Margin Trading
Trading with borrowed money from your broker, using your existing securities as collateral to amplify buying power.
Explained Simply
Margin allows you to trade with more money than you have. A typical margin account provides 2:1 buying power for overnight positions and 4:1 for day trades. If you have $25,000, you can buy up to $100,000 worth of stock intraday. While margin amplifies gains, it equally amplifies losses — and if your account drops below the maintenance margin requirement (usually 25%), you'll receive a margin call forcing you to deposit more funds or liquidate positions. Margin interest accrues daily on borrowed funds.
How Tradewink Uses Margin Trading
Tradewink's PositionSizer accounts for margin when calculating trade sizes but defaults to conservative sizing that doesn't depend on full margin utilization. The RiskManager monitors total margin usage as a percentage of account equity and prevents new trades when margin utilization exceeds safe thresholds, protecting against margin calls during volatile markets.
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