Stocks
Why trade in CFDs with Us?
You can go long or short on stocks when you trade Contract for
Difference ("CFDs") with us. Maybank Securities clients enjoy 100%
price and volume transparency with our Direct Market Access ("DMA")
business model. We put all trades directly through to the stock or
index market which means the price and volume quoted on our CFD
platform will always be the same as that of the underlying market.
We do not impose rollover fees. There is no contract expiry and your
open positions will remain open for as long as your account has
sufficient funds to meet margin requirement, or until you decide to
close them.
In addition, you can trade seamlessly from a single account and
enjoy access to thousands of share CFDs listed on many global
markets. You can also view all your positions in one portfolio in
real time.
How it Works
CFDs enable clients to take advantage of any market trend.
Start Trading - Go Long or Short with Leverage
You can go long - by buying low and selling higher - when you expect upward price movements, or short - by selling high and buying back lower - to take advantage of downward price movements.
Short Selling
Short selling a stock is as easy as one click of the 'sell' button.
Short selling a counter is, however, only possible if there is
sufficient 'scrip borrow' in our system. This varies on a daily
basis. You can easily check if a counter is shortable from any Buy
or Sell order ticket on our platform.
Should there be insufficient 'scrip borrow' for the day, please call
our CFD Team at +65 6536 2000 to help source for scrip. Sourcing
scrip is on a best-effort basis.
Who Can Trade in CFDs
In 2012, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) introduced
guidelines for broking firms to provide safeguards to retail
investors who wish to trade certain investment products. These
products have complex features and risks that can be difficult to
understand. Under these guidelines, both existing and new clients
are required to be formally assessed by their broking firm for
relevant knowledge and experience in trading Contracts for
Difference (CFDs).
Learn more about how to qualify in the
FAQs section.
Leverage
Leverage your deposit by up to 10 times for Share CFDs. This means
that with a deposit of SGD1,000, you will be able to open up to a
SGD10,000 position if this counter is margined at 10%. Margins are
different for each counter and this is pre-set by Maybank
Securities.
View all tradable counters and their margins here, under the "List
of Markets and Tradable Counters" section in the
FAQs section.
Convenience
Clients enjoy convenience and flexibility without the need for a margin or scrip borrowing account.
Risks of Trading in CFDs
CFDs and other investment products involve the risk of loss and are not suitable for many members of the public. Before investing in CFDs, you should carefully consider your financial situation and consult your independent financial adviser on the suitability of CFDs for you.
Highly Volatile
CFDs are derivatives transactions that provide for adjustment
between the parties based on the respective values or levels of
certain assets or reference indices at the time of the contracts
and at an agreed future time. Such assets or references indices
can be shares, debentures or stocks, among others. There is no
delivery on these contracts – they can only be settled in cash.
The prices of CFDs and the underlying asset or reference indices may be highly volatile and may fluctuate over wide ranges.
The prices of CFDs and the underlying asset or reference indices may be highly volatile and may fluctuate over wide ranges.
Losses May Exceed Initial Deposit
CFDs are leveraged transactions. An investor must deposit
collateral, or "margin", with Maybank Securities in order to
transact. The high degree of leverage that is often obtainable
in margin trading can work against the investor as well as for
the investor due to fluctuating market conditions. The investor
may sustain large losses as well as gains in response to a small
market movement; while the initial margin required to enter into
a transaction may be small relative to the value of the
transaction, a relatively small market movement would have a
proportionately larger impact. Hence, the investor may sustain
losses in excess of any cash and any other assets deposited as
collateral with Maybank Securities.
The investor may be called upon at short notice to make additional substantial margin deposits or interest payments. In certain instances, the investor's position may be liquidated without his or her consent or notice.
The investor may be called upon at short notice to make additional substantial margin deposits or interest payments. In certain instances, the investor's position may be liquidated without his or her consent or notice.
Commissions and Charges
Before you trade, you should familiarise yourself with the details of all commissions and other charges for which you will be liable.
No Guarantee that Loss will be Limited
Under certain trading conditions, it may be difficult or
impossible to liquidate a position, even if the reference asset
for a CFD is quoted exactly as the same prices seen in the
underlying exchange.
