Your knowledge and experience of investing

Complex investment products are investment products that are derived from other investment products, combinations of different investment products or investment products with deviating conditions. Examples are options, structured products, special bonds (fixed income category 2), hedge funds and complex investment funds.

Complex investment products have special characteristics and entail additional risks. It is important that you understand how they work and the risks involved. That is why we test your knowledge of these complex investment products through an exam.

Non-complex investment products include most shares, bonds, investment funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). These are standard investment products with standard characteristics and standard risks. For this it is sufficient that you inform us how much experience you have with these investment products and whether you know the product. We do not test your knowledge of these products through an exam.

Complex investment products have special characteristics and entail additional risks. It is important that you understand how they work and the risks involved. We test this through a knowledge exam.

Have you passed the knowledge exam for a complex investment product? Then you can place your order for it. Not passed the knowledge exam yet? Then you will see the following message with your order: “You have not passed the knowledge exam yet. To be able to invest in this investment product, you must first pass the knowledge exam. Test your knowledge here”.

Developments in the financial markets can move quickly. We adjust the knowledge exams accordingly. As a result, it can sometimes happen that you have already taken a knowledge exam and subsequently have to retake it.

I passed, but still cannot place my order. How is this possible?

• You must have passed the knowledge exam of that complex investment product before you place your order.
• Do you want to invest in options? In that case, it is also subject to the condition that you also sign the Options Sub-Agreement.
• If you have not completed the knowledge and experience questionnaire or if you have stated that you do not have a lot of knowledge and experience, you will receive a warning.

Other reasons why you cannot place an order include:

• You have answered the questions and have passed the knowledge exam on your own account, but you want to place your order for another account for which you have not yet passed the exam. For example, for an account that you jointly hold with other people. As a result, you must also take the knowledge exam for that other account.
• You want to place an order for a different complex investment product than the one you passed the exam in. For example, an investment product that resembles a special bond, but falls into the category of structured products because of one or more characteristics.
• You have passed your knowledge exam, but the investment product is not part of the range for the type of investment you have chosen.

With different knowledge exams for the different categories of complex investment products, you will only receive questions about the complex investment product category of which you want to test your knowledge or in which you want to invest. This means that you do not have to answer questions about other categories of complex investment products in which you do not intend to invest.

We test your knowledge and experience on the basis of the orders that you place through Internet Banking or the ABN AMRO app. Are you investing with our advice? In that case, we also test on the basis of orders placed by your investment advisor.

We ask you to take a knowledge exam for complex investment products. When you have passed a knowledge exam, you are considered to possess sufficient knowledge to invest in this investment product.

The exams are available in your Internet Banking. If you have already passed a knowledge exam, you will see a green tick next to that exam. This means that you do not have to take the exam (again).

The knowledge exam you took will no longer be valid from 1 July 2022.

• In order to be able to continue buying options from 1 July 2022, you must pass the Buying Options (Long) knowledge exam.
• To be able to continue writing options from 1 July 2022, you must pass the Selling Options (Short) knowledge exam.

Have you previously invested in options, hedge funds or warrants at ABN AMRO, but there is no green tick in front of the knowledge exams for these investment products? And have you not yet passed these knowledge exams on 1 July 2022, but still want to invest (again) in these investment products or to expand your existing position? Then you cannot place orders in these products from this date, until you pass the exam. You can still place sell orders and orders to close your written option positions (so-called buy to close).

You can take the knowledge exam a maximum of 3 times a day. When you have passed, this is indicated by a green tick next to that exam. It goes without saying that you only have to take an exam for the complex investment products in which you want to invest or in which you want to expand your existing position.

Do you see a green tick next to an exam in Internet Banking? This means that you have already passed that knowledge exam and that you do not have to take a (new) exam.

If you do not pass, you can place sell orders and orders to close your option positions (so-called buy to close). You can no longer place buy orders and orders to write options (so-called sell to open) until you have passed.

The risks and investment goals of bought options and (uncovered) written options are very different.

• Goals such as asset preservation, income and capital growth are appropriate for bought options.
• The goals of (uncovered) written options are much more speculative. The transaction can be very risky due to the leverage and may only fit a speculative investment goal. In the event of uncovered writing, a margin obligation will arise and the purchase or delivery obligation may be greater than the capital you have with us. You could even be left with a debt.

You only need to take an exam for the type of option you want to invest in.

• Do you only want to buy options? Then the knowledge exam Buying Options (Long) is sufficient.
• Do you only want to write options? Then the knowledge exam Selling Options (Short) is sufficient.
• Do you want to be able to do both? Then it is necessary to have passed both option exams (knowledge exam Buying Options (Long) and knowledge exam Selling Options (Short)).

Each complex investment product is linked to one of our knowledge exams. Below is an overview of the different knowledge exams:

Knowledge Exam for Complex Bonds

• Perpetual bonds (never ending)
• Convertible bonds (exchangeable)
• Bonds incorporating an option
• Asset-backed securities

Knowledge Exam for Complex Investment Funds

• Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), such as funds that invest in unlisted investments such as microfinance, loans, direct real estate or commodities.

Knowledge Exam for Hedge Funds

• Long/Short Equity funds
• Market Neutral funds
• Managed Futures funds
• Merger Arbitrage funds
• Absolute Return funds

Knowledge Exam for Capital Protection Products

• FIX-Plus Notes

Knowledge Exam for Structured Products

• Memory Coupon Notes and Autocallable Notes
• Participation certificates and Double Up certificates
• Exchange Traded Certificates (e.g. commodity certificates)

Knowledge Exam for Leveraged Products

• Turbos
• Factor certificates

No. Have you been classified as a professional investor by ABN AMRO? Then you do not need to pass any knowledge exams.

It is important to us that you are in possession of the most recent version of the Investment Agreement. That is why we are sending you this agreement. This copy is intended for your personal records, you do not need to sign it or return it to us. We will add the same version to your digital file in the secure Internet Banking environment. You can find the agreement there.

The enclosed ‘Self Directed Investing Plus Sub-Agreement’ is an integral part of Self Directed Investing Plus. As of 1 July 2022, this will replace your current Self Directed Investing Declaration. The nature of the service remains unchanged: you continue to invest independently, without ABN AMRO’s advice. The enclosed copy is intended for your personal records. You can also find this sub-agreement in your digital file.

No, you do not have to sign and return the Self Directed Investing Plus Sub-Agreement and/or the Investment Agreement, even if this is stated in the text of the agreement(s). You are receiving these agreement(s) for your own personal records.

Do you have multiple Self Directed Investing Plus investment accounts? In that case, you may have previously received a Self Directed Investing Plus Sub-Agreement for one or more of the newer investment accounts. The new sub-agreement that you have now received replaces the older Self Directed Investing Declaration for the investment account that you opened before 1 December 2020.

You previously entered into an Options Sub-Agreement with us. In your current type of investment, investing in options is not/no longer possible. This means that the Options Sub-Agreement does not apply. That is why we are cancelling this agreement.

Yes. According to the Terms and Conditions for Options and the General Investment Conditions, this is allowed. More information about this can be found in Articles 8.2 and 8.3 of the Terms and Conditions for Options (PDF, 161 KB) and Articles 12.3 and 12.4 of the General Investment Conditions (PDF, 247 KB) .

If you want to (continue to) invest in options, you must:

• Take the knowledge exams for options. You can find this exam in your Internet Banking environment.
• You choose the form of investment in which you can invest in options, which is Self Directed Investing Plus. For more information about the Self Directed Investing Plus type of investment follow this link.