Is Margin Trading Right for You? Here's What You Need to Know
If there’s one thing that can increase an investor’s buying power, it’s leverage. Leveraged trading, done in margin accounts, allows investors to use funds borrowed from their brokerage firm to buy more assets than their current balance affords. The positions purchased on margin act as collateral for the loaned funds, and a small amount of interest is charged on the outstanding loan amount. While margin trading can kickstart growth, it also carries risks, so read on to decide if it’s right for you.
If there’s one thing that can increase an investor’s buying power, it’s leverage. Leveraged trading, done in margin accounts, allows investors to use funds borrowed from their brokerage firm to buy more assets than their current balance affords. The positions purchased on margin act as collateral for the loaned funds, and a small amount of interest is charged on the outstanding loan amount. While margin trading can kickstart growth, it also carries risks, so read on to decide if it’s right for you.
How Margin Accounts Work
A margin account differs from a cash account in that it gives investors the ability to make trades that exceed their balance of available cash. By providing at least the required percentage of cash (generally 50 percent), investors can leverage the margin loan to buy twice as much stock as they could otherwise. For example, an investor with $10,000 in a margin account could buy up to $20,000 in securities without having to deposit additional funds.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Margin Accounts
Margin accounts open up many more trading possibilities than traditional cash accounts. Investors can trade certain types of options in a margin account, sell short, and even day trade. When using a margin account for leveraged trading, there is always the possibility that the value of the leveraged positions will rise, potentially allowing the investor to liquidate a portion of the position and use the proceeds to pay back the margin loan.
Of course, investments don’t always go up in value, which brings us to one of the risks of margin trading: margin calls. When the margin account balance falls enough that the outstanding margin loan exceeds a certain percentage (usually ranging from 30%-75%, depending on the margin requirement for the portfolio held in the account. See more information here.) The brokerage will issue a margin call asking the investor to deposit enough cash or other assets to bring the account’s balance back up to the required minimum level.
Unfortunately, since we can’t time the market, margin calls can hit when investors are least prepared to meet them. When an investor can’t meet the call, some or all of their securities may be sold. Therefore, before you apply for a margin account, make sure to read through the margin risk disclosure statement to understand the risks that might occur.
Advantages to the Firstrade Margin Account
While most margin accounts give you the benefits of increased profit potential, better diversification, and more trading options, Firstrade goes several steps further, offering margin accounts with no application or closing fees. Our margin accounts feature a relatively low margin interest rate and a flexible line of credit that can be withdrawn for other uses, such as an automobile purchase, doing home renovations, or paying for trips, weddings, tuition, and more. Firstrade margin loans are repaid quickly and easily through ACH, ensuring you avoid paying extra fees. ACH can also be used to swiftly meet margin calls.
It’s easy to start trading on margin and using your new account to day trade, trade sophisticated option strategies, and short sell. Simply click here to open a new account and apply for margin privileges.
Already have a Firstrade brokerage account? Then just login to your account and apply!
Changing Jobs or Retiring? Roll Over Your Old 401(k) to a Firstrade No-Fee Rollover IRA
If you’re changing jobs or retiring and you want to keep your investments growing tax-deferred without incurring penalties, a Rollover IRA may be a great option for you. This type of retirement account allows individuals to roll over their assets from their employer-sponsored retirement plan-401(k) to an IRA account, which means you may be able to completely avoid penalties and enjoy a tax-deferred benefit. Rollover assets encompass a range of investments, such as mutual funds, options, stocks, bonds, and CDs.
If you’re changing jobs or retiring and you want to keep your investments growing tax-deferred without incurring penalties, a Rollover IRA may be a great option for you. This type of retirement account allows individuals to roll over their assets from their employer-sponsored retirement plan-401(k) to an IRA account, which means you may be able to completely avoid penalties and enjoy a tax-deferred benefit. Rollover assets encompass a range of investments, such as mutual funds, options, stocks, bonds, and CDs.
How to rollover your retirement plan to Firstrade
Rolling over an existing pre-tax 401k plan is simple. With Firstrade, once you've opened your Rollover IRA account, you'll be able to transfer your 401k plan into your new account. Check out this link for step-by-step instructions. However, if your existing 401(K) is a post-tax plan (Roth 401k), you will have to open a Roth IRA account and roll over your assets there.
