NinjaTrader is a trade name of Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited (“PEDSL-CY”), a Cyprus investment firm authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under licence number 342/17. If you hold a NinjaTrader futures account in the European Economic Area (EEA), PEDSL-CY is the firm you have a contract with. It is the firm, as a legal entity, that is authorised and regulated; the regulation doesn't attach to an individual futures account. CySEC is the authority responsible for supervising PEDSL-CY.
That structure raises some questions. Why Cyprus? Who actually holds the money in your account? What happens to client money if the firm fails, and what is and isn't covered? This page answers each of those on the record, and links the governing documents so you can check the answers rather than take them on trust.
One distinction is worth setting up front. This page is about the broker: which entity you contract with, which regulator supervises it, and how your money is held. A separate question is what happens at the market, where futures are exchange-listed and centrally cleared, and the clearing house guarantees performance between clearing members. You remain exposed to PEDSL-CY and its clearing arrangements, as described under “How your funds are held”. If you're new to NinjaTrader, our intro to futures covers the basics.
Who you're trading with in the EEA
Your contracting party is PEDSL-CY. It's registered in Cyprus with registration number HE 356603. CySEC granted its licence on 13 November 2017. The CySEC register lists the firm as Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited (ex I.F. Greenfields Wealth Ltd), the same wording NinjaTrader's own disclosures use.
What “NinjaTrader” means on this site
NinjaTrader is the trade name PEDSL-CY uses for the services and derivatives it makes available through these webpages for clients in the EEA. The name is the same one traders see in the U.S., but the entity behind it isn't: the U.S. brokerage, NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, is a separate company under a separate regulator, and it isn't your counterparty here.
Both PEDSL-CY and the U.S. brokerage sit within the Payward group, the group behind Kraken, but they are separate companies under separate regulators, and only PEDSL-CY is your contracting party in the EEA. That's the corporate reason a Cyprus firm sits behind a NinjaTrader account in Europe: the group already held a Cypriot investment firm licence, and clients in the EEA are served through it.
Why EEA clients are served by a firm authorised in the EEA
Under MiFID II, a firm that offers and markets investment services to retail clients in the EEA has to be authorised in the EEA. A U.S. brokerage regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Futures Association isn't authorised for that. So an EEA client is onboarded to a firm authorised in the EEA, which has to follow the conduct rules that apply under MiFID II.
PEDSL-CY's CySEC authorisation in practice
PEDSL-CY holds a Cypriot Investment Firm licence under the Investment Services Law 87(I)/2017, which implements MiFID II in Cyprus, and has passported those activities to other EEA jurisdictions on a freedom-of-services basis.
A Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) is an investment firm authorised by CySEC under that law to provide specified investment services and activities. The licence isn't general permission to do anything financial; it lists what the firm may do, and the firm is held to that list. The entry for PEDSL-CY is published on the CySEC register of Cypriot investment firms.
What the licence covers
PEDSL-CY's authorisation covers three investment services and activities:
- Reception and transmission of orders in relation to one or more financial instruments
- Execution of orders on behalf of clients
- Dealing on own account
It also covers ancillary services: safekeeping and administration of financial instruments for clients; granting credits or loans to an investor so the investor can carry out a transaction in financial instruments, where the firm granting the credit or loan is involved in the transaction; and foreign exchange services connected to the provision of investment services.
When you place a futures order, PEDSL-CY receives and transmits it or executes it on your behalf under permissions CySEC grants and publishes. A service outside that list would be a service outside the firm's licence.
The conduct rules attached to the licence
One caveat on the Investment Services Law text, worth knowing if you read it: CySEC publishes an English text of the law but states that the English version isn't legally binding. The Greek text is the controlling one.
Investment Services Law 87(I)/2017 is Cyprus's implementation of MiFID II, so the conduct standards are those of MiFID II. The firm has to act honestly, fairly and professionally in its clients' best interests. Marketing communications have to be fair, clear, and not misleading. Because futures are complex instruments, the firm has to assess whether you have the knowledge and experience to understand the risks before it accepts you, which is what the appropriateness assessment in the application is for. It also has to follow the client asset rules for the financial instruments and funds it holds for you, hold regulatory capital, report to CySEC, and submit to CySEC's supervision and enforcement.
These are requirements, not a guarantee of how any firm behaves, and CySEC's supervision isn't an endorsement of the firm.
