Guide for brokers and trading apps

Knowledge test for leveraged products

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026

Leveraged products, such as CFDs, rolling spot forex, futures, options and margin trading, can move the account balance much faster than the price of the underlying. Regulators therefore pay close attention to what retail clients know before they trade them.

European Union

MiFID II (Directive 2014/65/EU) article 25(3) requires an appropriateness assessment based on knowledge and experience for complex products sold without advice. Article 57 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 sets the criteria for non-complex instruments; leveraged derivatives do not meet them.

ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796 limited leverage on CFDs for retail clients from 1 August 2018 (30:1 to 2:1 according to the underlying), introduced margin close-out at 50% and negative balance protection, and required a standardized risk warning. ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/795 prohibited the marketing, distribution and sale of binary options to retail clients from 2 July 2018. National authorities then adopted permanent measures.

United Kingdom, Singapore and United States

United Kingdom: FCA PS19/18 applies leverage limits, margin close-out, negative balance protection and risk warnings to CFDs sold to retail clients since 1 August 2019.

Singapore: under MAS Notice SFA 04-N12, retail clients must pass a Customer Knowledge Assessment before trading unlisted Specified Investment Products, which include CFDs and leveraged foreign exchange, or receive advice.

United States: NFA Compliance Rule 2-30 requires futures firms to collect customer information, including trading experience, and to give risk disclosure before opening the account.

What a leveraged products knowledge test usually covers

how leverage multiplies both gains and losses on the margin posted;
margin calls, close-out levels and what happens in fast markets;
negative balance protection and its limits by jurisdiction;
funding and overnight costs, spreads and commissions;
the difference between exchange traded and over the counter products;
reading the risk warning and the key information document.

How Unicorn Academy for Business works

You choose the product category, the number of questions (5 to 40), the pass mark, the number of attempts and the waiting time between attempts.
You add the test to your app or website with one script, a signed link or the REST API, with your name, logo and colors, in 16 languages.
Every attempt draws random questions from the Unicorn Academy courses and shuffles the answers. Users who do not pass get the lessons linked to the questions they missed.
You receive the result by signed webhook or API. Every attempt is stored with date, questions, answers, score, test version and language in a tamper evident hash chain, exportable to CSV or JSON, with an optional PDF certificate.

The assessment stays yours

Unicorn Academy for Business is a knowledge assessment tool that you use inside your own processes. It does not decide whether a product is appropriate for a client and it does not by itself ensure compliance with MiFID II, MiCA or any other rule. How you use the results, and the appropriateness or suitability assessment, remain your responsibility.

Try the demo test See pricing

Every account starts with a test environment: sample data, test keys, no time limit, no card.

Questions

Which product categories are available?

US stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto, pre-IPO and private markets, and art. Each category has its own question bank from the Unicorn Academy courses.

What happens when a user fails?

The user gets the lessons linked to the questions missed and can try again after the waiting time you set. You receive each result by webhook or API.

Is the result a regulatory decision?

No. It is evidence of knowledge that you use in your own assessment, which remains your responsibility.

Official sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and apply differently by country, licence and client type: check the current official texts and the guidance of your regulator.