When you click the trade button on one instrument, system will automatically choose the account that has the same currency with the instrument. For example, if you are trading Apple on Nasdaq, your USD account will be chosen automatically if you have one USD account.
If you are about to place a trade in an instrument denominated in a currency, different from the currency of the account while you also do have an account available in the same currency as the instrument you are trading, we display a yellow warning, as this will involve currency conversions. For example, you do have a USD account but you choose the SGD account.
The warning is informative only and will not prevent you from placing a trade.
In the image above, the selected instrument is Apple in USD but the account is in SGD.
If you decide to buy Apple stocks from your SGD account, the system converts the necessary amount of SGD to USD to purchase the stock. Please be aware that a currency conversion fee applies in such cases.
Trading with Insufficient Funds in a Sub-account:
What happens if you trade USD stocks from your USD account, but the account lacks sufficient funds, while your other accounts, such as your SGD account, have sufficient funds?
If you attempt to trade cash products like stocks in a sub account that does not have sufficient funds, the system will still allow the transaction if you have sufficient funds in other accounts. However, this will result in a negative balance in that sub account, and interest charges will apply to that negative balance. It is advisable to transfer funds into the sub-account before engaging in trades to avoid incurring interest charges. How interests are calculated.
Example:
- You have two accounts: one in SGD and a sub-account in USD.
- You decide to purchase US stocks through your USD sub-account, but most of your funds are actually in the SGD account.
- Despite your USD sub-account lacking sufficient funds, the system will allow the trade to proceed by considering your total funds across all accounts, including the SGD account.
- As a consequence, your USD sub-account will display a negative balance, essentially borrowing against your overall account assets.
- A negative balance generally leads to interest charges.
To prevent interest accrual, transfer sufficient funds from your SGD account to your USD sub-account before executing trades. This ensures that your sub-account has adequate funds to cover the transaction. How to transfer funds between sub accounts
Read more:
Open a sub account in a different currency