account to cover your Net Free Equity requirements.
  • You can easily transfer funds between sub-accounts using the currency conversion request . The conversion rate will be the current exchange rate plus a conversion fee.

September 2017 New Products & Platform Updates

Product Updates

You can now get exposure to Bitcoin

Interest in cryptocurrencies has grown exponentially in 2017 thanks in large part to increased supply and demand in China and Japan. As a result, traders have increasingly yearned for a product which enables them to speculate on the price of Bitcoin, the original and most well-known cryptocurrency.

Two New ETNs

GTS clients can get exposure to Bitcoin through two new Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) designed to track the movement of Bitcoin against the US Dollar (BTC/USD).

‘Bitcoin Tracker One’ is traded in Swedish Krona (SEK) and ‘Bitcoin Tracker EURO’ is traded in Euro (EUR). Both ETNs are issued by XBT Provider AB and traded on Nasdaq OMX (Stockholm).

If you are subscribed to these exchanges, the Bitcoin trackers will be enabled automatically on your platform. Note that due to low liquidity it is possible that quotes for these instruments will be unavailable. In that case the instrument is still tradable using a market order, but you should consult the relevant exchange to determine the current price before placing such a trade.

How to find Bitcoin in the platform?

The easiest way to find the new instruments is by searching for “bitcoin” in the trading platform. The ETNs will appear in your search result list.

Product Type: Certificate (Exchange Traded Note)
Symbols: BITCOIN_XBT:xome (SEK) / BITCOIN_XBTE:xome (EUR)
Exchange: Nasdaq (Stockholm)
Issuer: XBT Provider AB (publ)
Underlying asset: Bitcoin nominated in USD
Leverage: 1:1
Expiry date: Open-ended
Annual fee: 2.5%
Fact Sheet: Click here
Issuer website: Click here
Risk Warning

Please ensure you understand the risks involved in trading ETNs, including credit-, liquidity- and market risk before starting to trade these products.

FX orders will now be triggered on an independent ECN price feed

By replacing the underlying feed used to trigger resting orders from our own price feed to an independent ECN price feed, that offers a combination of bank and non-bank liquidity, we contribute to the reliant and effective functioning of the global wholesale FX market.

In addition, and further to the introduction of Order Driven Execution in November 2016, which provides a safer and more efficient way to fill client orders, we now route all Stop orders externally to be filled against ECN liquidity as a first priority. This is a safety precaution to ensure an accurate fill in line with the actual liquidity and market depth when faced with very directional client flow.

Why have we done this?

Because it is potential challenge in event driven and/or disorderly market scenarios, we want to move away from bank price feeds that are indicative last look quotes with the bank interest and internal risk appetite built in.  An ECN price feed provides a much broader, neutral and firm set of liquidity (including bank and non-bank providers), in which prices are more consistently present both in good times and in disorderly or illiquid markets. 

Change to the settlement cycle for Canadian and US equities

The Canadian and US equities markets will move from a T+3 to a T+2 settlement effective from 5 September 2017.

For more information you can visit : http://www.ust2.com/pdfs/T2-Conversion-WhitePaper.pdf

Product Enhancements

Coming soon: New Account section in GTS

We are happy to announce a completely redesigned Account section will be launched soon in GTS.

In the New Account Section:

  • New Performance Overview offers detailed analysis of P/L, % returns and the cash balance of selected accounts for a selected period.
  • P/L Analysis Tools allow you to analyze P/L, associated costs and bookings down to the product and instrument level in detail. Analyze your P/L by trading product, specific instruments or sectors, charting the cumulative P/L graphically or itemizing transactions associated with a product or instrument.
  • New Portfolio Summary gives an overview of your current net holding and offers a historic view of your holdings at the end of a selected day.
  • Other Account enhancements include simplified navigation and improved layout of reports; cash transfer tools and other account services.

More details to follow in future updates.

Improvements to “Transactions not booked”

From the 15 September 2017, “Transactions not booked” in Account Details will be expanded to include provisional amounts that are calculated daily, but booked monthly. Provisional amounts will include:

  • CFD finance
  • Futures, CFDs on Futures and listed options carrying costs
  • Option holding fees

CFD Finance and Interest calculations details will continue to be available in the detailed reports.

