Boet, there is no "JSE' protection for your trading account. The only protection you have is that once you own a futures contract - it is between you and the JSE, it cannot be attached to any debts that your (seemingly expensive by the way) futures broker may incur. But if your broker absconds with the petty cash box - I am afraid that is your capital gone, bye bye. And Ninja - a 14bn balance sheet is all very well, but think of the exposure they have at any 1 point in time, I mean considering that currency futures is a multi-trillion dollar industry, can you imagine if some rogue trader inside the company forgets to hedge a position? Here is a scenario for you that could also happen - earthquake in Japan causes a massive spike / dip in the yen price (ok it didn't happen, but could have?). A whole bunch of traders caught on the wrong side of the trade and forced to make margin calls. You think it is possible to have $14bn default? I think it is plausible. Still - if you know your risks - you can manage accordingly. Me for example, I syphon my profits out of my trading account