Aggressive investors will often use margin to increase their buying power and leverage, according to options trading articles. However, margin has a significant downside risks as well. With recent product innovations, traders may want to use margin less and less. In this article and video we will look at what margin is and why some of the new products in the market may be better alternatives.
Margin increases your buying power. By using margin, it is possible to borrow half the cost of a stock from your broker.
For example, if a stock costs $20 but you borrow half of that amount from your broker you have only invested $10 of your own money. Because you have used margin if the stock moves to $25 you have made a 50% return on investment. If you had financed the entire purchase from the cash in your account you would have only made 25%.
Two of the most significant disadvantages of using margin are costs and increased risk. The amount of money you borrow from your broker has interest charges attached to it.
I surveyed a few brokers today and saw margin rates of approximately 6.5%. If that margin “loan” is held for long the interest charges can really eat into your profits. The increased risk of margin is the same with all kinds of leverage. The increased buying power means that you could lose a larger percentage of your account if trades go against you compared to just using cash.
Click here to find out how margin works for forex traders.
More traders are beginning to turn towards leveraged ETFs as an alternative to margin. These products trade like a stock or standard ETF but replicate the performance of using margin. This provides the benefits of margin without the costs.
In the video, I will contrast investing in a leveraged ETF that replicates the S&P 500 index with trading the SPY on margin.
This article originally appeared on the Learning Markets Web site.
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