Risks of After-Hours Trading
Risks of After-Hours Trading
There are special characteristics and unique risks associated with trading in securities at times that are outside the ordinary trading hours for the exchange(s) upon which such securities are traded ("After-Hours Trading" or “Extended Hours Trading”). Customers must familiarize themselves with these risks and determine whether After-Hours Trading is appropriate in light of their objectives and experience. Customers are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the hours of the relevant markets upon which they trade and for determining when to place orders for particular securities, how they wish to direct those orders, and what types of orders to use. uSmart Securities Limited (“USL”) 's offer of After-Hours Trading does not constitute a recommendation or conclusion that After-Hours Trading will be successful or appropriate for all customers or trades.
Some risks associated with After-Hours Trading are as follows:
- Risk of Lower Liquidity. Liquidity refers to the ability of market participants to buy and sell securities. Generally, the more orders that are available in a market, the greater the liquidity. Liquidity is important because with greater liquidity it is easier for investors to buy or sell securities, and as a result, investors are more likely to pay or receive a competitive price for securities purchased or sold. There may be lower liquidity in extended hours trading as compared to regular market hours. As a result, your order may only be partially executed, or not at all.
- Risk of Higher Volatility. Volatility refers to the changes in price that securities undergo when trading. Generally, the higher the volatility of a security, the greater its price swings. There may be greater volatility in extended hours trading than in regular market hours. As a result, your order may only be partially executed, or not at all, or you may receive an inferior price in extended hours trading than you would during regular markets hours.
- Risk of Changing Prices. The prices of securities traded in extended hours trading may not reflect the prices either at the end of regular market hours, or upon the opening of the next morning. As a result, you may receive an inferior price in extended hours trading than you would during regular market hours.
- Risk of Unlinked Markets. Depending on the extended hours trading system or the time of day, the prices displayed on a particular extended hours system may not reflect the prices in other concurrently operating extended hours trading systems dealing in the same securities. Accordingly, you may receive an inferior price in one extended hours trading system than you would in another extended hours trading system.
- Risk of News Announcements. Normally, issuers make news announcements that may affect the price of their securities after regular market hours. Similarly, important financial information is frequently announced outside of regular market hours. In extended hours trading, these announcements may occur during trading, and if combined with lower liquidity and higher volatility, may cause an exaggerated and unsustainable effect on the price of a security.
- Risk of Wider Spreads. The spread refers to the difference in price between what you can buy a security for and what you can sell it for. Lower liquidity and higher volatility in extended hours trading may result in wider than normal spreads for a particular security.
- Competition with Professional Traders. Investors should note that many of the after-hours traders are professional traders who, by nature of their profession, generally have access to more information than individual investors.
During After-Hours Trading, USL may provide quotations from and execute Customer trades through various Electronic Communications Networks ("ECNs"), exchanges or other trading systems ("After-Hours Trading Facilities"). Quotations provided during After-Hours Trading may be different than quotations provided during exchange trading hours. Likewise, it is possible that the quotations displayed by USL from After-Hours Trading Facilities on which USL can execute Customer trades may be less favorable than those on other After-Hours Trading Facilities to which USL does not have access. Last sale information provided by USL may not reflect the prices of the most recent trades on all of the various After-Hours Trading Facilities.