For example, this may occur if the price of a security on an exchange rises or falls so rapidly that trading on the exchange is restricted or suspended. A "stop loss" order therefore cannot guarantee that your loss will be limited.
For example, this may occur if the price of a security on an exchange rises or falls so rapidly that trading on the exchange is restricted or suspended. A "stop loss" order therefore cannot guarantee that your loss will be limited.
Not Transacted on a Regulated Exchange
All CFDs will be entered into with Maybank Securities
transacting as principal. They are not transacted on a regulated
exchange, and the terms and conditions of CFD will be
established solely by Maybank Securities.
The investor's rights and obligations under a CFD are not assignable or transferable to any person, and the transaction can only be closed out with Maybank Securities during Maybank Securities' normal trading hours.
The investor's rights and obligations under a CFD are not assignable or transferable to any person, and the transaction can only be closed out with Maybank Securities during Maybank Securities' normal trading hours.
Not a Maybank Securities client yet?
FAQs
What are some common CFD terms used on the platform?
There are a few terms on our platforms that you need to be familiar in order to understand your portfolio
There are a few terms on our platform that you need to be
familiar with in order to understand your portfolio.
Gross Liquidation Value (GLV)
When you first deposit SGD3,000, the Gross Liquidation Value will show SGD3,000. If you use SGD2,000 as the initial margin to open a SGD20,000 position (stock margined at 10%), you will have SGD1,000 left in free equity. GLV : SGD3,000
IM : SGD2,000
FE : SGD1,000
Gross Liquidation Value is the total sum of money that you can recover if you wish to close your account. It includes the return of initial margin from closing off all your positions, and whatever free equity you have.
Initial Margin
When you use SGD2,000 to open a SGD20,000 position (stock margined at 10%), the initial margin would reflect SGD2,000. This is the sum of money which is needed to maintain all your leveraged positions.
Free Equity
As the name suggests, this is the amount of money you have left after opening positions. You can use this amount of money to open new positions. For example, if your free equity is SGD1,000, you can open up to SGD10,000 of positions (stock margined at 10%). If you attempt to open more than SGD10,000 of positions, your trade will be rejected.
If you have open positions and they make a profit of SGD500, you will have Free Equity of SGD1,500. Essentially, GLV = IM + FE.
Margin Utilisation %
If you have SGD3,000 in deposit and you leverage it fully to open a SGD30,000 position (stock margined at 10%), your margin utilisation will show 100%. If you have SGD3,000 in deposit and you use only SGD2,000 to open a SGD20,000 position (stock margined at 10%), then your margin utilisation will show 67%. A healthy margin utilisation would be under 90%. It is important to leave a little money to buffer any potential losses on your open positions. Levels above 100% mean you are over-leveraged and will go into margin call.
Gross Exposure
This is the total value of your trade positions. For example, if you use SGD1,000 to open a SGD5,000 position (stock margined at 20%) and SGD500 to open a SGD5,000 position (stock margined at 10%), then your initial margin will show SGD1,500 which supports two trade positions with a total gross exposure of SGD10,000.
Gross Liquidation Value (GLV)
When you first deposit SGD3,000, the Gross Liquidation Value will show SGD3,000. If you use SGD2,000 as the initial margin to open a SGD20,000 position (stock margined at 10%), you will have SGD1,000 left in free equity. GLV : SGD3,000
IM : SGD2,000
FE : SGD1,000
Gross Liquidation Value is the total sum of money that you can recover if you wish to close your account. It includes the return of initial margin from closing off all your positions, and whatever free equity you have.
Initial Margin
When you use SGD2,000 to open a SGD20,000 position (stock margined at 10%), the initial margin would reflect SGD2,000. This is the sum of money which is needed to maintain all your leveraged positions.
Free Equity
As the name suggests, this is the amount of money you have left after opening positions. You can use this amount of money to open new positions. For example, if your free equity is SGD1,000, you can open up to SGD10,000 of positions (stock margined at 10%). If you attempt to open more than SGD10,000 of positions, your trade will be rejected.
