What is margin maintenance?
James Craig
Published Jan 15, 2026
Maintenance margin is the minimum amount of equity that an investor must maintain in the margin account after the purchase has been made. Maintenance margin is currently set at 25% of the total value of the securities in a margin account as per FINRA requirements. 1
How is margin maintenance calculated?
The general formula is: Margin Call Price = Initial Purchase Price * (1 - Initial Margin percentage) / (1 - Maintenance Margin percentage). In the provided maintenance margin example, the initial margin is 50 percent (the federal minimum) and the maintenance margin is 25 percent (the FINRA regulatory minimum).
What is a margin maintenance call?
A margin call occurs when the value of securities in a brokerage account falls below a certain level, known as the maintenance margin, requiring the account holder to deposit additional cash or securities to meet the margin requirements.
How does margin maintenance work?
The maintenance margin represents the amount of equity the investor must maintain in the margin account after the purchase has been made to keep the position open. The higher initial margin limit is usually more relevant, so leveraged ETFs and call options are typically better for investors who want more leverage.
What is margin maintenance Robinhood?
Margin maintenance is the minimum portfolio value (minus any cryptocurrency positions) that you need to maintain before you're at risk of being issued a margin call. You can see your margin maintenance in the Margin Investing section of your Robinhood Gold settings.
35 related questions foundWhat happens if you lose money on margin?
Failure to Meet a Margin Call
The margin call requires you to add new funds to your margin account. If you do not meet the margin call, your brokerage firm can close out any open positions in order to bring the account back up to the minimum value. This is known as a forced sale or liquidation.
What happens if you owe Robinhood money?
What Happens if You Owe Money To Robinhood? Like any business, Robinhood will require you to pay that money back to the company and will likely freeze your account if you can't make the payments.
How long do you have to cover a margin call?
Many margin investors are familiar with the "routine" margin call, where the broker asks for additional funds when the equity in the customer's account declines below certain required levels. Normally, the broker will allow from two to five days to meet the call.
At what price will you receive a margin call?
At what price of the security will the investor receive a margin call? The investor will receive a margin call if the price of the security drops below $66.67.
Who pays initial margin?
An initial margin, or initial margin requirement, is the amount an investor must pay in cash for securities before the broker will lend money to that investor to buy more securities.
How do you pay back margin?
Margin interest rates are typically lower than those on credit cards and unsecured personal loans. There's no set repayment schedule with a margin loan—monthly interest charges accrue to your account, and you can repay the principal at your convenience.
What does 100 margin requirement mean?
Before trading on margin, FINRA, for example, requires you to deposit with your brokerage firm a minimum of $2,000 or 100 percent of the purchase price of the margin securities, whichever is less. This is known as the “minimum margin.” Some firms may require you to deposit more than $2,000.
How do you avoid margin interest?
How do I avoid paying Margin Interest? If you don't want to pay margin interest on your trades, you must completely pay for the trades prior to settlement. If you need to withdraw funds, make sure the cash is available for withdrawal without a margin loan to avoid interest.
How long can you use margin money?
Be aware that some brokerages require you to deposit more than 50% of the purchase price. You can keep your loan as long as you want, provided you fulfill your obligations. First, when you sell the stock in a margin account, the proceeds go to your broker against the repayment of the loan until it is fully paid.
What is margin maintenance requirement TD Ameritrade?
A maintenance requirement of $2 per share applies to marginable stock valued from $2 to $4 per share. A maintenance requirement of 100% is needed for all long stocks trading at $2 and below. A maintenance requirement of $2.50 per share is needed for all short stocks trading below $2.50 per share.
What are the advantages of margin buying?
When you buy securities on margin, you are able to leverage the value of securities you already own to increase the size of your investment. This enables you to potentially magnify your returns, assuming the value of your investment rises.
Is Margin Trading a good idea?
Margin trading offers greater profit potential than traditional trading but also greater risks. Purchasing stocks on margin amplifies the effects of losses. Additionally, the broker may issue a margin call, which requires you to liquidate your position in a stock or front more capital to keep your investment.
Does a margin account affect credit score?
Your credit score consists of five components, most of which a margin account does not affect at all. Since a margin account is not reported to the credit agencies, it doesn't affect four of the five components of your credit score, namely your amount owed, length of credit history, new credit and type of credit used.
Should you use margin for long term investing?
Also, margin rates are often higher than rates on other secured loans like second mortgages and car loans, and most experts say margin loans are definitely not for long-term investments. "Both college funding and retirement savings should be accumulated through long term investing," says Michael P.
What happens if you lose a leverage trade?
As we said, leverage is a percentage of your trade size calculated based on the margin, the money amount in your account. So, you'll reach the margin call more quickly when you lose a trade with leverage. Your account deposit will turn to zero, and the broker will liquidate your account.
What triggers a margin call?
A margin call is a demand from your brokerage firm to increase the amount of equity in your account. You can do this by depositing cash or marginable securities to your account or by liquidating existing positions to generate cash.
Does Robinhood margin affect credit score?
Investing in Robinhood will not affect your credit score, because stock investments generally don't do that. Robinhood doesn't do a credit check. Many stock trading companies, like Robinhood, may run a credit check on users before opening an account for identity verification.
Why can't I withdraw my money from Robinhood?
Pending Withdrawal on Your Account
A pending withdrawal in Robinhood can take up to five trading days (or business days) to be processed. The platform needs to protect itself against fraud and other suspicious activity, so the only thing left to do here is to wait for these days to pass.
Is margin on Robinhood worth it?
Say no to margin
For the Robinhood app and many of its competitors, buying stock on margin is now just a few clicks away. While this is wildly tempting for some, it's a slippery and dangerous slope to take. Borrowing money as part of your trading process makes your room for error picking stocks much smaller.
What are the disadvantages of buying stock on margin?
The biggest risk from buying on margin is that you can lose much more money than you initially invested. A loss of 50 percent or more from stocks that were half-funded using borrowed funds, equates to a loss of 100 percent or more, plus interest and commissions.