Warrant Trading for Beginners: Getting Started in Malaysia
A beginner's guide to warrant trading in Malaysia — how to open an account, find warrants on Bursa, read a warrant listing, place your first trade, and avoid common beginner mistakes.
By warrants.asia Editorial Team · Published July 20, 2026
- 01
Open a CDS trading account
Any Bursa-registered broker works — the same account used for shares, no separate derivatives account needed.
- 02
Find warrants on Bursa Malaysia
Search by the underlying's name or the warrant code on your broker's platform or an issuer's live screener.
- 03
Read the warrant listing
Check the underlying, call/put type, strike, expiry, and conversion ratio — plus gearing and the bid-ask spread.
- 04
Place your first trade
Buy in 100-unit board lots like a share, sized so the total premium at risk stays a small share of your capital.
What you need to start trading warrants in Malaysia
Trading structured warrants on Bursa Malaysia requires an ordinary CDS (Central Depository System) trading account with any Bursa-registered broker — the same account type used for buying regular shares. No separate derivatives account, margin facility, or special qualification is required. If you already have a Malaysian brokerage account for equities, you can trade structured warrants today without any additional setup.
If you don't have a CDS account, opening one typically takes 1–3 business days through any of the major Malaysian brokers. You'll need a valid Malaysian IC or passport, proof of address, and a linked bank account for settlement.
How to find warrants on Bursa Malaysia
Structured warrants are listed on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market alongside ordinary shares. You can find them through your broker's trading platform (search by the underlying company name or the warrant code), through Bursa Malaysia's official website, or through each issuer's dedicated warrant search tool — Macquarie, RHB, Kenanga, CIMB, and the other licensed issuers each maintain live screeners linked from the issuer pages on this site.
A Bursa warrant code typically includes the underlying's short name, a C (call) or P (put) designator, and a sequence number — for example, MAYBANK-C1 or TENAGA-PA. But the code alone doesn't tell you the strike, expiry, or conversion ratio — always check the full listing details or the issuer's term sheet before trading.
Reading a warrant listing
Every warrant listing specifies five key terms that determine its payoff: the underlying (which stock or index), the type (call or put), the strike price (the exercise level), the expiry date (when it matures), and the conversion/entitlement ratio (how many warrants per unit of underlying). Additionally, you'll want to check the current bid-ask price, effective gearing, delta, and implied volatility — these tell you how the warrant is likely to behave going forward.
Don't be intimidated by the number of data points — the practical decision usually comes down to: is the expiry long enough for my trade thesis, is the effective gearing appropriate for my risk appetite, and is the bid-ask spread tight enough that execution costs don't eat my expected profit?
Placing your first warrant trade
Buying a structured warrant on Bursa works identically to buying a share — place a buy order through your broker's platform at the ask price (or a limit price you're comfortable with), for a quantity that's a multiple of the board lot (100 units, same as shares). Settlement follows the standard T+2 cycle. No margin is required — the maximum you can lose is the total premium paid, which is debited from your account at purchase.
Start small. A reasonable approach for a first warrant trade is to risk no more than 1–3% of your trading capital on a single position, choosing a warrant with at least 2–3 months to expiry and an effective gearing of 3–5× so the position isn't overwhelmingly leveraged.
Common beginner mistakes to avoid
Chasing high gearing: beginners often pick the cheapest, highest-gearing warrant without checking delta or premium. These warrants need large underlying moves to become profitable and lose value rapidly to time decay.
Holding to expiry: warrants are not shares — holding a warrant to expiry hoping for a last-minute recovery is usually a losing strategy because time decay accelerates near maturity. Most experienced warrant traders exit positions well before expiry.
Ignoring the bid-ask spread: a warrant that looks profitable on paper may not be in practice if the bid-ask spread is wide. Check the spread as a percentage of the warrant price — anything over 5% should give you pause.
Oversizing: because warrants are cheap in absolute terms, beginners sometimes buy far too many, concentrating risk. The position size should be based on total premium at risk, not the number of warrants.
FAQ
How do I start trading warrants in Malaysia?
Open a CDS trading account with any Bursa Malaysia-registered broker (the same account used for shares — no special derivatives account needed), fund it, and you can buy and sell structured warrants the same way you trade equities.
How much money do I need to trade warrants?
There is no minimum, but warrant prices on Bursa typically range from RM0.005 to RM1.00+ per unit, with a board lot of 100. A single lot of a RM0.10 warrant costs RM10 plus brokerage. Start with an amount you can afford to lose entirely.
Can I lose more than I invest in a warrant?
No — the maximum loss on a long warrant position is capped at the premium paid. Unlike margin trading or futures, you cannot owe more than your initial outlay. But losing the full premium is common with out-of-the-money warrants near expiry.
Related guides
Key resources
Structured warrants homepage · Pricing calculator · Glossary · HSI warrants guide · CBBCs guide
Explore further
See the structured warrants screener or browse more learn articles.