How passporting works in the EEA, and what it means for a trader in Germany
Under MiFID II Article 34, an investment firm authorised in one EEA member state may provide investment services across the EEA without a separate authorisation in each country. This is why a trader in Germany can hold a NinjaTrader EEA account with a firm that is authorised and supervised by CySEC, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, as its home regulator.
This is the single licence principle, and it's deliberate. Rather than requiring 27 authorisations for one firm, MiFID II authorises the firm once, in its home member state, and lets that authorisation travel. The home regulator, CySEC in our case, supervises the firm, and the host state's regulator doesn't re-license it.
That doesn't leave a trader in Germany without recourse to their local authority. A client residing in Germany can raise a complaint directly with BaFin, which will liaise with CySEC to obtain the information needed to respond. European regulators are required to cooperate with one another, within a framework coordinated by ESMA.
Home regulator and host regulator
For a client in Germany, two authorities are in the picture, with different jobs.
| Authority | Role for your account |
|---|---|
| Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Home regulator. Authorises PEDSL-CY, supervises how it conducts business and how it holds client assets, and can take enforcement action against the firm. |
| Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) | Host regulator. Germany's financial supervisor. It doesn't authorise PEDSL-CY, and day-to-day supervision of the firm rests with CySEC. A firm passporting into Germany on a cross-border basis (with no physical location in Germany) doesn't apply to BaFin for authorisation. Clients in Germany can still complain directly to BaFin, which liaises with CySEC to obtain the information needed to respond. |
Figure 1: CySEC as home regulator, BaFin as host regulator: who does what for a client in Germany of a Cyprus-authorised firm.
Why there's no separate German licence
BaFin describes the inbound mechanism on its site. A firm authorised in another EEA state notifies its home regulator of the intention to operate in Germany, that notification is passed to BaFin, and the firm may then provide the notified services in Germany. German law, in sections 73 and 74 of the Wertpapierinstitutsgesetz, separates two ways of doing it: establishing a branch in Germany, or providing services cross-border without one. PEDSL-CY has no physical presence in Germany, such as a branch, so it provides its services cross-border on a freedom-of-services basis, which is the second route. A firm with a physical presence in Germany, such as a branch, would require BaFin authorisation.
BaFin isn't PEDSL-CY's licensing authority, but it is still relevant for a client in Germany. If you have a complaint about the firm's conduct, you can raise it with the firm first, through the channels its complaint-handling policy names, or complain directly to BaFin, which liaises with CySEC. What happens to the money itself is a separate question.
How your funds are held
Under the Client Money Rules, CySEC's Directive DI87-01 for the Safeguarding of Financial Instruments and Funds belonging to Clients, client money held by PEDSL-CY is segregated from the firm's own money and, in the event of the firm's insolvency, is excluded from the firm's assets.
Where the money sits
Segregation means your money isn't the firm's money and isn't held in the firm's own accounts. PEDSL-CY holds client money with a credit institution, a bank authorised in a third country, or a qualifying money market fund; the terms of service set out the arrangements. The requirement comes from MiFID II Article 16(8) and (9), and the Client Money Rules set out how Cypriot firms have to do it. Our futures margin page explains what margin is and how it's calculated.
Client money may be held in an omnibus account: one account holding money belonging to many clients, rather than an account in your name. Where it is, your funds sit alongside other clients' funds, and your entitlement is established by the firm's records.
MiFID II doesn't prevent firms from using omnibus accounts, and it's the reason accurate reconciliation is itself a regulatory obligation.
If the firm becomes insolvent
Under the Client Money Rules, segregated client money is excluded from the firm's assets on insolvency. The practical point is that it isn't part of the pool an insolvency practitioner distributes to the firm's own creditors. It's held for clients. Recovery can still take time, and a shortfall is possible. If there is a shortfall, the Investor Compensation Fund may compensate eligible clients, but only up to €20,000 per eligible client and only if you're entitled to compensation.
Segregation concerns what happens to client money if the firm fails, not losses from the market. A broker failure and a losing trade are different events with different outcomes. Segregation doesn't guarantee that all of your money is returned, and the Investor Compensation Fund that sits behind it is capped and conditional.
What the Investor Compensation Fund covers
Participation in the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund is compulsory for every Cyprus Investment Firm, and the fund may compensate eligible non-professional clients, up to €20,000 per eligible client, when CySEC determines that a member cannot meet its obligations to clients. Compensation is conditional and capped, so you may not get all of your money back.
