Quote from Surdo:
You do realize when you go below $25K you will also lose your 4:1 BP and be limited to 3 trades within 5 business days.
Yes, that's why I was starting with $30k. I figure if I lose $5k then trading probably isn't for me and I'll just close my account. Plus, I'd like a safety net cuz if I start with $25k and lose $0.01 on the first day, I'd hate to have my account frozen at $24,999.99.
Quote from a529612:
Or they'll lock your account to cash settlement if you fall below $25k and do nothing to satisfy the house call.
http://www.daytraders.com/nasdaq_rule_2520.html
I wasn't planning on getting any margin calls (is that the same as a "house call?")
Quote from 5Pillars:
NO....margin NOT included!
Seriously? Ick. So you're supposed to start with $100k of your own money and begin with $400k buying power?
Surdo, I don't really want to trade futures.
Ok I have a question about margin:
Say you have a $25k account ($100k margin):
- assuming no comission and you put all $100k into one position and it goes up 1%, you've made $1000. Do you get to keep ALL that $1000?
- assuming no comission and you put all $100k into one position and it goes DOWN 1%, you now owe your broker $1000, right? So your account is now down to $24k.
I'm not going to put all my money into one position like that. I was just using extreme examples to help clarify my question.
Do you get charged interest on intraday margin? What about intraday short positions?
Last question - margin only begins when you excede the amount in your account, right? So if you have $25k, and you buy $24k worth of something, are you then limited to $1k, $4k (your remaining $1k @ 4:1 margin), or $76k (the remaining balance of your $25k margin)?
Thanks.
