About Information Regarding the Amount of Increase/Decrease of Customer Deposits and the Percentage of Accounts that Increased/Decreased (An Explanation)

[Please note the following when viewing this statistical information]

• The Deposit Amount Information and Deposit Increase/Decrease Account Percentage Information released by the FFAJ show the past status of member firms and all customers conducting over-the-counter retail foreign exchange margin trading (FX transactions). Therefore, they do not indicate future investment results expected by customers.
• Of the Deposit Amount Information, the value for "Required Amount for Separate Management net increase/decrease" is different from profit/loss for FX firms. Furthermore, of the Deposit Increase/Decrease Account Percentage Information, even if the "percentage of decrease accounts" is higher than the "percentage of increase accounts," this does not necessarily mean that the FX firm is generating a profit.
• An FX firm may disclose deposit amount information about its own customers or information about percentages of accounts whose deposits have increased/decreased. Differences in the investment results of each customer are due to investment decisions made by each customer and other factors, so looking at just the difference in the value disclosed by the FX firm and the value publicized by the FFAJ is not enough to decide whether conducting transactions with that FX firm is advantageous or disadvantageous for the customer. Likewise, comparing just these values disclosed by FX firms to rank the FX firms by their customers' investment results is also not advisable.
• The contents and methods of transactions offered to customers are different for each FX firm. Before conducting transactions with an FX firm, please make sure to thoroughly confirm and understand the contents and methods of transactions in advance.
• Highly leveraged transactions have high risks of losses, and there is a possibility of the customer suffering unexpected losses. So please consider carefully whether to conduct such transactions, and make your own decision whether to invest.
• In Japan, profits that customers earn through foreign exchange margin transactions are subject to tax. Customers that conduct transactions should file tax returns appropriately and pay taxes due.
• For any complaints or problems regarding transactions with member firms, please contact Financial Instruments Mediation Assistance Center (FINMAC).

Deposit Amount Information will be disclosed every month in the format shown in the table below.

The data file, click here.

• The "Required Amount for Separate Management" is the amount that FX firms, having received money deposits from customers, are legally required to put in a money trust at a trust company. This amount is the total of money directly transferred by the customer to the FX firm, valuation gains/losses on the customer's open positions, and swap point gains/losses. Valuation gains/losses on open positions and swap point gains/losses are calculated daily by the financial instruments business operator, and this is reflected in the Required Amount for Separate Management.
• "(1) Customer deposit amount in that month" is the total amount of money that customers deposited in FX transaction accounts at the member firm in a month.
• "(2) Customer withdrawal amount in that month" is the total amount of money that customers withdrew from FX transaction accounts at the member firm in a month.
• "(3) Required amount at the end of that month" is the Required Amount for Separate Management as of the last day of each month.
• " Required amount for separate management net increase/decrease" is the "required amount at the end of that month" minus "required amount at the end of the previous month" minus "customer deposit amount in that month" plus "customer withdrawal amount in that month." It is equivalent to the total of realized gains/losses, valuation gains/losses, and swap point gains/losses from FX transactions in a given month, and an increase in the value in a month (positive value) indicates that customers' assets effectively increased, while a decrease (negative value) indicates that customers' assets effectively decreased.
• "(4) Separate customer money trust amount" is the actual amount that the financial instruments business operator has placed in trust at a trust company as the amount equivalent to the Required Amount for Separate Management.
• "Percentage of separate customer money trust" is "(4) Separate customer money trust amount" divided by "(3) Required amount at the end of that month," given as a percentage, and it shows how much of the "required amount at the end of that month" has actually been put in trust at a trust company as of the last day of each month. Under the law, financial instruments business operators calculate the Required Amount for Separate Management every day, and if the amount put in trust at trust companies is insufficient, they put additional amounts in trust within two days. Because of this difference in the calculation date and trust amount adjustment date, there may be cases in which the "percentage of separate customer money trust" is less than 100% even if members appropriately comply with requirements for separate customer money trust of the Required Amount for Separate Management.

※Click here explanation of "money trust".

The Deposit Increase/Decrease Account Percentage will be disclosed every quarter in the format shown in the table below.

The data file, click here.

• "Individual Amounts for Separate Management" are the necessary amounts for separate management in each customer's account, which serves as the basis for calculating the Required Amount for Separate Management.
• "Percentage of accounts that decreased" is "the number of accounts in which the Individual Amounts for Separate Management effectively decreased" divided by "the total number of customer accounts," given as a percentage, in that quarter. However, the total number of customer accounts excludes accounts in which there was no effective increase or decrease.
• "Percentage of accounts that increased" is "the number of accounts in which the Individual Amounts for Separate Management effectively increased" divided by "the total number of customer accounts," given as a percentage, in that quarter. However, the total number of customer accounts excludes accounts in which there was no effective increase or decrease.
• The effective increase/decrease of each account is calculated and determined using the following formula: [Individual Amounts for Separate Management at the end of this quarter] - [Individual Amounts for Separate Management at the end of the previous quarter] - [Customer deposit amount in that quarter] + [Customer withdrawal amount in that quarter]. The value calculated using this formula is equivalent to the total of realized gains/losses, valuation gains/losses, and swap point gains/losses in each customer's account in a given quarter.

※Click here explanation of "money trust".