Who can claim, and what triggers a payout
The Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) is Cyprus's investor compensation scheme, established under the Investment Services Law 87(I)/2017 with Directives DI87-07 and DI144-2007-15, as our terms of service describe. Every CIF has to belong to it, PEDSL-CY included, and the fund exists for the case where a member firm can't return client money or instruments.
Eligibility is scoped to non-professional clients, who are retail clients in MiFID II's classification. Clients categorised as professional or as eligible counterparties fall outside it. How you're categorised is set out in the firm's Client Categorisation Policy on our Policies page, and it isn't cosmetic: it decides which rules apply to you and whether the fund covers you at all.
A payout is triggered when CySEC determines that a member cannot meet its obligations to clients, or where a judicial authority makes a determination to the same effect. The fund's reach follows the firm's business rather than national borders, so clients served cross-border on a freedom-of-services basis are within scope if they are otherwise eligible. Compensation is capped: the fund covers eligible investments up to €20,000 per eligible client. Whether you are entitled to compensation depends on the fund's conditions, and you shouldn't assume that all of your money would be returned.
The ICF sits behind segregation rather than in front of it. Segregated money isn't part of the firm's assets, and the fund is there for the case where the firm still can't meet its obligations. Compensation is capped, depends on your entitlement, and doesn't mean you will get all of your money back.
What the fund doesn't cover
The Investor Compensation Fund can compensate eligible clients, up to €20,000 per eligible client, if a member firm fails to meet its obligations to them. It does not cover trading losses. Market moves against your position, margin calls, and liquidation are trading outcomes rather than firm-failure events, and no compensation scheme reimburses them.
That distinction is a commonly misread part of this topic. Derivatives are leveraged, losses can exceed your initial investment, and nothing in the regulatory structure changes that. Read the risk disclosure statement before you trade.
Where to find the documents that govern your account
None of this has to be taken on faith. The documents that govern your account are published, and these are the ones that matter most.
- Risk disclosure statement: the MiFID II risk disclosure for your account, with per-risk detail, insolvency, and appropriateness
- Terms of service: the contract between you and PEDSL-CY, including client asset arrangements and investor compensation
- Key information documents: the standardised KIDs for the products available to you
- Disclosures: MiFID II target market disclosure, the elective-professional warning, and Pillar 3
- Policies: the policy documents, including the Investor Compensation Fund Policy and the Client Categorisation Policy
If something in them doesn't match what you expected, support can point you at the right document or escalate it.
If you've read the documents and want to open a futures account, you can start the application at account.ninjatrader.com/eu/register. The application includes the appropriateness assessment described above, and you'll see pricing before you fund anything. Trading derivatives carries significant risk and you can lose more than your initial investment, so trade only with money you can afford to lose.
FAQs about PEDSL-CY and your NinjaTrader account
Is a CySEC regulated broker safe?
CySEC authorisation means a firm is authorised under Cyprus's implementation of MiFID II and subject to CySEC's supervision against conduct and client-asset rules, including segregation of client money and compulsory membership of the Investor Compensation Fund. That's a regulatory standard rather than a guarantee against loss, and CySEC's supervision isn't an endorsement of the firm. No authorisation protects you from a losing trade, and derivatives remain high-risk instruments.
Why is PEDSL-CY authorised in Cyprus rather than Germany?
Because PEDSL-CY is authorised in Cyprus and passports that authorisation into other EEA states under MiFID II Article 34, so a client in Germany can be served from Cyprus without a second licence. CySEC is the home regulator and supervises the firm. BaFin, as host regulator, doesn't license it, but German clients can still complain directly to BaFin, which works with CySEC to resolve the matter.
Who holds my money?
PEDSL-CY holds client money segregated from its own, placed with a credit institution, a bank authorised in a third country, or a qualifying money market fund. It may be held in an omnibus account holding several clients' funds, with your entitlement recorded in the firm's books.
What happens if PEDSL-CY becomes insolvent?
Under the Client Money Rules, segregated client money is excluded from the firm's assets, so it isn't distributed to the firm's own creditors. If the firm still can't meet its obligations to clients and CySEC determines as much, the Investor Compensation Fund may compensate eligible non-professional clients, but only up to €20,000 per eligible client for eligible investments and only if you are entitled to compensation. You shouldn't assume that all of your money would be returned.
Does the Investor Compensation Fund cover trading losses?
No. The fund can compensate eligible clients, up to €20,000 per eligible client, if a member firm fails to meet its obligations to them. Losses from market movements, margin calls, or liquidation are trading outcomes and fall outside it.
Trading derivatives and other financial instruments may be subject to national restrictions and limitations.