What is Margin Trading?

Margin trading, also known as trading on margin, is a practice in financial markets where investors borrow funds to trade financial instruments such as stocks, currencies, or commodities. It allows traders to control a larger position size than the actual balance of their account. Here’s how it works:

Leverage: Margin trading involves the use of leverage, which is essentially borrowed money. When a trader opens a margin trade, they only need to deposit a portion of the total value of the trade, known as the margin. The rest is borrowed from the broker.

Margin: Margin is typically expressed as a percentage of the total value of the trade. For example, if you want to buy $10,000 worth of stocks with a 10% margin requirement, you would need to deposit $1,000 of your own funds, and the broker would lend you the remaining $9,000.

Profits and Losses: When trading with leverage, your profit potential is multiplied, as gains or losses are based on the total value of the trade, not just your initial deposit. However, this also means that losses can exceed your initial investment, posing the risk of a margin call.

Margin Call: A margin call occurs when losses in a trade deplete the margin to a level where your account is at risk of running out of funds. In this case, the broker may require you to deposit more funds or close the trade to limit losses.

What does Account Balance mean?

The “Account Balance” refers to the amount of money present in a financial account at a given moment. This account can be a bank account, an investment account, a trading account in the stock market, or an account at any financial institution. The account balance is the total sum of money available in that account at a given moment, including deposits and earnings as well as withdrawals and losses. It is an important measure for assessing the financial health of the account and determining how much money is available for transactions or withdrawals.

What is Unrealized P/L and Floating P/L?

• Unrealized P/L (Unrealized Profits and Losses):

“Unrealized Profits and Losses” refer to the value of gains or losses on an investment that have not yet been sold. In other words, they are the gains or losses that exist on an investment at the present moment but only materialize when the investment is sold. For example, if you buy a stock at $100 and its value rises to $120, you have an unrealized profit of $20. This profit only becomes “realized” when you sell the stock at $120. Until then, it is considered an unrealized profit.

• Floating P/L (Floating Profits and Losses):

“Floating Profits and Losses” are similar to unrealized profits and losses. They refer to the value of gains or losses on an investment that has not yet been closed. The key difference between unrealized and floating profits and losses is that floating profits and losses are specific to open positions in the market at a given time, whereas unrealized profits and losses can apply to all investments.

In the context of trading, the term “floating” is used to describe the value of gains or losses of a position at a given time, which may change as the price of the underlying asset moves. For example, if you have a long position in a currency pair and the value rises, you will have floating profits. If the value falls, you will have floating losses. These floating profits and losses can change continuously until you close the position.

What is Equity?

“Equity” in the financial context refers to the residual value of an account or investment once all gains, losses, deposits, and withdrawals have been taken into account. It is the current value of an account at a given moment and represents how much money you have in that account at that time. Equity is an important measure of the financial health of an account or investment, as it reflects the current value after all transactions and market fluctuations.

The basic formula for calculating equity is:

Equity = Account Balance + Unrealized Profits and Losses – Used Margin

• The “Account Balance” is the total amount of money you have in the account at that time.
• The “Unrealized Profits and Losses” represent the current value of gains or losses in investments that have not yet been sold.
• The “Used Margin” refers to the capital that has been committed to maintain open positions in the market.