Investor qualification requirements and how to become a qualified investor

Forex trading through a broker licensed in the Russian Federation has its own, not always pleasant, features, and since October 2021, a requirement for investor qualifications has been added.

That is, now in order to trade on the stock exchange it is not enough just to have money, but you also need to meet certain requirements.

To conduct full-fledged trading without restrictions, you must have the status of a qualified investor, although it should be noted that this requirement is put forward only by companies operating under a license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

But let’s still try to figure out what this status represents and what restrictions are imposed in its absence. Well, most importantly, how to become a qualified investor.

If we summarize the requirements put forward, they all boil down to the presence of large capital, experience in the exchange sector or professional education:

In order to be considered a qualified investor, you must meet the following requirements:

• Have 6 million rubles – on deposits or in securities.

• Have experience in exchange trading - within a year, make transactions with securities worth at least 6 million rubles, with a frequency of at least one transaction per month.

• Professional education – a diploma from a university that has the right to certify activities in the securities market or a CFA, CIIA, FRM certificate.

• Experience in an organization whose activities include investments in the securities market, at least 3 years.

The requirements are quite specific and it is clear that not every potential trader can satisfy them:

For those who are not qualified investors, there are other categories:

An unqualified investor is a person who has no experience working on the stock exchange and has not passed the test for knowledge of the basics of stock trading.

Such traders are only allowed to exchange currencies without using leverage.

A certified investor is an unqualified investor who has passed a special market knowledge test.

Can trade using leverage, which varies depending on the volatility of the currency pair .

There are several options to make trading complete:

The first and simplest is to trade through a broker with an international license , who does not impose requirements on the investor’s qualifications and does not create additional difficulties for himself.

The second, longer, but quite feasible , is to pass a market knowledge test and start working with floating leverage. Or start trading securities with a specialized broker , and after a year switch to a broker licensed by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.