Know About Margin Trading: Risks and Advantages (2024)

Know About Margin Trading: Risks and Advantages (1)Investor Interestsponsored post

Margin Trading Funding (MTF) provides you the power to buy more financial securities than you can afford at any point of time. Margin trading is a leveraging strategy to enhance the buying potential in financial markets. Through MTF, you can buy shares of larger amount by just paying the margin and rest will be funded by the stockbroker. The broker lends you the funds to purchase securities and keep some of your shares as collateral. The earnings on these shares will be entirely yours even if purchased through the margin account. The stockbroker will charge you an interest for the number of days position is carried.

Advantages of Margin Trading

Among various advantages of margin trading, main advantages are enumerated below:

  • Easy to Activate
    Margin Trade Financing is one of the best ways to get funded for stock trading provided you maintain a minimum margin balance in your account. To activate and make the most of this facility, one needs to duly sign and send the Power of Attorney (POA) document to their stockbroker. Once received, your margin account and MTF facility will be activated.
  • Tap the Trading Opportunities
    Margin trading enables you to take advantage of short-term price fluctuations even if you do not have enough funds at that point of time.
  • Better Rate of Returns
    Margin Trade Financing can potentially magnify your returns and improve your rate of return on the funds invested, provided you are involved in a well-analysed trade following the market direction and the trends. Your profit from margin trade will be impacted by the cost of brokerage and the interest on margin trade funding amount. The lower your cost of brokerage and interest on margin trade funding amount, the better will be your return on the investment.

    Bajaj Financial Securities Ltd., with an ever-growing client base, provides you with Bajaj Privilege Club subscription that charges one of the lowest rates on brokerage and MTF interest rates in the industry. Bajaj Privilege Club members enjoy Equity Delivery, Intraday and F&O trading at 75% lower brokerage, charging just Rs.5/order (whereas most competitors charge Rs. 20 per order) that helps them to save on trading cost considerably. They can also avail Margin Trade Financing (MTF) facility for only at 8.5% per annum, which is again one of the lowest interest rates in the industry.

  • Low-Interest Rates
    Margin Trade Financing is a convenient line of credit which can help you grab the market opportunities. However, you may need to search for a stockbroker offering lower interest rates. Your search may end up with Bajaj Privilege Club, offering one of the lowest interest rates in the industry, i.e., 8.5% per annum. You only need to pay Rs.23.28 per day for 1 lakh MTF.
  • Monitored under Capital Market Controller SEBI
    SEBI monitors margin trading activities very closely. It continuously works to safeguard the interest of investors. Therefore, your funds and securities are secured and safe.
  • Longer-term to carry a position
    When you buy stocks under MTF, you get a decent duration of time to carry the position. This way, you have a wider time frame to monitor the price and exit the position during a favourable opportunity according to the market trends.

    With Bajaj Financial Securities Ltd., an MTF position can be carried for a period of up to 365 days.

Risks Involved in Margin Trading

An investor or trader should know that with margin trading, there comes attractive profit potential with easy access to required funds, but it also bears some risk. Following are the risks that one should understand before taking charge of a margin account:

  • Risk of the amplified effect of losses
    In margin trading facility, you are using borrowed funds from the stockbroker available at a low interest rate. Therefore, your financial obligations are much higher than regular trading. If your trade goes against you, it amplifies the effect of loss.
  • Risk of unmanageable repayment
    Margin interest is accrued each day and charged monthly. You need to pay interest on borrowed funds regularly; otherwise, it may build to unmanageable levels and you will be penalised for unpaid interest. Hence, it is recommended to compare the interest rates from different stockbrokers and avail the facility at a lower interest rate only as it would help you save the extra cost incurred.
  • Risk of being unable to meet a margin call
    To avail MTF, you have to maintain the margin amount in your Demat and Trading account. It is a specific percentage of your trade value that should be maintained in your account, depending upon the stockbroker and the type of securities you are trading. It may increase or decrease with the number of security and market conditions.

    If the value of the collateralised securities under MTF declines below the minimum margin requirement, your broker can issue a margin call. You will have to add cash or liquidate your positions for minimum balance maintenance. If you fail to take prompt action, your stockbroker can sell securities.

To opt for the BPC you need to open a demat account first with BFSL.

Thus, you can take leverage under Margin Trading Facility with a SEBI-registered stockbroker and take cautious positions to book significant profits from the market. Check the prerequisites of margin trading, the leverage offered, and interest rates with your broker before involving in a margin trade.

