Margin Balances And Liquidations

Thursday, December 25, 2008

When you open an online currency trading account, you’ll need to pony up cash as collateral to support the margin requirements established by your broker. That initial margin deposit becomes your opening margin balance and is the basis on which all your subsequent trades are collateralized. Unlike futures markets or margin-based equity trading, online forex brokerages do not issue margin calls (requests for more collateral to support open positions).

Instead, they establish ratios of margin balances to open positions that must be maintained at all times. Here’s an example to help you understand how required margin ratios work. Say you have an account with a leverage ratio of 100:1 (so $1 of margin in your account can control a $100 position size), but your broker requires a 100% margin ratio, meaning you need to maintain 100% of the required margin at all times. The ratio varies with account size, but a 100% margin requirement is typical for small accounts. That means to have a position size of $10,000, you’d need $100 in your account, because $10,000 divided by the leverage ratio of 100 is $100. If your account’s margin balance falls below the required ratio, your broker probably has the right to close out your positions without any notice to you. If your broker liquidates your position, that usually means your losses are locked in and your margin balance just got smaller. Be sure you completely understand your broker’s margin requirements and liquidation policies.

Requirements may differ depending on account size and whether you’re trading standard lot sizes (100,000 currency units) or mini lot sizes (10,000 currency units). Some brokers’ liquidation policies allow for all positions to be liquidated if you fall below margin requirements. Others close out the biggest losing positions or portions of losing positions until the required ratio is satisfied again. You can find the details in the fine print of the account opening contract that you sign. Always read the fine print to be sure you understand your broker’s margin and trading policies.

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