One trading jargon that you’ll hear very often is margin. It’s usually in terms like margin account, margin trading and even margin call. It seems a bit complex at first but after this video with trading expert David Jones it should be something quite easy to grasp.
David breaks it down to the basics once again and explains the meaning of the word as well as the scenarios in which it’s used. He makes several trades on the Trading 212 platform – one in Forex and one for a stock CFD – and points to the exact value of the margin as it changes once the trade has been opened.
He also shows traders something that they might overlook – the cost of holding a position over night if you are trading on margin, i.e. with money borrowed from the broker.
For those of you that like to have something written down, here’s the definition of margin trading – it means that an investor pays only a percentage of the value of the asset and borrows the rest from the broker. The latter acts as a lender and uses the deposit as a collateral on the loan. The margin itself is the amount in the account that the investor has put down and is usually displayed as a percentage.
Still got some questions about margin trading? Let us know in the comments below.
At Trading 212 we provide an execution only service. This video should not be construed as investment advice. Investments can fall and rise. Capital at risk. CFDs are higher risk because of leverage.
First! I love your videos!
so if the position of 500 with margin of 50 moves against you – down to 400, say – what happens?
Hi Peter, you need to have enough money in the account to cover the running loss. If you don’t then you get what is known as a “margin call” – where the broker requires more money to be deposited, otherwise you risk the position being closed out for you. You would still be liable for the loss of course.
What is your trading platform and with who do you have it
i am always watching your videos david, It is a great videos and very informative. I just made 100% return in my demo account in one day. I tried to adjust the 10000$ demo account into 1000$ dollars and made 2000$. So, i am now ready to open real account
the answer is NO…..!!!!. NO…!!!!. NO…..!!!. why? because demo accounts are not a true test or example of YOUR TRADING ability….trust me, no risk no lessons learnt. no losses no lesson learn’t, no emotional test – no lessons learnt. You will fall into the 90/90/90 principle (90% of the people lose 90% of their money in 90 days….in your case 30 days)
demo accounts are only useful to learn how to use that platform before you ‘try’ to invest your hard earnt REAL $$$$
….if your lucky only 5-10% of people ever make any money trading …!!! if you do go ahead with real money and a real account. Please let us know (( I’ll keep checking here to see how you go….. wish you ALL THE VERY BEST ))
Unless you are basically god your gain indicates a irresponsible money management. So you are not ready for real money.
Very helpful video sir,
I am planning to pursue a Chartered Financial Analyst course (US based )
Could you pls guide me regarding the benefits and career opportunities that this course has to offer, or would you recommend another field of study !!
I’d like to let you know Sir, that I wanna pursue a career in finance
Thanks for your help
That £0.13 pence in that case is charged everyday until I close the trade?
Your trading account will be credited or debited with an interest swap on a daily basis for your open positions. The swap is applied at 10 pm GMT.
Great education, thank you and merry xmas to all.
hello david you videos are great can you please make a video on paying taxes and how it works ?thanks
What charting program are you using?
trading 212
How do you check margin on I pad??.thanx
Hi Gary, you will find the Margin Indicator in the Open Positions screen when using the iPad app. You will find the Margin and Swap Details calculation for opening a position with Forex or CFDs instruments in the Market Order Screen. Please get in touch with the customer care team, should you have any other questions. The contacts are listed at http://www.trading212.com/en/Contact.
Ok thanks for help 👍
gary b if you trade on phone or ipad you set yourself up for failure.
This might sound a bit daft but could you do a tutorial on how to setup trading212 as you have on multiple screens etc. Really enjoying your tutorials!
please make a new video about bitcoin !
Please could you do a video about the average directional index? Also, a video about leading and lagging indicators?
Why does the us30 16/03/18 have an expireryndate? And why is the price about $20 lower please? Thank you
The trading instrument US30-18Mar18 has an expiration date because it is a CFD on futures. Please clarify your second question, so you may receive the best answer. Alternatively, you can contact the customer care team at http://www.trading212.com/en/Contact.
Trading 212 I spoke to one of the helpers on the website! Thanks!
great video
Can you please do a video on Bollinger Bands
When you buy on the computer with 212 before you confirm it tells you what the margin will be but not on the app. Can we have that on the app as well?
Hi Lee, the Margin and Swap Details panel when trading Forex and CFDs is available in the mobile apps’ Market Order screen.
Trading 212 thank you
Thank you
how will i pay that interest swap? its per trade , per day… ?
Hi Ricardo, the interest swap is applied on a daily basis for all open positions with Forex and CFDs.
Trading 212 thanks! And thanks for the videos!
You are welcome, Ricardo. Stick around for more – fresh content every week.
What if you don’t have any free money in the account when trading with leverage
Hi Jack, you need to provide sufficient free funds on your trading account to keep your positions open and/or to open new positions.
all great, just missing those margin trading terms!!! thanks for wasting my time
With CFDs is there any restriction on how long you can hold the position or can you hold the position indefinitely?
Hi there, you may keep your open positions as long as you have sufficient funds on your trading account, or until the expiration date, in case you are trading CFDs on futures contracts.
