A warrant gives an investor the right, but not the obligation, to purchase (call) or sell (put) a predetermined asset (most often a share) at a predetermined price (strike/exercise) by a specified date (exercise) in the future. In other words, one can benefit from rising and falling prices. Further warrants offer leverage that increases one’s risk and, as such, profit or loss.

It is possible to have more than one warrant on a particular underlying share. Call warrants allow traders to profit from share price increases, while put warrants let traders make money when the share price falls.
For the risk-inclined investor, trading in warrants can provide the same type of upside associated with small cap shares without some of the pitfalls. In South Africa, the Financial Services Board (FSB) regulates warrants under the Stock Exchange Control Act.

Start trading: If you would like to open a discount warrants and instalments account, please click here

All investors should consider including a warrants component in their portfolio. These are some of their more pertinent benefits:

• Warrants enable investors to trade on the JSE Limited with the same ease as trading ordinary shares
• Warrants offer a low cost entry into blue chip shares
• There is potential to leverage or gear up your investment
• Your risk is limited to the initial premium (price of the warrant) paid
• Warrants have the transparency of a listed instrument
• Small investors can short the market or hedge their portfolios through the use of put warrants and so profit from falls in the market
• The warrants market is extremely liquid, as the issuer is required to provide both bids and offers.
• Warrants are an extremely cheap instrument to trade with no STT tax and brokerage of a flat R60 plus taxes and fees

Face-to-face courses
Standard Online Share Trading offers a number of courses to help you master the trading of shares. We cover the basics of share investing right through to technical analysis, fundamental analysis and derivative trading.

Existing clients can log into the platform to check course topics and details, upcoming dates in your city, and to make a booking.

New clients please phone our call centre for further information.

If you would like to open a discount warrants and instalments account, please click here.

With our special warrants account, you can trade warrants, investment products or share instalments for a low flat brokerage rate of only R60 (plus applicable taxes and fees) - regardless of the size of your warrants deal. Trading normal shares in this account is not possible.

You will only be charged one monthly account maintenance fee, provided your accounts are linked to the same login.

New clients: Click here to register now with Standard Online Share Trading.
Existing account holders: To trade warrants, please:

• Log-on
• Click on the other products menu
• Select warrants registration.

Brochure
Download the brochure which explains in detail how warrants work and how to get started trading them

Warrants are available in both calls and puts, allowing investors to take advantage of positive and negative movements in an underlying index. Depending on the type of warrant traded, the investor has the right, but not the obligation, to either buy or sell the performance of an underlying index at a specific rate (known as the strike price) on a specific date (known as the expiry or maturity date).

Taking up this right is known as “exercising the warrant”. However, warrants can be traded without the need to exercise the underlying share, thereby making them ideal as short-term trading instruments.

Index warrants are cash settled, meaning that no physical delivery of shares take place.

• Geared/Leveraged exposure to an underlying share.
• Geared/Leveraged exposure to an underlying index.
• To benefit from fluctuations in the price of an underlying index.
• To hedge against adverse movements of a index allowing you to hedge an entire portfolio of shares.
• Ability to trade both the long and short sides of the market.
• There is no securities transfer tax payable.
• No margining process applies; therefore no daily settlement of profits and losses takes place.
• Liquidity provided by Standard Bank, ensuring that traders are able to efficiently enter and exit positions.
• Open up a warrants trading account through online share trading and you will be able to trade warrants and share instalments at a flat brokerage rate of R60*
• * Excludes VAT, UST and investor protection levy.

Face-to-face courses
We offer an intermediate level half-day derivatives course.

Existing clients can log into the platform to check course topics and details, upcoming dates in your city, and to make a booking.

New clients please phone our call centre for further information.

New clients: register now with Standard Online Share Trading.
Existing account holders: To trade Index warrants, please:

• Login
• Click on the other products menu
• Select Index warrants registration.

Brochure
Download the brochure which explains in detail how index warrants work and how to get started trading them

With the growing popularity of geared trading instruments in South Africa, Standard Bank launches knockout! warrants - a super-charged warrant for experienced traders. Knockout! warrants are warrants listed over individual indices or shares traded on the JSE. Investors can trade them as they would trade “vanilla” warrants.
Knockout! warrants have a knockout level. This is equivalent to the strike price. If the price of the underlying crosses the knockout level, the warrant lapses; that is, it terminates and gives the holder no further rights.

• Geared/Leveraged exposure to an underlying index or share.
• Liquidity provided by Standard Bank, ensuring that traders are able to efficiently enter and exit positions.
• Ability to trade both the long and short sides of the market.
• Knockout Level provides traders’ protection from unlimited losses, that is, your maximum potential loss is your initial premium paid – be aware that this is still a 100% loss on your investment.
• Delta 1 Exposure, allows traders to replicate the index’s performance on an almost one-for-one basis.
• Open up a warrants trading account through online share trading and you will be able to trade warrants and share instalments at a flat brokerage rate of R60*

* Excludes VAT, UST and investor protection levy

Face-to-face courses
Standard Online Share Trading offers a number of courses to help you master the trading of shares. We cover the basics of share investing right through to technical analysis, fundamental analysis and derivative trading.

Existing clients can log into the platform to check course topics and details, upcoming dates in your city, and to make a booking.

New clients please phone our call centre for further information.

New clients: Click here to register now with Standard Online Share Trading.
Existing account holders: To trade Knockout warrants, please:

1. Log-on
2. Click on the other products menu
3. Select Knockout warrants registration.

Brochure
Download the brochure which explains in detail how Knockout warrants work and how to get started trading them