Introduction to Margin Trading | TradeStation

Introduction to Margin Trading

May 14, 2020

Margin trading refers to the process of borrowing funds from TradeStation in order to leverage your available capital to trade stocks and options. Margin accounts are required if your trading will include short-selling stock or writing options, and you must open a margin account with at least $2,000.

Margin trading can only be accomplished in an account known as a margin account, which is different from a cash account. While stocks and options can be purchased in either cash or margin accounts, short sales of stock can only be traded in a margin account.

Margin trading incurs interest charges and these charges are debited from your account. Normally it is used for shorter-term trading as the longer you hold a position the greater the cost which can reduce the overall return on an account.

Margin trading involves increased risk, and is regulated by the Federal Reserve Board, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Each brokerage firm also maintains margin policies that are in the best interest of the brokerage and their clients.

Discover the advantages of trading Stocks & ETFs with TradeStation

See also

Day Trading Margin Calls

Day Trading Margin Calls

Market BasicsStocks & ETFsThe rules permit a day trader to trade up to four times the maintenance margin excess in the account as of the close of business of the previous day. If a day trader exceeds the day-trading buying power limitation, the firm...

Day Trading Margin Calls

Introduction to Day Trading

Market BasicsStocks & ETFsDay trading refers to buying then selling or selling short then buying the same security on the same day. Just purchasing a security, without selling it later that same day, would not be considered a day trade. Does the rule...

Day Trading Margin Calls

Day Trading Requirements

Market BasicsStocks & ETFsThe rules adopt the term “pattern day trader,” which includes any margin customer that day trades (buys then sells or sells short then buys the same security on the same day) four or more times in five business days. Under...

TradeStation Securities, Inc. is an SEC-licensed broker dealer and a CFTC-licensed futures commission merchant (FCM), and a member of FINRA, SIPC, CME, NFA and several equities and futures exchanges, which offers to self-directed investors and traders Equities accounts for stocks, exchange-traded products (such as ETFs) and equity and index options, and Futures accounts for commodity and financial futures and futures options (TradeStation Securities does not offer Crypto accounts).

TradeStation Crypto, Inc. is neither a securities broker dealer nor an FCM, and offers to self-directed investors and traders cryptocurrency brokerage services under federal and state money services business/money-transmitter and similar registrations and licenses (TradeStation Crypto is not a member of FINRA, SIPC, CME, NFA or any equities or futures exchange, and does not offer Equities or Futures accounts).

TradeStation Technologies, Inc. is a software development company which offers analytics subscriptions that self-directed investors and traders can use to chart, analyze and design back-tested strategies for Equities, Options, Futures, Forex and Crypto markets (TradeStation Technologies is not a financial services company).

You Can Trade, Inc. is an online educational, news and entertainment media publication service that seeks to provide to the public a marketplace of potentially actionable investment and trading content, ideas, demonstrations and informational tools. You Can Trade is not an investment, trading or financial adviser or pool, broker-dealer, futures commission merchant, investment research company, digital asset or cryptocurrency exchange or broker, or any other kind of financial or money services company, and does not give any investment, trading or financial advice, or research analyses or recommendations, or make any judgments, hold any opinions, or make any other recommendations, about whether you should purchase, sell, own or hold any security, futures contract or other derivative, or digital asset or digital asset derivative, or any class, category or sector of any of the foregoing, or whether you should make any allocation of your invested capital between or among any of the foregoing.

TradeStation Crypto accepts only cryptocurrency deposits, and no cash (fiat currency) deposits, for account funding. In order for you to purchase cryptocurrencies using cash, or sell your cryptocurrencies for cash, in a TradeStation Crypto account, you must also have qualified for, and opened, a TradeStation Equities account with TradeStation Securities so that your cryptocurrency purchases may be paid for with cash withdrawals from, and your cryptocurrency cash sale proceeds may be deposited in, your TradeStation Securities Equities account. Therefore, if you want to open a TradeStation Crypto account, you must also have an Equities account with TradeStation Securities. This cash in your TradeStation Securities Equities account may also, of course, be used for your equities and options trading with TradeStation Securities.

TradeStation and YouCanTrade account services, subscriptions and products are designed for speculative or active investors and traders, or those who are interested in becoming one. No offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities, securities derivative or futures products of any kind, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, or any type of trading or investment advice, recommendation or strategy, is made, given or in any manner endorsed by any TradeStation Group company, and the information made available on or in any TradeStation Group company website or other publication or communication is not an offer or solicitation of any kind in any jurisdiction where such TradeStation Group company or affiliate is not authorized to do business. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by historical tests of strategies, is no guarantee of future performance or success. There is a possibility that you may sustain a loss equal to or greater than your entire investment regardless of which asset class you trade (equities, options, futures, futures options, or crypto); therefore, you should not invest or risk money that you cannot afford to lose. System access and trade placement and execution may be delayed or fail due to market volatility and volume, quote delays, system, platform and software errors or attacks, internet traffic, outages and other factors. The trademarks “TradeStation®,” “YouCanTrade” and “SheCanTrade,” as well as other trademarks, domain names and other proprietary intellectual property of TradeStation Group companies, are owned by TradeStation Technologies. The proprietary TradeStation platform is offered by TradeStation Securities for Equities (including equity options) and Futures trading. TradeStation Crypto offers its online platform trading services, and TradeStation Securities offers futures options online platform trading services, through unaffiliated third-party platform applications and systems licensed to TradeStation Crypto and TradeStation Securities, respectively, which are permitted to be offered by those TradeStation companies for use by their customers.

Please also read carefully the agreements, disclosures, disclaimers and assumptions of risk presented to you separately by TradeStation Securities, TradeStation Crypto, TradeStation Technologies, and You Can Trade on the TradeStation Group company site and the separate sites, portals and account or subscription application or sign-up processes of each of these TradeStation Group companies. They contain important information, rights and obligations, as well as important disclaimers and limitations of liability, and assumptions of risk, by you that will apply when you do business with these companies.

×