证券交易知识学习 - Buying on margin

证券交易知识学习Buying on margin

(http://www.investopedia.com/university/margin/)

 

·         What is buying on margin?

Buying on margin is borrowing money from a broker to purchase stock. You can think of it as a loan from your brokerage.

A Buying Power Example 
Let's say that you deposit $10,000 in your margin account. Because you put up 50% of the purchase price, this means you have $20,000 worth of buying power. Then, if you buy $5,000 worth of stock, you still have $15,000 in buying power remaining. You have enough cash to cover this transaction and haven't tapped into your margin. You start borrowing the money only when you buy securities worth more than $10,000.

 

·         Dreaded margin call

Here's how it works. Let's say you purchase $20,000 worth of securities by borrowing $10,000 from your brokerage and paying $10,000 yourself. If the market value of the securities drops to $15,000, the equity in your account falls to $5,000 ($15,000 - $10,000 = $5,000).

Assuming a maintenance requirement of 25%, you must have $3,750 in equity in your account (25% of $15,000 = $3,750). Thus, you're fine in this situation as the $5,000 worth of equity in your account is greater than the maintenance margin of $3,750.

But let's assume the maintenance requirement of your brokerage is 40% instead of 25%. In this case, your equity of $5,000 is less than the maintenance margin of $6,000 (40% of $15,000 = $6,000). As a result, the brokerage may issue you a margin call. 

·         Advantages

It's all about leverage. Just as companies borrow money to invest in projects, investors can borrow money and leverage the cash they invest. Leverage amplifies every point that a stock goes up. If you pick the right investment, margin can dramatically increase your profit.

 

 

 

 

·         The Risks

o   Buying on margin is the only stock-based investment where you stand to lose more money than you invested. A dive of 50% or more will cause you to lose more than 100%, with interest and commissions on top of that.

o   In a margin account your broker can sell off your securities if the stock price dives. This means that your losses are locked in and you won't be able to participate in any future rebounds that may take place.