If you have open positions and they make a profit of SGD500, you will have Free Equity of SGD1,500. Essentially, GLV = IM + FE.
Margin Utilisation %
If you have SGD3,000 in deposit and you leverage it fully to open a SGD30,000 position (stock margined at 10%), your margin utilisation will show 100%. If you have SGD3,000 in deposit and you use only SGD2,000 to open a SGD20,000 position (stock margined at 10%), then your margin utilisation will show 67%. A healthy margin utilisation would be under 90%. It is important to leave a little money to buffer any potential losses on your open positions. Levels above 100% mean you are over-leveraged and will go into margin call.
Gross Exposure
This is the total value of your trade positions. For example, if you use SGD1,000 to open a SGD5,000 position (stock margined at 20%) and SGD500 to open a SGD5,000 position (stock margined at 10%), then your initial margin will show SGD1,500 which supports two trade positions with a total gross exposure of SGD10,000.
What is a margin call?
A margin call happens when your account suffers losses and has
insufficient money to support the open positions that you have.
If your margin utilisation is above 105% by the end of the trading day, you will be required to satisfy the margin call by either depositing funds or by reducing your existing open positions.
Margin Utilisation = IM
GLV
If it is above 100%, you have 2 days to top up your account.
If it is above 133%, you have 1 day to top up your account.
Your Trading Representative will begin force selling if you do not top up your account.
If your margin utilisation is above 105% by the end of the trading day, you will be required to satisfy the margin call by either depositing funds or by reducing your existing open positions.
Margin Utilisation = IM
GLVIf it is above 100%, you have 2 days to top up your account.
If it is above 133%, you have 1 day to top up your account.
Your Trading Representative will begin force selling if you do not top up your account.
What are contingent orders?
A useful feature on CFD is Contingent Orders. These are orders
you can pre-set, and they will trigger and go into the market
once the price you have specified is reached. See our detailed
user guide on contingent orders here. All Contingent Orders are
non-guaranteed. In the event of price gaps, your order might not
be triggered.
Example 1:
You have no existing positions. Stock A is currently trading at SGD2.95. You feel that Stock A only has potential upside if it breaks SGD3.00. You can place a contingent order to buy 10 lots of Stock A at SGD3.01 only if it trades at SGD3.00.
Contingent orders are Good-Till-Cancelled and will remain in the system until you delete them.
Example 2:
You have 10 lots of Stock B at SGD3.00. You want to take profit at SGD3.10. Stock B is currently trading at SGD3.02. You can place a contingent order to sell 10 lots of Stock B at SGD3.10 only if the last traded price hits SGD3.10.
Contingent orders are Good-Till-Cancelled and will remain in the system until you delete them. If you decide to sell Stock B at SGD3.05, just note that your contingent order which you have previously set is still "live". This means that if Stock B hits SGD3.10 and you did not delete your contingent order, you will have a 'short' position of 10 lots of Stock B at SGD3.10.
Example 1:
You have no existing positions. Stock A is currently trading at SGD2.95. You feel that Stock A only has potential upside if it breaks SGD3.00. You can place a contingent order to buy 10 lots of Stock A at SGD3.01 only if it trades at SGD3.00.
Contingent orders are Good-Till-Cancelled and will remain in the system until you delete them.
Example 2:
You have 10 lots of Stock B at SGD3.00. You want to take profit at SGD3.10. Stock B is currently trading at SGD3.02. You can place a contingent order to sell 10 lots of Stock B at SGD3.10 only if the last traded price hits SGD3.10.
Contingent orders are Good-Till-Cancelled and will remain in the system until you delete them. If you decide to sell Stock B at SGD3.05, just note that your contingent order which you have previously set is still "live". This means that if Stock B hits SGD3.10 and you did not delete your contingent order, you will have a 'short' position of 10 lots of Stock B at SGD3.10.
How do I qualify for CFDs trading?
In 2012, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) introduced
guidelines for broking firms to provide safeguards to retail
investors who wish to trade certain investment products. These
products have complex features and risks that can be difficult
to understand.