We are making these improvements in an ongoing effort to improve the user experience and accuracy of account value details.

Upcoming Upgrade to GTS Pro

In September 2017 an upgrade to the desktop application, Global TradeStation Pro will be released. This upgrade cannot be installed on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Consequently, we are ending support for GTS Pro on these operating systems by mid-November 2017. The upgrade will be optional for 60 days, but must be installed from mid-November. At that point, it will no longer be possible to use the platform on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

New Chart Indicators

Two new indicators are now available in the Chart in the GTS platform:

Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP)

Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) is a technical indicator used to measure the average price on an instrument (typically a stock) against the traded volume over a particular time frame.

VWAP is a chart overlay similar to a moving average. VWAP is mostly used on intraday time periods (typically 5 minutes and 1 hour) to determine the general direction of a price move or trend. VWAP only works with Exchange traded instruments where there is an official traded price with volume i.e. Equities and Futures.

Instead of placing a single large order in the market, active traders often use VWAP to trade large volumes in line with the general volume and price of the intraday market in an effort not influence the general market price too much. Skilled VWAP users can often buy a large portion of their shares below the VWAP and sell above.

Oscillator (OSC)

The Oscillator (OSC) indicator can be used as a trend indicator. It charts the relationship between two moving averages (typically 28-day and 14-day averages).

Buy signals:
  • The Oscillator line crosses and moves above the zero line (when there is no difference between the fast and slow MAs) 
  • Strong positive divergence (when the price is trending downwards but the Oscillator is trending upwards – this can be interpreted as bullish, suggesting a that recent down trend may be nearly over)
Sell signals:
  • The Oscillator line crosses and moves below the zero line (when there is no difference between the fast and slow MAs) 
  • Strong negative divergence (when the price is trending upwards, but the Oscillator is trending downwards – this may be interpreted as bearish, suggesting that recent up trend will not continue)

Signals are more reliant on the direction of the underlying long-term trend — confirmation of signals using other indicators is advised.

Improvement to % Comparative chart

We have improved our % Comparative chart where you can now use one of the instruments as baseline

When comparing 2 instruments in Comparative mode, select Use as Baseline from the menu for the instrument – the instrument will be set as the reference (zero line) and percentage changes for the other instrument calculated relative to it.

August 2017 New Products & Platform Updates

New E-mini Russell 2000 Contract Options on CME

On 10 July 2017, the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, the CME Group, launched futures and options on the Russell 2000® Index. This Russell index offers access to US domestic companies with market capitalization of between 50M-10B.

The respective futures and options have traded on the ICE exchange since 2007 but are now returning to CME. The futures will be listed with quarterly contracts, and the September (RTYU7) and December (RTYZ7) ones are already available on GTS.

Contract Options on CME

 

Introducing RANsquawk news feed

You can look forward to even more real-time FX news on the trading platforms, thanks to our latest agreement with FX news provider RANsquawk offering a filtered scrolling headline feed that comprises market relevant news, flow and commentary.

RANsquawk offers comprehensive text headlines for macro events in FX space. This service covers all G20 economic releases, central bank speakers and FX news for major currency pairs and crosses: EURUSD, USDJPY, USDCHF and GBPUSD.

Other currencies covered include AUD, NZD, CNY, NOK, SEK, INR, KRW, TRY, RUB, BRL and any currency in focus and affecting the wider market.

RANsquawk covers sovereign order flow, option barriers and expiries.  Key levels in focus by FX desks are also included in the coverage of important European bond auctions and yield movement.

 

New regulatory requirement (BaFIN) for German domiciled retail clients

From 10 August 2017 the German Federal Financial Authority (BaFin) will introduce new regulatory requirements for German domiciled clients, which require that all trading accounts be converted to Limited Risk.

As a result, several notable updates to your trading account will occur in August. These are listed below.

August 4th 2017:

  • You will no longer be able to use positions in Stocks, ETFs and Bonds as collateral for margin trading, i.e. haircut of 100% will apply.