Benefits of opening a Rollover IRA account at Firstrade
Step-by-step guidance from one of our IRA specialists
We’ve made the process of opening an account at Firstrade easy, but if you’re not sure how to proceed or if you have additional questions, our IRA specialists are ready to assist you.
No account fees or deposit minimum to open an account
Make your money work for you with Firstrade’s absolutely no-fee IRA. We don’t charge any account management, inactivity, handling or assistance fees, nor do we require a minimum deposit when you open an account with us.
Access to a wide range of investment products with $0 commission
Firstrade offers a wide range of investment products for you to build a diversified portfolio with $0 in commission fees. Trade stocks, options & mutual funds to maximize your potential earnings with this tax-advantaged account.
Interested in learning more about Our No-fee IRAs? Visit Firstrade’s website today.
Firstrade 3.3.11 is Here. Customization, Chatbot and More.
Happy New Year and we hope your 2021 is off to a good start! We’ve released several new features and lots of improvements to make your trading experience at Firstrade as easy and convenient as possible. Read on for all the details!
Happy New Year and we hope your 2021 is off to a good start! We’ve released several new features and lots of improvements to make your trading experience at Firstrade as easy and convenient as possible. Read on for all the details!
Edit Columns
You can now customize how market data is presented on your Positions and Watchlist screen. Just go to Account > Profile & Settings, tap on Edit Positions Columns or Edit Watchlist Columns to add/remove and arrange columns in the exact order you prefer.
Firstrade Assistant
Get around-the-clock and immediate answers to your questions with the Firstrade Assistant. You can find the Firstrade Assistant under the Account tab at the bottom right corner of your screen.
What’s New
We’re constantly updating the app to make your trading experience better. Just tap on Account > What’s new in this release to learn more about our latest app features and how they work.
Download or update your Firstrade App here.
As always, we’re working to make your experience with Firstrade the best we possibly can. If you have any feedback, please let us know, we’d love to hear from you!
Top 25 Most Traded Stocks by Investors at Firstrade in December 2020
Get the full list of top favored stocks and ETFs among Firstrade investors in the last month.
Here’s the full list of top favored stocks among Firstrade investors. Then learn how to begin investing for the future with a Firstrade account!
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
NIO Inc. (NIO)
Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (TSM)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Moderna Inc. (MRNA)
Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM)
Square Inc. (SQ)
Luminar Technologies Inc. (LAZR)
NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
Fubotv Inc. (FUBO)
Xpeng Inc. (XPEV)
Teladoc Health Inc. (TDOC)
American Airlines Group (AAL)
Pfizer Inc. (PFE)
Snowflake Inc. (SNOW)
Nano Dimension Ltd. (NNDM)
Boeing Co. (BA)
Carnival Corp. (CCL)
Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM)
Unity Software Inc. (U)
Quantumscape Corp. (QS)
Fastly Inc. (FSLY)
Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021: We’re Giving Away 10 iPhones and Free Stocks!
We’re starting the new year with a fresh new promotion! We’re giving away 3 free stocks + a chance to win an iPhone 12 when you open a new Firstrade account between 12/31/2020-1/15/2021. This promotion is available to U.S residents who open an individual, joint or custodial account during the promotion period.
We’re starting the new year with a fresh new promotion! We’re giving away 3 free stocks + a chance to win an iPhone 12 when you open a new Firstrade account between 12/31/2020-1/15/2021. This promotion is available to U.S residents who open an individual, joint or custodial account during the promotion period.
Here’s how it works:
1. To get 1 free stock, open an account from 12/31/2020 - 1/15/2021.
2. To get 2 additional free stocks, deposit at least $100 or more within 30 days of account approval.
3. To get a chance to win an iPhone 12, send in your initial deposit early (by 1/15/2021) to be automatically entered in the Firstrade Free Stocks & iPhone Raffle promotion. Firstrade will draw 10 winners on 1/18/21.
Check out this link to learn more.
Firstrade offers the best value in the industry by providing our clients access to a full suite of investment products, research, tools and excellent customer support, with simple, straightforward and unbeatable pricing:
$0 COMMISSION TRADES ON STOCKS, OPTIONS AND MUTUAL FUNDS.
$0 FOR OPTIONS CONTRACTS.
NO HIDDEN FEES, NO CATCH.
Don't miss out, open and fund your account today and enjoy these gifts from Firstrade to help you get started on your investing journey. Cheers!