However, there's an important aspect of stock market investing everyone should know about - investing using borrowed money! In financial parlance, this is referred to as trading on margin. We' re not going to spend too much time explaining the intricacies of margin accounts in this lesson; feel free to read our Margin Trading Tutorial for more information.

In simple terms, trading on margin is borrowing money to invest. Your brokerage provides the cash needed for the cost of the trade by providing a loan to your account that is secured against the assets you already hold within it.

Of course, your brokerage will charge you interest on your loan. Your goal when making a trade on margin is to profit by more than the relatively small interest cost, thereby boosting the returns you can earn with the original savings you contributed to the account.

Learn How to Invest in Stocks - Virtual Stock Market Game

In the default Investopedia Game provided in our Simulator, players are allowed to trade on margin, meaning they can spend more money buying stock than they have cash in their account. This example portfolio shows an account trading heavily on margin:.

margin trading - Free stock market game - omotohu.web.fc2.com

The opportunities that margin trading provides can be easily seen with this example portfolio. A respectable return for the portfolio, no doubt, but let's look at the investor's returns a little closer.

The brokerage firm's money they invested with on margin helped the investor earn extra returns for their own pocket! Keep in mind that in addition to the commission fees, there would have been interest paid to the brokerage firm that we have not included in our calculations. Of course, this amplification of profits can also work against the investor, should their portfolio experience losses.

As you can see, margin essentially acts as an amplifier by increasing the size of your trading account's gains and losses. For this very reason, margin trading may not be suitable for risk-averse investors. It is also important to consider the risk of receiving a margin call when your brokerage requires you to either contribute additional funds to your margin account or sell your investments to ensure you will not lose their money.

Simulator How-To Guide: Margin Accounts

Margin calls occur when your portfolio loses enough money to cause your equity value to be less than your brokerage's margin requirement, and if you don't have the extra money, you'll end up being forced to sell your stocks if they fall too much! For the simulator, the amount of margin that you have available is incorporated in the "buying power" section of the portfolio summary page.

Note that you don't tap into your margin in the simulator until you have used up your entire cash balance like the example portfolio shown above.

Trading Direct - Stock Trading with the Lowest Margin Rates

Once you start buying via margin, your buying power value will start falling and your cash account value will drop into the negative values to denote that you now owe money. Read about the margin call provisions applicable to your Simulator account by clicking here. Dictionary Term Of The Day.

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Sophisticated content for financial advisors around investment strategies, industry trends, and advisor education. Margin Accounts By Investopedia Share. Introduction Simulator How-To Guide: The User Interface Tabs Simulator How-To Guide: Purchasing Stocks Simulator How-To Guide: The Portfolio Summary Page Simulator How-To Guide: Ticker Symbol Look Up Simulator How-To Guide: Diversified Portfolio Simulator How-To Guide: Selling Stocks Simulator How-To Guide: Advanced Trade Types Simulator How-To Guide: Short Selling Simulator How-To Guide: Covering Short Positions Simulator How-To Guide: Cancelling Orders Simulator How-To Guide: Margin Accounts Simulator How-To Guide: Buying Options Simulator How-To Guide: Options Usage Simulator How-To Guide: This example portfolio shows an account trading heavily on margin: Investing on margin can be profitable but it's a risky play that needs care.

Surprisingly, the younger your company is, the better its numbers may look. When an investor buys on margin, he or she pays a portion of the stock price — called the margin -- and borrows the rest from a stockbroker. The purchased stocks then serve as collateral for Find out what your broker is doing with your securities when you invest on margin.

Find out what margin is, how margin calls work, the advantages of leverage and why using margin can be risky. Borrowing to increase profits isn't for the faint of heart, but margin trading can mean big returns.

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