Margin trading allows you to leverage your assets to increase your buying power. TradeStation’s competitive equities margin interest rates – as low as 4.25 percent – make it easy to put the full buying power of your account to work for you.
Margin Interest Rates1
$500,000+2 | $50,000 – $499,999 | Less than $50,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
4.25% | 6.25%* | 10.75% | 11.75% |
Margin Requirements
Position | Margin Accounts2 | Cash Accounts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Intraday3 | Overnight | |||
Long Stock | Buy Stock or ETF | 25% Value of the Position | 50% Value of the Position | 100% Cost of the Position |
Short Stock | Sell Short Stock or ETF | 30% Value of the Position | 50% Value of the Position | Not Available |
Important Notes
- Margin interest rates vary per the base rate and the size of the debit balance. The base rate may be adjusted at TradeStation’s discretion concerning commercially recognized interest rates, current market trends, liquidity in the marketplace, and other industry conditions, and is subject to change without prior notice.
- Margin balances between $500k-$1,999,999 will default to an effective rate of 6.25% and margin balances greater than $2,000,000 will default to an effective rate of 4.25%.
- Intraday trading requires that certain levels of equity be deposited and maintained in a margin account, and that these levels be sufficient to support the risks associated with intraday trading activities. Learn more here: https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/intraday-margin-requirements
Intraday buying power: Day trading in a margin account is governed by your real-time Margin Equity and Margin Excess. Margin Equity equals Long Market Value minus Short Market Value, plus or minus Cash Balance. Margin Excess is the equity remaining after all regulatory and house margin requirements are met.
If your Margin Equity is at or above $2,000, your account has access to intraday buying power equal to four times your Margin Excess, and overnight buying power equal to two times your Margin Excess. If your Margin Equity falls below $2,000, your account is limited to intraday and overnight buying power equal to one times your Margin Excess until equity is restored.
Intraday buying power is intended for positions opened and closed within the same trading session. Positions carried past market close are subject to overnight buying power. Accounts holding overnight positions in excess of their overnight buying power may receive a margin call.
Intraday buying power updates in real time. Approved cash deposits, sales of overnight positions, and changes in the market value of open positions all affect available buying power throughout the trading day.
Margin requirements are structured for a diversified portfolio. Accounts that are using margin for holding concentrated positions may be asked to make immediate changes.
Special Margin Requirements: Due to low liquidity, volatility, or other conditions, some stocks and ETFs may have a special margin requirement. You can view a list of these symbols here: https://my.tradestation.com/lists/borrow-special-margin.
A minimum of $2,000 is required to open and maintain a position on margin, and a minimum of $2,000 is required to open and maintain a short stock position.
Please contact us for information about TradeStation Securities margin requirements and concentration parameters.
Margin trading involves risks, and it is important that you fully understand those risks before trading on margin. The FINRA Margin Disclosure Statement outlines many of those risks, including:
- You can lose more funds than you deposit in your margin account.
- Your brokerage firm can force the sale of securities in your account.
- Your brokerage firm can sell your securities without contacting you.
- You are not entitled to an extension of time on a margin call.
Review the Margin Disclosure Statement and the Margin Lending Program Rates Disclosure Statement.
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