For a list of available Small Exchange products and night requirements, please click here. Exchanges calculate the margin prices of futures contracts using a program called SPAN. This program measures many variables to obtain a final number for the initial and maintenance margin in each futures market. The most critical variable is volatility in any futures market. Exchanges adjust their margin requirements to market conditions. For example, let`s say the margin of a corn futures contract is $1,000 and the maintenance margin is $700. Buying a corn futures contract requires an initial margin of $1,000. If the price of corn drops by 7 cents or $350, an additional margin of $350 will have to be accounted for to bring the level back to the initial level. Assuming a total contract of $32,500 ($6.50 x 5,000 bushels), the forward margin would be approximately 5% of the contract value. The initial margin of futures contracts is the amount of money needed to open a buy or sell position on a futures contract. The initial margin is the original margin, the amount that is recorded on the original transaction. To open a margin account with a brokerage firm, an account holder must first deposit a certain amount of cash, securities or other collateral called an initial margin requirement. A margin account encourages investors, traders, and other market participants to use leverage to buy securities with a total value greater than the free cash balance on the account.

A margin account is essentially a line of credit that charges interest on the outstanding margin balance. The margin tells traders how much capital is needed to make a position and how much is needed to keep it open. Use this handy guide to find out how it`s calculated, why leverage is important, and how margin calls work. The initial margin requirement is the margin required when buying securities, which currently must be at least 50%. The maintenance margin is the amount of equity that must be held in the margin account in the future. The minimum maintenance margin requirement set by Reg T is 25%. This means that an investor must have enough cash or collateral in the account to cover 25% of the securities in their possession. The maintenance margin is the minimum amount that must be maintained in your account at any given time.

Many investors are familiar with margin, but may be unclear about what it is and how it works. This is understandable, as margin rules differ by asset class, broker, and stock exchange. Exchanges set margin levels and constantly review them as market volatility changes. Margins can increase or decrease at any time. Forward Commission (FCM) merchants are allowed to charge margins higher than the exchange level based on the customer`s risk and ability to contact them immediately. For example, suppose an account holder wants to buy 1,000 shares of Facebook, Inc., listed at $200 per share. The total cost of this transaction in a cash balance account would be $200,000. However, if the account holder opens a margin account and deposits the initial margin requirement of 50% or $100,000, the total purchasing power increases to $200,000. In this case, the margin account has access to two-on-one leverage.

The maintenance margin helps account holders keep collateral in the account in case the value of their securities decreases. Some securities, especially volatile securities, have higher margin requirements set by brokers. www.nfa.futures.org/investors/investor-advisory.html margin is a bona fide deposit that a market participant files with the exchange clearing house. Think of the margin as a down payment on the total value of the contract you are negotiating. The margin allows the exchange to become the buyer for each seller and the seller for each buyer of a futures contract. Due to market volatility, margin rates are subject to change at any time, and the interest rates recorded may not reflect margin requirements in real time. The information provided comes from sources that TradeStation believes to be accurate. TradeStation is not responsible for any errors or omissions. All margin calls must be made on the same day your account receives the margin call. Margins may be changed and/or revised at any time without notice.

Please contact the Trade Desk regarding the status of your account to request the most up-to-date rate or if you have any further questions about the margin. Please note that if you close at 4pm, your account must have the full margin required, otherwise your account may be liquidated. In the world of futures, the margin rate is much lower. In a typical futures contract, the margin rate varies between 3% and 12% of the total contract value. For example, the buyer of a wheat futures contract may only need a margin of $1,700. To trade options on futures on an IRA account, your IRA must have an early day Liq net of $25,000 and meet the following purchasing power requirements. The initial margin is the amount of funds needed by CME Clearing to open a forward position. Although CME Clearing sets the margin amount, your broker may need to raise additional funds for the deposit. Margin maintenance is the amount of money required when a loss on a forward position forces you to allocate more funds to bring the margin back to the initial or initial margin level.

The margin on securities is the money you borrow as a partial down payment up to 50% of the purchase price to buy and own a share. Bond or ETF. This practice is often referred to as margin buying. Term margin is the amount of money you need to deposit and stay ready with your broker when you open a forward position. This is not a down payment and you do not own the underlying property. Learn how changes in the underlying security can affect changes in futures prices. Learn how these changes affect the initial margin, maintenance margin, and margin calls. There is no minimum account balance for trading Small Exchange or CME Outright Future products on a margin account (non-IRA). However, you must have our highest level of margin trading, The Works, with futures trading enabled. In addition, the margin account must meet the overnight requirement to trade outright futures.

On the other hand, futures options are subject to CME`s SPAN margin methodology, and your account must reach this amount to trade these types of positions. The regular risks associated with trading commodity futures also apply to Bitcoin futures trading. These risks can be found at the following link: www.tradestation.com/important-information/. Clients who choose to trade Bitcoin futures should consider other significant risks, including but not limited to: (a) Bitcoin futures have a limited history of trading on regulated futures exchanges in the United States; (b) The price of the underlying Bitcoin and the indices on which futures are based are highly volatile and unpredictable due to many factors; (c) Since a limited number of futures commissions can offer traders to trade Bitcoin futures, there could be a limited volume that could affect market efficiency and price movements; and (d) the risk of loss may be significant and result in a loss greater than a customer`s initial or maintenance margin. Therefore, each customer must exercise due diligence before making the decision to trade these products. For more information, see the National Futures Association link below. The term margin is used in several financial markets. However, there is a difference between securities margins and futures margins. Understanding these differences is crucial before trading futures. Margin is an essential concept for people who trade commodity futures and derivatives across all asset classes.

Term margin is a bona fide deposit or amount of capital that must be accounted for or deposited to control a futures contract. Margins in futures markets are not down payments like equity margins. Instead, they are execution obligations designed to ensure that traders can meet their financial obligations. SPAN margins can be applied. Required margins may differ from published prices. The forward margin generally represents a lower percentage of the notional value of the contract, typically 3-12% per futures contract, compared to up to 50% of the face value of the securities purchased on margin. For futures contracts, exchanges set the initial margin requirements at 5% or 10% of the contract to be traded. For example, if a crude oil futures contract is quoted at $100,000, a term account holder can take a long position with only an initial margin of $5,000, or 5% of the contract value. In other words, this initial margin requirement would give the account holder 20 times the leverage.

The securities of the margin account are paid in cash, which are lent to the account holder by the brokerage company and are called guarantees. This process allows the expansion of potential profits, but also increases potential losses. In the extreme event that securities purchased in a margin account fall to zero, the account holder must deposit the full initial value of the securities in cash or other liquid collateral to cover the loss. As markets move rapidly and daily price movements become more volatile, market conditions and clearing house margin methodology may result in higher margin requirements to account for increased risk. Two of the benefits of margin for market participants are; It guarantees anonymity (the exchange is always your counterparty) and eliminates counterparty credit risk from the transaction. The exchanges are regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and have sufficient funds to meet all obligations. These funds come from the margin collected by market participants. Due to market volatility, please note the following margin requirements: The initial margin is the percentage of the purchase price of a security that must be backed up by cash or collateral when using a margin account. .