Clients are classified as either retail clients or professional clients based on applicable regulatory requirements in Seychelles.

This client categorization is applicable only to clients registered with our Seychelles entity (Exness (SC) Limited).

Retail clients 

Retail clients are those who do not meet the criteria to be classified as professional clients. This is the default classification applied to all clients unless otherwise informed or otherwise requested by the client and the assessment is successfully conducted by the company and they indeed meet the criteria.

Professional clients

Professional clients are clients who meet the specified criteria as per the regulatory requirements.

Eligibility criteria for professional clients

The following shall be deemed professional clients —

(a) an entity required to be authorized or regulated by the relevant body to operate in the financial markets as:

     (i) a credit institution;

     (ii) an investment firm;

     (iii) any other authorised or regulated financial institutions;

     (iv) an insurance company;

     (v) a collective investment scheme and management company of such scheme;

     (vi) a pension funds and management company of such fund;

     (vii) a commodity and commodity derivatives dealer;

     (viii) a local company;

     (ix) any other institutional investor;

(b) an entity who satisfies at least two of the following conditions:

     (i) its balance sheet total is at a minimum of 20 million USD or the equivalent in any other currency; or

     (ii) its net turnover is at a minimum of 40 million USD or the equivalent in any other currency; or

     (iii) its own funds are at a minimum of 2 million USD or the equivalent in any other currency.

(c) governments, including public bodies managing public finance and debt and licensed financial institutions;

(d) other institutional investors whose main activity is to invest in financial instruments, including entities dedicated to the securitisation of assets or other financing transactions; and

(e) individuals who can be classified as a professional client only if they meet the specified net assets and expertise requirements pursuant to the following.

For the purpose of a classification referred in paragraph (e) above, the company shall assess an individual and following the assessment, classify the individual as a professional client if the company is satisfied that the individual has net assets worth at least 1 million USD.

When calculating net assets of an individual the company-

• shall exclude the value of the building at which the individual domiciles;
• shall exclude any representation of fiat currency belonging to that individual; and
• may include any other assets held directly or indirectly by that individual through direct legal ownership, beneficial ownership or by both legal and beneficial ownership;

For the purpose of an assessment carried out pursuant to the above, the company must, where applicable, take into consideration the following-

(a) the individual’s knowledge and understanding of the relevant financial markets, types of financial products or arrangements and the risks involved either generally or in relation to a proposed transaction;

(b) the length of time the individual has participated in relevant financial markets, the frequency of dealings and the extent to which the individual has relied on professional financial advice;

(c) the size and nature of transactions that have been undertaken by, or on behalf of the individual in relevant financial markets;

(d) the individual’s relevant qualifications relating to financial markets;

(e) the composition and size of the individual’s existing financial investment portfolio;

(f) in the case of credit or insurance transactions, relevant experience in relation to similar transactions to be able to understand the risks associated with such transactions; and 

(g) any other matter which the company considers relevant.

If the company becomes aware that a professional client no longer fulfils the requirements pursuant to the above, and no longer qualifies as such, the company shall, as soon as possible, inform the professional client of this fact and of the measures that are available to the client to facilitate his compliance to the requirements.

Requests for changes in classification should be made to Customer Support.

This article shall apply to clients subject to the Client Agreement. It is for general informational purposes only and does not alter or replace the applicable Client Agreement, which governs your relationship with us.