Thank you for this video! I was looking for this information, greetings from Venezuela!
so essentially if you become a very systematic trader and use your stop losses, it can be cheaper to trade on trading 212 vs TD think or swim as a round trip can cost you 12$ and 16$.
generally like these vids but you guys really should explain the relationship between leverage size of the position and the liquidation price.
Exactly what I came down here to say
Please can you explain the quantities? Thanks !
Hi Lee, hope this video may help – https://youtu.be/mBsZRJz1DQw.
what if i dont pay minus balance in my account after taking leverage and i faced bigger loss.
Negative Balance Protection is enabled in all trading accounts with Trading 212. That means the maximum potential loss is limited to the account balance and cannot exceed it.
@Trading 212 so to clarify this means you can’t use all your balance on a leveraged trade because you need some balance to cover the potential loss, is that right?
anyone leveraging 10x or far worse, 200x for the fx trade is being foolhardy and needs their heads examining. This is not investing, this is just dumb gambling and your losses could be far worse than your initial investment.
Hello Jonathan, thanks to the Negative Balance Protection on Trading 212, the potential loss is limited to the amount in the trading account.
Well that is a good thing. I think what is prudent for an investor is to hold positions at level where they are not easily going to get taken out by the normal oscillations in the market price. It’s valid to predict the share price is going to go one direction or another, but leverage needs to be applied with great care. 2x for stocks and 5x for currency are good starting point. I would never advise such high leverage multiples.
Hello! Im a complete beginner in this, SORRY!.. i don’t get it.. Margin is a sum of money that is simply gets ”tide up” in case of leverageing? I understood leverage, kind of, but when margin comes in i kind of struggle
Hi Arturs, the initial margin requirement is the amount of money blocked on the trading account balance to secure opening a position when trading Forex and CFD instruments.
Thank you very much! You guys are awesome
I want to try it!! But first I need to become as professional in crypto!!
Hi there, is it possible to buy stocks without leverage on trading212? Not entirely comfortable with CFDs yet.
Hi Alex, the short answer is Yes – we offer investing in real shares and ETFs as a service by Trading 212 UK Ltd.
OK I have invested if CFDs on trading 121 and seems to be doing well but how can I take my money out?
There is a “Withdraw Funds” button in the settings. Simply select it and follow the steps.
How much free money do you need in your account?
Hi Mero, please elaborate further on your question so we may offer you a relevant reply.
@Trading 212 I found the information out on your website.. So the account will be closed when the margin indicator drops below 25%. Not 100% sure how this is calculated.. If you use all your funds, you will be at 50%.. Your trade position starts loosing, your margin drops. At what percentage of your original margin will the position be closed?
@Mero Binjie Thank you for elaborating, Mero.
Indeed, when trading on a CFD account, your positions will automatically start closing in the order of opening once a Margin level of 25% is reached and until at least this level is restored. The margin percentage goes down as your positions go down in value, and there’s no available free funds to cover this. Also, investing all of your available funds will result in the Margin initially being at 50%.
In case you have any further questions, you’re always welcome to contact us via the available support channels, where a colleague will be happy to assist you.
How can I trade without leverage? I have a demo account and leverage Is automatically applied when I open position. How can I switch it off?
Orion2b2b there’s an option in settings! Pick 1-30 🙂
Good day – how do the brokers not loose money is this case; for instance you place an FX trade (1 mini lot position which from your example is 10,000units) and the required margin is 0.5% (which is 50.00 GBP again from your example) Assuming you have your stop loss in place and you loose that trade, however the broker would have lost 99.5% of that position/ trade (which would be 9,950 GBP) etc. ???
Another great video !
So margin and leverage are the same?
Dave Jones from Pirates Of The Caribbean?😂😂
Wouldn’t you technically only loose money when you close the order? If the market moves against you, couldn’t you just hold onto the CFD untill it’s moving back in your favour? Looking to learn
Such a clear and concise teacher
Can you not trade with zero spread anymore?
Can you end up in debt ???
Great video as always, cheers David! How do I change the leverage on the trading 212 platform? I’ve been looking for a while and have not been able to find it in settings.
In your buy if the price goes above your entry is that where profit begins and it turns green? Appose to red (negative)?
Im in a trade now (sell) quantity 10,000 margin 243..price has fallen below my entry and is still red… Is that right? Shouldn’t profit start from where it cross your entry? In a sell and vice versa in a buy?
Is that a desktop app on the screens or just in a browser?
Forex chart
It’s taken ages to get into the green on my account what’s the problem .
Why are the last two digits after the decimal point for the sell and buy values enlarged and what exactly are they representing? I realize that may seem a silly question.
Can i take out margin for holding stocks for months / years in a stocks and shares invest account? If so where? I have a 212 account with enough funds in to leverage.
Does the position close when the leverage bar gets to 100% ?
Thank you for this.
Hey How can I trade with Zero spread on 212, please let me know, whereas, Great Tutorial, Thanks for making it… Helped a lot.
Trading212 Fan. 😊