Know About Margin Trading: Risks and Advantages (2024)

FAQs

What are the risks of margin trading? ›

While margin loans can be useful and convenient, they are by no means risk free. Margin borrowing comes with all the hazards that accompany any type of debt — including interest payments and reduced flexibility for future income. The primary dangers of trading on margin are leverage risk and margin call risk.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of margin trading? ›

Pros & Cons
ProsCons
It can help finance the purchase of promising stocks.Not all stocks qualify for margin buying. It depends on the performance.
Investors can capitalize on the leverage.Investors have to maintain a minimum margin. Further, they have to pay at least 50%.
2 more rows

What are the advantages and risk associated with buying stock on margin? ›

Through margin buying, investors can amplify their returns — but only if their investments outperform the cost of the loan itself. Investors can potentially lose money faster with margin loans than when investing with cash.

What do you need to know about margin trading? ›

Margin trading is the practice of borrowing money, depositing cash to serve as collateral, and entering into trades using borrowed funds. Through the use of debt and leverage, margin may result in higher profits than what could have been invested should the investor have only used their personal money.

Why is margin risky? ›

Understanding Buying on Margin

Monthly interest on the principal is charged to an investor's brokerage account. Essentially, buying on margin implies that an individual is investing with borrowed money. Although there are benefits, the practice is thus risky for the investor with limited funds.

What are the disadvantages of margin? ›

Disadvantages of Margin Trading:
  • Magnified Losses: Just as gains can be amplified, so can losses. ...
  • Interest Costs: Borrowing funds for Margin Trading entails interest charges, which, if not managed suitably, can erode your profits over time. ...
  • Margin Calls: ...
  • Risk of Liquidation: ...
  • Emotional Stress: ...
  • Regulatory Limitations:
Feb 19, 2024

Is trading on margin a good idea? ›

Margin trading is risky since the margin loan needs to be repaid to the broker regardless of whether the investment has a gain or loss. Buying on margin can magnify gains, but leverage can also exacerbate losses.

What are the advantages of margin? ›

If you pick the right investment, margin can dramatically increase your profit. A 50% margin allows you to buy up to twice as much stock as you could with just the cash in your account. It's easy to see how you could make significantly more money by using a margin account than by trading from a pure cash position.

How do you avoid margin trading? ›

Here are five ways to avoid a margin call.
  1. Know WTF a margin call is. ...
  2. Know what the margin requirements are even before you place ANY order. ...
  3. Use stop loss orders or trailing stops to avoid margin calls. ...
  4. Scale in positions rather than entering all at once. ...
  5. Know WTH you are doing as a trader.

What happens if you lose margin money? ›

If your equity falls below the minimum because of market fluctuations, your brokerage firm will issue a margin call (also known as a maintenance call), and you will be required to immediately deposit more cash or marginable securities in your account to bring your equity back up to the required level.

Is buying on margin illegal? ›

According to Regulation T of the Federal Reserve Board, you may borrow up to 50 percent of the purchase price of securities that can be purchased on margin. This is known as the "initial margin." Some firms require you to deposit more than 50 percent of the purchase price.

How much margin is safe to use? ›

A modest 10% to 20% leverage rate is not dangerous for most people, even factoring in that maintenance requirement can rise during times of peak volatility.

What is margin trading for beginners? ›

Trading on margin allows you to borrow funds from your broker in order to purchase more shares than the cash in your account would allow for on its own. Margin trading also allows for short-selling. By using leverage, margin lets you amplify your potential returns—as well as your losses, making it a risky activity.

What is the best way to margin trade? ›

Buy gradually, not at once: The best way to avoid loss in margin trading is to buy your positions slowly over time and not in one shot. Try buying 30-50% of the positions at first shot and when it rises by 1-3%, add that money to your account and but the next slot of positions.

What is an example of margin trading? ›

For example, if you put down a deposit of 300,000, you can trade up to 1 million. If you trade with leverage, the profit amount will be larger when you make a profit. Another advantage of margin trading is that it makes it easier to get into high-value stocks, which you cannot buy with your own funds.

What is the safest way to trade on margin? ›

Buy gradually, not at once: The best way to avoid loss in margin trading is to buy your positions slowly over time and not in one shot. Try buying 30-50% of the positions at first shot and when it rises by 1-3%, add that money to your account and but the next slot of positions.

How much money can you lose on margin? ›

Understand How Margin Works

For example, let's say the stock you bought for $50 falls to $15. If you fully paid for the stock, you would lose 70 percent of your money. However, if you bought on margin, you would lose more than 100 percent of your money.

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