📄️ What Is a Margin Account?
Learn how margin accounts let investors borrow from brokers to amplify purchasing power and potential returns—and the risks involved.
📄️ Reg T and the 50% Initial Margin
Understand Regulation T, the federal rule setting initial margin at 50%, and why the Federal Reserve established this leverage limit.
📄️ Maintenance Margin
Learn what maintenance margin is, why brokers enforce it, and how market losses trigger the cascade toward forced liquidation.
📄️ Margin Calls, Explained
Understand when and why margin calls happen, how to calculate them, and strategies for meeting calls without forced liquidation.
📄️ Portfolio Margin
Discover portfolio margin, a sophisticated leverage tool allowing 6:1 leverage for diversified positions, designed for experienced investors.
📄️ Broker Margin Interest Rates
Understand how brokers charge margin interest, why rates vary by account type, and how to calculate the true cost of borrowing on margin.
📄️ Buying Power on Margin
Learn how margin buying power is calculated, why it exceeds your cash balance, and how deposits, withdrawals, and trades affect your available leverage.
📄️ The Math of Leverage
Master the mathematical foundations of leverage: return amplification, loss amplification, margin requirements, and break-even calculations for leveraged positions.
📄️ Day-Trade Buying Power
Understand day trading account requirements, buying power amplification for intraday trades, and the regulatory framework that enables active traders to operate.
📄️ The Pattern-Day-Trader (PDT) Rule
Master the PDT rule: how you get flagged, the $25,000 minimum equity requirement, trading restrictions, and strategies to avoid or comply with this regulatory requirement.
📄️ Margin vs Cash Account
Learn the fundamental difference between margin accounts and cash accounts, how buying power works differently, and which account type suits your trading strategy and risk tolerance.
📄️ Good-Faith Violations on Cash
Understand good-faith violations in cash accounts, how they trigger, enforcement consequences, and strategies to avoid expensive penalties when trading with unsettled funds.
📄️ The Free-Riding Rule
Explore the SEC free-riding rule, how it prevents arbitrage and abuse, the mechanics that trigger violations, and how to navigate short-term trading while staying compliant.
📄️ Options Buying Power
Understand how options affect buying power in margin accounts, margin requirements for different strategies, and how leverage in options trading amplifies both gains and risk.
📄️ Margin and Short Selling
Master short selling mechanics through margin accounts, understand margin requirements for short positions, short squeeze risks, and the regulatory framework governing borrowing shares.
📄️ Famous Margin-Call Blowups
Study historic margin call disasters from LTCM to Archegos. Learn how leverage collapsed firms and wiped billions.
📄️ Archegos 2021 Collapse
The Archegos margin call blowup wiped $10 billion in days. Learn how hidden leverage collapsed a family office.
📄️ Leverage on Leveraged ETFs
Leveraged ETFs use derivatives to amplify daily returns. Learn why buying them on margin is financial self-sabotage.
📄️ When Margin Makes Sense
Most margin use destroys wealth. But leverage serves legitimate purposes in specific, rare scenarios with proper controls.
📄️ Common Margin Mistakes
The specific errors that trigger forced selling, cascade losses, and wipeouts. Learn what destroys margin accounts.