الدرس 9 من 11
What Is Margin?
Margin is the amount of funds required to open and maintain a leveraged trading position.
Margin is not normally the total value of the trade.
It represents a portion of the overall market exposure.
Margin example
Suppose you want to open:
$20,000 of market exposure
with:
1:20 leverage
A simplified margin calculation is:
$20,000 ÷ 20 = $1,000
Required margin:
$1,000
Margin percentage
The same requirement can also be expressed as a percentage.
1:20 leverage corresponds mathematically to:
5% margin
because:
1 ÷ 20 = 0.05 = 5%
Examples:
Used margin
Used margin refers to funds currently allocated to support open leveraged positions.
Opening additional positions can increase the amount of margin being used.
Free margin
Free margin generally represents funds available beyond those currently being used as margin.
A simplified concept is:
Free Margin = Equity − Used Margin
Free margin can be used to:
Support existing positions
Absorb losses
Open additional positions, where permitted
Equity
Equity generally reflects the current value of the trading account after including unrealised profit or loss on open positions.
A simplified relationship is:
Equity = Balance + Unrealised Profit/Loss
As open positions gain or lose value, equity changes.
Why margin matters
A leveraged trader needs sufficient account equity to support open positions.
If losses reduce equity significantly, the amount available to support those positions can become insufficient.
Lesson summary
Margin is the amount required to support leveraged positions.
Required margin is only part of the total market exposure.
Used margin supports current positions.
Free margin reflects remaining available equity beyond used margin.
Falling account equity can reduce available margin.