MadJack said:
both and i'm new at this and not sure how it works. some of my buys they put in as margin and some they put in as cash. does that make sense? i just make the buys and they determine if it's cash or margin. i always wondered how that woorks as i am a rookie only doing this for less or about 1 year.
Lets say you have a 30% requirement on XXX stock and you have 10k worth of XXX
Now you want to buy ZZZ, but the margin requirement is 100% (essentially meaning you cannot purchase this security on the house's money)
However, you can decrease your cash position in XXX down to the minimum of 30%
--That now leaves you with $ 7,000 in "margin-equity" that you can purchase any security with.
i.e. the ZZZ you wanted in the first place
Its all just juggling money around to stay above the different margin calls
Federal Call
A Federal Call amount appears when you do not meet the Federal Reserve Board's initial 50% margin requirement for a trade. For example, your account equity must be large enough to cover 50% of the cost of buying a security or for the market value for a security you hold in margin in your account. Generally, the call must be satisfied within five business days from the trade date. However, Fidelity reserves the right to meet margin calls at any time prior to the stated due date.
Exchange Surplus/Call
The amount available to borrow on margin in your brokerage account, above or below the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) minimum requirement.
And now the most important...
House Maintenance Requirement
This refers to Fidelity's ongoing margin requirements which require customers to maintain a certain level of equity in their margin accounts.
Maintenance requirements are set by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and the brokerage firm. Brokerage firms have the ability to modify the maintenance requirements on specific securities and individual accounts.
Currently, the Fidelity house maintenance requirement is 35% of the account's net worth.
Note: For some securities, Fidelity has established a house maintenance requirement in excess of 35%.
House Surplus/Call
House surplus or house call is the margin amount above or below the house requirement for accounts where you can borrow against margin.
My account is obviously through Fidelity so that is their requirements
