How are you
registered and regulated?
APPL International (APPL) is
registered as an independent
introducing broker and
notice broker dealer with the
NFA (National Futures Association)
and the CFTC
(Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
Since 1988, APPL has provided
premier
futures and options brokerage
services with a history of reliability
and integrity. Please note that forex transactions have only limited regulation. Please refer to our forex page.
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Where are
my funds held?
Regulations governing U.S. futures
and option markets require that
customer positions and monies
be separately accounted for
and segregated from the positions
and monies of the clearing firm.
All client funds are held in
segregated accounts in your
name at the clearing firm in
which your account is open.
For forex accounts the monies deposited by the client are not held in a segregated account. You should familiarize yourself with the client agreement and disclosure statements of the forex firm you deal with for further information.
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Where are
you located? Our office
is located at 11 Broadway Suite
1004 in New York City in the
heart of the Financial District.
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When I give
you information about myself
can I ensure my privacy?
Confidentiality is important
to many traders; therefore,
we strictly maintain confidentiality
at all times. We will never
provide your e-mail address
or any other information to
anyone other than the clearing
firm holding your account and
any third party vendor you requested.
We feel that you should be in
control of the information you
provide to us.
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Account Questions
What is your
minimum account size?
Our minimum account size is
$5000 for futures and $2,500
for long option accounts.
Once my account
is open do I have to maintain
the minimum?
No. Your balance can go below
the starting point, as long
as you have enough equity to
meet your margin requirements.
Are there
monthly or annual account fees?
No.
Are there
percentage of asset fees?
No.
Are there
inactive account fees?
No.
Are there
additional fees for limit orders,
stop orders or special orders?
No.
Are there
additional fees for toll-free
phone backup?
No.
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What are
your commissions?
Not every client has the same
needs in regards to brokerage
services. Due to this fact,
we customize rates to meet specific
needs. Traders who require full
service , time and attention
of a dedicated broker will incur
a higher commission rate than
a trader who places his orders
directly over the Internet.
Whether it be a fully serviced
or internet trading account
our rates are very competitive.
Please speak directly to a broker
and he or she will asses your
needs and then give you a competitive
commission schedule with monthly
volume reductions.
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What are
your margin rates?
For the majority of accounts,
our margin rates are always
the minimum allowable by the
Exchanges. It is important for
you to know that some firms
do charge greater than 'Exchange
Minimum' (which is allowable
under CFTC rules), but no firm
can
charge you less than us when
we have exchange minimums for
our clients.
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How do I
make deposits?
Routine deposits can be made
by personal check or bank wire.
To make a deposit by check,
make your check payable to the
FCM at which your account is
held, and mail it to APPL International,
Inc., 11 Broadway, Suite 1004,
New York, NY 10004. To make
a deposit by bank wire, simply
call us at 1-800-274-2775 and
we will provide you with the
bank wire instructions, or consult
our "Wiring Instructions" webpage.
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How do I
make withdrawals?
Just call us, e-mail, or fax
instructions and we will instruct
the FCM to issue your funds
promptly.
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Can I authorize
someone else to trade on my
behalf?
Yes.You will need to sign certain
'power of attorney' documents,
which we can provide to you
on request.
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What statements
will I receive?
All customers receive statements
on their accounts when activity
occurs. These statements detail
trade confirmations, purchase
and sales, and open positions.
The statements provide the account
balance, open trade equity and
total equity. Customers also
receive monthly statements as
well as 1099's for tax purposes.
Since you have internet access,
you can also view your account
information online through our
CDC (Customer Data Center).
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Can I receive
e-mail statements?
Yes.
Traders Q&A
How liquid
are the futures and options
markets?
Futures and futures options
trading volume has demonstrated
a steady growth pattern over
the past two decades. According
to the Futures Industry Association,
global trading of futures and
options reached a new record
in 1998: 1,930,225,775 contracts.
This was up 9% versus 1997,
and is up over 400% since 1988.
However, market conditions (e.g., illiquidity) and/or the operation of the rules of certain markets (e.g., the suspension of trading in any contract or contract month because of price limits or "circuit breakers") may increase the risk of loss by making it difficult or impossible to effect transactions or liquidate/offset positions. If you have sold options, this may increase the risk of loss.
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Which markets
can I trade?
You can trade virtually any
market listed on a regulated
futures Exchange. The markets
we offer include:
The traditional physical commodities
- the agricultural markets (grains,
meats, cotton, cocoa, coffee,
sugar), the metals (precious,
such as platinum, gold, silver,
and industrial, such as copper
and aluminum), as well as energy
(crude oil, natural gas and
gasoline). The financial futures-currencies
(Japanese Yen, Euro, British
Pound, Swiss Franc, Mexican
Peso, etc.), stock indices (S&P
500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones), and
interest rate futures (Treasury
Bonds, Notes, Bonds, Eurodollars,
etc.). We also provide access
to overseas futures exchanges
such as the EUREX, LIFFE, SIMEX
and several other well known
exchanges worldwide. We also offer various spot forex and metals trading platforms. For more information on forex trading please visit our forex page under the products section.
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What are
'institutional order executions'
and why are they better?
Slippage is a cost of doing
business and can, at times,
amount to many times the cost
of the commissions. Slippage
can be minimized. This is accomplished
by "hand-picking" floor brokers.
For the sophisticated futures
trader, nothing is more important
than top-quality trade executions.
Floor brokers do vary in terms
of speed, accuracy and quality
of the price fills to the customer.
The term commonly used in the
industry for poor price fills
is "slippage". Slippage is the
difference between the price
at which a trader wants to buy
and sell, and his ultimate fill
price. Through our affiliation
with a major institutional clearing
firm, we are proud of the quality
of fills our floor brokers provide.
We use many of the same floor
brokers used by major institutions
such as large hedge funds and
major banks. What this can mean
to our customers is potentially
improved bottom-line profitability.
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Do you have
a 24-hour desk?
Yes. We offer an operational
"night-desk" for our overseas
clients and domestic customers
to place orders.
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Do you offer
mini contracts?
Yes, we have direct access to
all of the major futures exchanges
for both mini and full-sized
futures and options. Margin
requirements for mini contracts
are typically one-half to one-fifth
the size of the related large
futures contract.
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What types
of orders will you accept?
All types of orders are accepted
- limit orders, stops, market
orders, good until canceled,
FOKs. Unlike some firms, we
will accept any and all orders
the Exchange permits.
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Do you accept
exotic orders such as OCO's
and SCO's?
Yes, when the specific exchange
allows the exotic order we will
enter it for you.
How can
I place orders?
You can place orders by phone
or by one of our trading platforms
on the Internet.
What is
the difference between initial
margin and maintenance margin?
Initial margin is the 'good
faith' deposit required to buy
or sell a futures contract.
The maintenance margin is the
level of deposit that must be
maintained before a margin call
is generated. The maintenance
margin level is approximately
75% of the initial margin.
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Opening an Account
What types
of accounts will you accept?
Individual, joint, corporate,
or partnership. Accounts can
be self-directed or
managed by a third party. Joint,
corporate, managed and partnership
accounts
require additional paperwork.
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How long
does it take for an account
to be opened?
Most accounts are approved for
trading the same day we receive
your account application forms
and good funds are cleared or
wired.
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Can I transferan
existing account to you?
Yes. Transfer forms are included
in the last page of the account
application we provide.
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