Meritz Securities Launches Overseas Stock CFD with Industry's Lowest Fees

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Meritz Securities (CEO Choi Hee-moon) announced on the 24th that it has launched an 'Overseas Stock Contract for Difference (CFD) Service' that allows investment in stocks listed in four markets: the United States, China, Hong Kong, and Japan.

A CFD is a product exclusively for professional investors, which is an over-the-counter derivative that settles the difference between the entry price and the liquidation price in cash without actually holding the underlying stock.

The biggest advantage of overseas CFDs is that they allow leveraged investment in foreign stocks, and the 'derivative product capital gains tax,' which imposes a lower tax burden compared to the capital gains tax borne by investors when investing directly, can increase investment returns.

Currently, 22% of investment returns from overseas stock investments are paid as capital gains tax, but when investing in overseas stocks through CFDs, only 11% of investment returns are imposed as derivative product capital gains tax. The taxable base applied here is the net profit and loss excluding all costs incurred while using CFDs, losses from CFD investments, and profits and losses from other derivatives.

Meritz Securities plans to provide a safe account with 100% margin and no forced liquidation or interest burden for overseas CFDs, just like domestic CFDs. The safe account requires the full purchase funds to be deposited in the account for trading, and no interest costs occur for holding CFDs. Also, since forced liquidation due to margin shortage does not occur, customers who are burdened by leveraged investment can comfortably use it by utilizing only the advantages of CFDs in a structure similar to general stock investment.

Meritz Securities offers the industry's lowest trading commissions and interest rates for overseas markets as well. When opening a CFD-dedicated account non-face-to-face via the Meritz Securities smartphone app and trading online, the lowest industry-level trading commissions of 0.09% apply to the US, Hong Kong, and Japan markets, and 0.15% applies to the China market.