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A Forex Margin Call – What is it and Can a Margin Call Hurt Me?

September 20, 2022

A forex margin call occurs when a client’s account equity falls below the required margin.

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Leverage financed by borrowing, which is a description of what a margin account entails. This is very common in Forex. A margin account is a leveraged account where Forex currencies can be bought against a combination of cash or collateral. Different brokers accept different limits.

Investing on margin is not the same as gambling. There are some similarities between margin trading and the casino. Margin is a high-risk strategy that can yield huge returns if handled correctly. The dark side of margin is that you can lose your shirt and many other assets you own. Investing on margin without understanding what you are doing is very risky.

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As with any other investment research, this is the key to not losing your shirt! For example, if a client has 10 lots of open positions, a margin call will occur if the account equity falls below $5,000. At that time, some or all of the Client’s open positions will be closed immediately at current prices.

Traders can also monitor both Usable Margin and Used Margin in the Account Information window of their online trading platform. Positions are automatically closed once the usable margin falls below zero.

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Traders can avoid margin calls either by using stop-loss orders or by maintaining sufficient funds in the account.

Usually the broker has a minimum account size, also known as account margin or initial margin, e.g. B. $5,000 to $10,000. Once you have deposited your money you can start trading.

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The title of this article asks: Can a margin call hurt me? The answer is yes and very bad. But like any other business, there are things you can do to minimize your risk.

If for some reason the broker thinks your position is at risk, i.e. you have a $50,000 position with a one percent margin ($500.00) and your losses are approaching your margin ($500.00) . He will call you and ask you to either deposit more money or close your position to limit your risk and his.

The automatic stop loss is used as a safety net, forcing the position to automatically cut when losses reach a certain point. This happens when the margin account balance, ie the asset after deducting losses, falls below the margin limits set by your forex broker. This practice is a common practice in the forex market.

There is a difference between weekday trading and weekend trading. Reduced leverage is available leverage for the weekend. The purpose of this policy is to protect customers from the risks caused by possible price fluctuations during the market closure. This could have a serious impact on your invested funds.

How do I avoid a margin call?

There are some sensible ways to avoid a margin call

1. Good money management, manage how you trade
2. Use stop loss on each position if you don’t have sufficient margin
3. Don’t trade too much

Hopefully this article will make you aware of some of the potential pitfalls of a margin call.

Do your due diligence and you’ll be in a better position than many other investors.

There are many automated forex systems available. Take a look around and compare features.

buying on margin