Margin Requirements definition

Margin requirements in trading refer to the minimum amount of money or equity that a trader must have in their account to open and maintain a leveraged (margin) position. Think of margin as a good faith deposit—it’s the collateral the broker requires in case the trade moves against you.

Two Main Types of Margin Requirements

Initial Margin

The amount you need to open a position.
For example: If a stock has a 50% initial margin requirement, you can buy $10,000 worth of stock with only $5,000 of your own money—the broker lends you the rest.
Maintenance Margin

The minimum equity you must maintain after opening a position.
If your equity falls below this, you’ll get a margin call—you must deposit more funds, or your broker may liquidate your position.

If the stock drops in value and your equity falls below, say, 25% maintenance margin, you’ll need to add cash or sell assets to restore the minimum.

IBKR Uses

Real-time margining, not just once-daily snapshots.
Portfolio Margin (PM) for large, diversified accounts (lower margin if risk is reduced).
Reg T Margin for standard retail accounts.

Each asset type (stocks, futures, options, forex) may have different margin rules.

Note: Interactive Brokers does not make margin calls. Instead, real-time liquidations occur when an account has a margin deficiency. Due to fast-moving markets, accounts generally will not have time to deposit funds to meet a margin deficiency. While IBKR attempts to send margin deficit notifications on a best-efforts basis, this may not always be possible.

Margin Requirements

Two Main Types of Margin Requirements

IBKR Uses

Information on Other Interactive Brokers Affiliates

Interactive Brokers Canada Inc.

Interactive Brokers Australia Pty. Ltd.

Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Limited

Interactive Brokers India Pvt. Ltd.

Interactive Brokers Securities Japan Inc.

Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Two Main Types of Margin Requirements

IBKR Uses

Bi-Weekly Newsletter

Daily Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter

Monthly Newsletter