Under these guidelines, both existing and new clients are
required to be formally assessed by their broking firm for
relevant knowledge and experience in trading Contracts for
Difference (CFDs).
Learn more about CFD Trading on the ABS-SAS Online E-Learning Portal.
If you wish to qualify for CFD Trading, please visit any of our Customer Service Centres or Investor Centres to complete the Client Proficiency Assessment (CPA) Form. Alternatively, you may download the form here and mail it to:
Maybank Securities Pte Ltd
Client Services Department
50 North Canal Road
Singapore 059304
Learn more about CFD Trading on the ABS-SAS Online E-Learning Portal.
If you wish to qualify for CFD Trading, please visit any of our Customer Service Centres or Investor Centres to complete the Client Proficiency Assessment (CPA) Form. Alternatively, you may download the form here and mail it to:
Maybank Securities Pte Ltd
Client Services Department
50 North Canal Road
Singapore 059304
How to open and fund your account?
To open a CFD account with us, a minimum deposit of SGD3,000 is
required. This deposit can be used to open long or short
positions. Only cash deposits are accepted (no pledging of
shares or use of CPF monies). Find more information on
how to fund your account.
You will receive your UserID via email and your password within the week.
Learn more about CFDs from these articles from MoneySENSE:
Making Sense of CFDs
The 'Long' and 'Short' of Leveraged Trading
This information is provided by Securities Association of Singapore and Monetary Authority of Singapore as part of the MoneySENSE national financial education programme.
You will receive your UserID via email and your password within the week.
Learn more about CFDs from these articles from MoneySENSE:
Making Sense of CFDs
The 'Long' and 'Short' of Leveraged Trading
This information is provided by Securities Association of Singapore and Monetary Authority of Singapore as part of the MoneySENSE national financial education programme.
How do corporate actions impact CFDs?
CFD mirrors the corporate actions related to the underlying
share. Here are 2 examples of common corporate actions:
Dividends
If you have a long CFD position, your account will be credited with the dividend (net) on the ex-date.
If you have a short CFD position, the dividend (gross) will be deducted from your account on the ex-date.
Rights Issue
If Company A declares a 1-for-2 rights issue at SGD5.00, and if you are holding 1,000 Company A CFDs on or after the ex-date, you will have 500 Company A Rights CFDs credited into your trading account.
After the credit adjustment, you will have a long position of 1,000 Company A CFDs and a long position of 500 Company A Rights CFDs. You can choose to exercise the rights via the Rights CFDs, sell the Rights CFDs, or let it lapse.
If you have shorted 1,000 Company A CFDs on or after ex-date, you will have a short 500 Company A Rights CFDs position debited from your trading account.
After the debit adjustment, you will have a short position of 1,000 Company A CFDs and a short position of 500 Company A Rights CFDs. You will be required to close the 500 Company A Rights CFDs position during the rights trading period.
Please contact your Trading Representative if you have queries on other kinds of corporate actions.
Dividends
If you have a long CFD position, your account will be credited with the dividend (net) on the ex-date.
If you have a short CFD position, the dividend (gross) will be deducted from your account on the ex-date.
Rights Issue
If Company A declares a 1-for-2 rights issue at SGD5.00, and if you are holding 1,000 Company A CFDs on or after the ex-date, you will have 500 Company A Rights CFDs credited into your trading account.
After the credit adjustment, you will have a long position of 1,000 Company A CFDs and a long position of 500 Company A Rights CFDs. You can choose to exercise the rights via the Rights CFDs, sell the Rights CFDs, or let it lapse.
If you have shorted 1,000 Company A CFDs on or after ex-date, you will have a short 500 Company A Rights CFDs position debited from your trading account.
After the debit adjustment, you will have a short position of 1,000 Company A CFDs and a short position of 500 Company A Rights CFDs. You will be required to close the 500 Company A Rights CFDs position during the rights trading period.
Please contact your Trading Representative if you have queries on other kinds of corporate actions.
What markets and counters are available?
Share CFDs available for trading are reviewed regularly to ensure they are competitively margined and that they reflect current levels of liquidity and volatility, amongst other factors that affect risk. Please call the CFD Dealing Desk at 6536 2000 should you wish to trade a counter that is not listed here.