August 10th 2017:

  • Your account will automatically be converted to a Limited Risk Account which means that there will be no additional payments obligation, i.e. maximum loss can’t exceed your deposit.
  • Margin Requirements on FX and CFD instruments will depend on your Net Equity For Margin (NEFM), i.e. your Account Value less the value of Stocks, ETFs and Bonds positions;
    • NEFM below EUR 100,000: No changes to margin requirements
    • NEFM above EUR 100,000: Margin requirements will increase by a factor of 2 compared to standard margin requirements
  • Stop-Out procedures are initiated at Margin Utilization levels above 100%

If you have any questions about the transition to your Limited Risk Account please do not hesitate to contact us through the usual channels, or email us at [email protected].

GTS Browser Requirements

The minimum browser requirements for using the GTS-web are:

Desktop – Windows

  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Firefox 45+
  • Google Chrome 44+
  • Edge version 38+

Desktop – Mac

  • Safari (latest version)
  • Google Chrome (latest version)

Desktop – Chromebook

  • Google Chrome 44+

Desktop – Linux

  • Google Chrome 44+

Tablet

  • iOS 9+ or Andorid 4.1+
  • Safari 10
  • Google Chrome 48+
  • Edge 38+

Phone

  • iOS 9+ or Android 4.1+
  • Safari 10
  • Google Chrome 48+

July 2017 New Products & Platform Updates

Change to Daily Tom-Next Procedure 

Effective Date: August 1st, 2017

In order to reduce risk and operational complexity, all your open FX spot positions will be rolled over once per day during the European session between 07:00 and 9:00 GMT, as of 1 August 2017.

This change will make it simpler to manage unrealised profits and losses due to the rollover in all currencies taking place at the same time of day. 

NASDAQ and NYSE TotalView real time data subscriptions merge

From 1 August, 2017 NASDAQ (TotalView) Level 2 subscription and the NYSE, AMEX and Arca (TotalView) Level 2 subscription will be consolidated into one subscription to the service Nasdaq TotalView and Last Sale (NYSE and Nasdaq). The subscription will include access to Nasdaq Last Sale data. Applicable fees:

  • Nasdaq TotalView and Last Sale (NYSE and Nasdaq) Level 2 Private: 16 USD
  • Nasdaq TotalView and Last Sale (NYSE and Nasdaq) Level 2 Professional: 102 USD

As a result, current subscriptions on NASDAQ (TotalView) Level 2 and NYSE, AMEX and Arca (TotalView) Level 2 will be end dated as of 31 July, 2017. Subscriptions to Nasdaq TotalView and Last Sale (NYSE and Nasdaq) and need to be entered by clients who want to continue receiving the data.

Australian Securities Exchange subscription fee change

Australian Securities Exchange Level 2 Professional subscription will raise from 75 to 82 AUD.

Introduction to Carrying Costs and Holding Fee

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EFFECTIVE DATE: AUG 1ST, 2017

The global standards on bank capital (the Basel agreements) set stronger prudential rules for banks to keep sufficient capital reserves and liquidity to make them even more solid. These regulatory requirements are increasing the cost of holding the client’s positions and conducting business in Futures, Listed Options, and Expiring CFDs.

Therefore, as of August 1st, 2017, we will be introducing the following:

  • Carrying Cost on Futures, Listed Options, and Expiring CFDs
  • Holding Fee on bought Listed Options (above 120 days maturity)

Carrying Cost on Futures, Listed Options and Expiring CFDs

Overnight positions in Futures, Listed Options and Expiring CFDs will be subject to a carrying cost. The carrying cost will be calculated on the basis of the daily margin requirement and applied when a position is held overnight.

The funding rate used for calculating the carrying cost is based in the relevant Interbank-rate + markup (e.g. 150 bps).

Carrying Cost = Margin requirement * Holding time * (Relevant Interbank rate + Markup) / (365 or 360 days)

EXAMPLE: You BUY 1 Futures Contract in E-mini S&P 500 with a margin requirement of USD 5,500 and hold the position for 5 days.

Nominal Value 115,000 USD
Margin Requirement: 5,500 USD
   
Holding time: 5 days
1M USD LIBOR rate: 1.00%
Markup: 1.50%
   
Carrying cost: 5,500 * 5 * (1.00%+1.50%) / 360 = 1.91 USD

Holding Fee on Long Positions in Listed Options

From 1 August 2017, a Holding Fee on bought long dated Listed Options will apply.
The Holding Fee varies depending on the underlying asset class (Category) and will only apply to bought options with maturity beyond 120 days.
The fee will be calculated based on the below schedule and charged end-of-month.

