Risk disclosure

TradeAlmanac publishes data and calculations; decisions to trade are yours alone. This document names the risks that come with such decisions — not as a formality, but so that each risk is called by its own name. The limitation of our own liability is set out separately, in the Disclaimer.

General risks

• Market — the price of an instrument can fall, including to zero. Past returns do not carry over to the future at any horizon.
• Liquidity — you may be unable to sell at a fair price: there are no matching orders in the book, or the spread is too wide.
• Infrastructure — trading can be halted, an instrument delisted and access to an asset restricted by decisions of the exchange, the depository, the regulator or a sanctions regime.
• Currency — an asset denominated in another currency moves with the exchange rate; once converted, the currency difference can outweigh the asset's own result.
• Tax — rates, reliefs and withholding rules change; the result of a trade is what remains after tax, not before it.
• Information — data arrives from external sources with delays and may carry gaps and errors from the primary source. How it is handled is set out in the methodology — the link is at the foot of this page.

Equities

A share is a stake in capital, not an obligation to pay money. A dividend is not guaranteed: the board may recommend a payment, the meeting may reject it, and an announced payment may be cancelled. Projected dividends on the platform are marked as a projection and are not an announced payment. In a bankruptcy the shareholder is paid last, after every creditor.

Bonds, including OFZ

A bond is not a risk-free instrument. Credit risk — the issuer may fail to pay a coupon or to redeem. Interest-rate risk — when rates rise, the price of an already issued bond falls, and selling before maturity produces a loss. A call or put option changes the effective term of the investment. Yield to maturity is a calculated figure that assumes holding to maturity and reinvesting coupons; it is not a promised return.

Funds: exchange-traded and mutual

A fund's return is reduced by the management fee, charged daily regardless of performance. The exchange price of a unit can deviate from the net asset value, especially when liquidity is thin and outside the main session. The composition of the fund changes under its own rules, not by your decision.

Futures and other derivatives

A derivative trades with leverage: the loss is not limited to the margin posted and can exceed it. If funds run short, the position is closed out forcibly, without your involvement and at an unfavourable price. A contract has a life; expiry and rolling change its economics. This class is not for anyone who is not prepared to lose the entire amount posted.

Foreign securities

Currency, country and infrastructure risk are added to market risk: access to a security depends on a chain of intermediaries and on a regime that can change independently of the issuer. Trading hours and the corporate calendar of another market do not coincide with the Russian one.

Crypto assets

A crypto asset is not a security, has no issuer obliged under it, and is not covered by the compensation mechanisms of an organised market. Volatility is higher than in any other class on the platform, and trading runs around the clock, so the price moves while you are not looking at the screen. The platform shows market data and does not provide access to crypto trading.

Paper trading

A paper account is a settlement simulation, not a trade. Real orders are never sent to an exchange. The simulation does not reproduce slippage, rejected fills, order-book limits or broker costs, so its result is systematically more optimistic than reality. Success on a paper account does not carry over to real money.

What we do not do

TradeAlmanac is not a broker, an investment adviser or an asset manager, gives no personal investment advice and does not assess whether an instrument suits your investment profile. That assessment is made by a licensed market participant. How data is handled is set out in the Methodology; the sources are listed in Data sources.