Share CFDs — Markets, Tradable Counters and Margin Requirements
Share CFDs — Markets, Tradable Counters and Margin Requirements
How do I receive my statements?
A statement will be sent to your email every day whether you have made a trade or not. This statement will usually be sent in the evening and will provide details of the trades you made the previous day.
Please contact your Trading Representative if you have any queries regarding your statement.
Please contact your Trading Representative if you have any queries regarding your statement.
How does leverage magnify my profits or losses?
The use of leverage can magnify gains as well as losses.
Comparing CFD, Margin and Stock Trading in the tables below, the
returns a client can make on a profitable long trade using CFD
(10 times leverage) and Margin (2.5 times leverage) are
magnified because of the use of leverage. On the flip side,
losses are magnified as well if the trade is loss-making.
Profits are magnified with higher leverage:
Losses are magnified with higher leverage:
Profits are magnified with higher leverage:
| Action | Item | CFD | Margin | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | Share | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Buy Price | SGD5.00 | SGD5.00 | SGD5.00 | |
| Contract Value | SGD50,000 | SGD50,000 | SGD50,000 | |
| Cash Outlay | SGD5,000 | SGD20,000 | SGD50,000 | |
| Gearing | 10 times | 2.5 times | - | |
| Add cost | ||||
| Brokerage | SGD135.00 | SGD200.00 | SGD137.50 | |
| Exchange Fees | - | SGD23.75 | SGD23.75 | |
| GST | - | SGD15.66 | SGD11.29 | |
| Net Purchase Value | SGD50,135.00 | SGD50,239.41 | SGD50,172.54 | |
| Sell | Sell Price | SGD6.00 | SGD6.00 | SGD6.00 |
| Contract Value | SGD60,000 | SGD60,000 | SGD60,000 | |
| Less cost | ||||
| Brokerage | SGD162.00 | SGD240.00 | SGD165.00 | |
| Exchange Fees | - | SGD28.50 | SGD28.50 | |
| GST | - | SGD18.80 | SGD13.55 | |
| Financing Costs (30 Days) |
SGD205.48 | SGD150.00 | - | |
| Net sales proceeds | SGD59,632.52 | SGD59,562.71 | SGD59,792.96 | |
| Net Profit/Loss | SGD9,497.52 | SGD9,323.29 | SGD9,620.42 | |
| Return | 189% | 47% | 19 | |
Losses are magnified with higher leverage:
| Action | Item | CFD | Margin | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | Share | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Buy Price | SGD5.00 | SGD5.00 | SGD5.00 | |
| Contract Value | SGD50,000 | SGD50,000 | SGD50,000 | |
| Cash Outlay | SGD5,000 | SGD20,000 | SGD50,000 | |
| Gearing | 10 times | 2.5 times | Nil | |
| Add cost | ||||
| Brokerage | SGD135.00 | SGD200.00 | SGD137.50 | |
| Exchange Fees | - | SGD23.75 | SGD23.75 | |
| GST | - | SGD15.66 | SGD11.29 | |
| Net Purchase Value | SGD50,135.00 | SGD50,239.41 | SGD50,172.54 | |
| Sell | Sell Price | SGD4.00 | SGD4.00 | SGD4.00 |
| Contract Value | SGD40,000 | SGD40,000 | SGD40,000 | |
| Less cost | ||||
| Brokerage | SGD108.00 | SGD108.00 | SGD108.00 | |
| Exchange Fees | - | SGD19.00 | SGD19.00 | |
| GST | - | SGD12.53 | SGD9.03 | |
| Financing Costs (30 Days) |
SGD205.48 | SGD150.00 | - | |
| Net sales proceeds | SGD39,686.52 | SGD39,658.47 | SGD39,861.97 | |
| Net Profit/Loss | SGD10,448.48 | -SGD10,580.94 | -SGD10,310.57 | |
| Return | -208% | -53% | -21% | |
What is an example of a profitable trade and a loss-making trade on a margined account?