Bought Options daily holding fees per million (Nominal Value)
Category Interest Rates Foreign-exchange rates and Gold Equities Precious metals, except gold Commodities, except precious metals
 <120 days maturity N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
 >120 days maturity 0.10 0.70 1.10 1.00 1.60

Holding Fee per day = Nominal Value / 1,000,000 * Underlying Category Fee

EXAMPLE: You BUY 1 PUT Option on Coca-Cola Co, Expiry in 160 days, Strike 40.

Nominal Value 4,000 USD (Strike Price * 100 shares)
Category: Equities (>120 days maturity)
Fee per million: 1.10 USD
   
Holding Fee per day: 4,000 / 1,000,000 * 1.10 = 0.0044 USD

May 2017 New Products & Platform Updates

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Futures Position Management Changes (Reminder)

GTS is moving to FIFO netting on futures positions from:

  • 27 May 2017 on the GTS-web platform, and not April 8th as previously communicated

This means that futures trades must be closed in the order they were opened; platform features which allow you to close trades in a different order will be removed:

  • Individual trades in a position cannot be closed directly.
  • You cannot place related stop and limit order to close specific trades.

Closing positions

To close or reduce a position, traders can place a trade using either the Close button on the position or by placing a trade using the Trade Ticket.

Related orders

Stop loss and take profit orders cannot be related directly to individual trades. Independent stop and limit orders can be placed instead and managed separately to the position if traders manually close a position, they must also manually cancel any orders.

These changes have already taken effect in GTS Pro, as described in last month’s update:

https://europacbank.com/support/april-2017-new-products-platform-updates/

One-Cancels-the-Other (OCO) Order to be added for Futures in GTS

One-Cancels-the-Other (OCO) order type for futures contracts will be added in GTS Pro and GTS-web platform on 27 May 2017, which will allow traders to continue placing Take Profit and Stop Loss futures orders with an OCO link, after the related order functionality for futures has been removed.

The controls for placing the Take Profit and Stop Loss orders can be toggled between a fixed Price or a distance in Percent from the current market price.

Input Field Usability Improvements in GTS

On 27 May 2017, usability improvements will be made around the price control toggle between Pips/Percent/Price in all Take Profit and Stop Loss dialogs.

Currently all available input types – Pips/Percent/Price – are shown in the main dialog. Traders choose which one to use and populate it with a value. The others input types remain empty in the dialog.

In the new dialog, the input type choice is brought up on the same level as Take Profit and Stop Loss. If a trader would want to change between input types (e.g. from Pips to Percent), click on the price control for the drop down arrow to appear and click again to choose another input type.

What is Net Free Equity?

Net Free Equity (NFE) is:

  • The cash balance of your main trading account
  • Plus/minus any unrealised profits or losses from open CFDs, FX Forwards and Futures on your main trading account
  • Plus the market value of any FX Options on your main trading account
  • Minus any margin required for financing open positions on your main trading account and sub-accounts

Cash collateral for NFE margin financing may differ from the trading margin requirement.

Interest is calculated daily and settled monthly – within seven business days after the end of each calendar month.

How do I monitor my Net Free Equity?

You can view the Net Free Equity in the “Interest Details” report of the “Account” tab of GTS.

Interest Details


How do I resolve my negative Net Free Equity?

If you have a negative Net Free Equity balance, you will accrue “overdraft” interest on your account. To avoid paying interest, please hold sufficient cash collateral. This can be done several ways:

  • Deposit cash from your bank account using your Transfers > Between Own Accounts function.
  • Sell shares or close a position.
  • If you have multiple sub-accounts, often negative Net Free Equity is the result of trading with the wrong sub-account—the sub-account that doesn’t have sufficient cash. If this is the case, move funds from the “positive” sub-account to the “negative” sub-account by making two transfers. First from the brokerage sub-account to your bank account, and then once the funds have settled, a second transfer from your bank account back to your brokerage account’s correct sub-account.

For further assistance please send a message inside your brokerage platform or email [email protected]