Investor qualification requirements and how to become a qualified investor

Trading forex through a Russian-licensed broker has its own, not always pleasant, peculiarities, and since October 2021, investor qualification requirements have been added.

This means that in order to trade on the exchange, it is no longer enough to simply have money; you also need to meet certain requirements.

To fully engage in trading without restrictions, you must have qualified investor status. However, it should be noted that this requirement is only imposed by companies operating under a license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

But let's still try to understand what this status actually entails and what restrictions apply without it. And most importantly, how to become a qualified investor.

To summarize the requirements, they all boil down to having a large capital base, experience in the stock market, or professional education:

To be considered a qualified investor, you must meet the following requirements:

• Have 6 million rubles – in deposits or securities.

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

• Specialized 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's clear that not every potential trader can meet 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 a test to prove their knowledge of the basics of stock trading.

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

A certified investor is a non-qualified investor who has passed a special test on market knowledge.

Can trade using leverage that changes depending on the volatility of the currency pair .

There are several options that allow you to make trading full-fledged:

The first and easiest way is to trade through a broker with an international license , which does not impose requirements on investor qualifications and does not create additional difficulties for yourself.

The second, longer but entirely achievable option is to take a market knowledge test and begin trading with floating leverage. Alternatively, start trading securities with a specialized broker , and after a year, switch to a broker licensed by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.