Peter deposits SGD3,000 into his account and buys SGD30,000 of
Stock A that is margined at 10%.
A Profitable Trade
Stock A moves up by 5 cents, and Peter makes a profit of SGD500. His portfolio will show a balance of SGD3,500, which means he can now leverage up to SGD35,000.
A Loss-Making Trade
On the flip side, if the trade moves against him, the losses he incurs are deducted immediately from his SGD3,000 deposit. If Stock A moves down by 5 cents and Peter loses SGD500, his account will reflect SGD2,500.
Because SGD2,500 is insufficient to support his open initial position worth SGD30,000, there will be a margin call on his account at the end of the trading day.
He has 2 choices:
Trading Example - Profitable Short Trade
Trading Example - Loss-Making Short Trade
A Profitable Trade
Stock A moves up by 5 cents, and Peter makes a profit of SGD500. His portfolio will show a balance of SGD3,500, which means he can now leverage up to SGD35,000.
A Loss-Making Trade
On the flip side, if the trade moves against him, the losses he incurs are deducted immediately from his SGD3,000 deposit. If Stock A moves down by 5 cents and Peter loses SGD500, his account will reflect SGD2,500.
Because SGD2,500 is insufficient to support his open initial position worth SGD30,000, there will be a margin call on his account at the end of the trading day.
He has 2 choices:
- Top up his account with SGD500 to maintain the SGD3,000 needed to support his SGD30,000 open initial position; or
- Sell a few lots so that the trade value of his open position is only SGD2,500. This closes the position partially to reduce his exposure on the trade.
Trading Example - Profitable Short Trade
| Short Stock A | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell Quantity | 10,000 | - | |
| Price | SGD3.70 | - | |
| Opening Contract Value | SGD37,000 | Sell 10,000 shares as a CFD at SGD3.70 (SGD3.70  10,000 shares)
|
|
| Opening Contract Value | Initial Margin (10%) | SGD37,000 10% |
|
| Commission (0.25%) | SGD37,000 | SGD37,000 0.25% |
|
| Total Margin Required | SGD3,792.5 | Initial Margin  Commission |
|
| Close Short Position | Notes | ||
| Buy Quantity | 10,000 | - | |
| Price | SGD3.50 | - | |
| Closing Contract Value | SGD35,000 |
Sell 10,000 shares as a CFD at SGD3.70 (SGD3.70 10,000 shares) |
|
| Variation Margin / Profit or Loss | SGD2,000 | SGD37,000 - SGD35,000 | |
| Commission (0.25%) | SGD87.50 | SGD35,000 0.25% |
|
| Finance Changes (10 days) |
SGD40.54 | SGD37,100 4.0% 365 10 days |
|
| Net Loss | SGD1,779.46 | Profit on the trade - Commission on the open & close of the trade - Financing | |
| Return on investment | 46.9% | - | |
| Short Stock A | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell Quantity | 10,000 | - | |
| Price | SGD3.71 | - | |
| Opening Contract Value | SGD37,100 |
Sell 10,000 shares as a CFD at SGD3.70 (SGD3.71 10,000 shares)
|
|
| Opening Contract Value | Initial Margin (10%) |
SGD37,100 10% |
|
| Commission (0.25%) | SGD37,100 | SGD37,100 0.25% |
|
| Total Margin Required | SGD3,802.75 | Initial Margin Commission |
|
| Close Short Position | Notes | ||
| Buy Quantity | 10,000 | - | |
| Price | SGD3.91 | - | |
| Closing Contract Value | SGD39,100 |
Sell 10,000 shares as a CFD at SGD3.91 (SGD3.91 10,000 shares) |
|
| Variation Margin / Profit or Loss | -SGD2,000 | SGD37,100 - SGD39,100 | |
| Commission (0.25%) | SGD97.75 | SGD39,100 0.25% |
|
| Finance Changes (10 days) |
SGD40.66 | SGD37,100 4.0% 365 10 days |
|
| Net Loss | SGD2,231.16 | Net Loss + Commission on the open & close of the trade + GST + Financing | |
| Return on investment | -58.6% | - | |
