Maintenance Margin
The minimum equity to keep positions alive: fall below and the venue starts closing.
Maintenance margin is the minimum equity keeping positions open. Breach it and the broker liquidates. Venues raise it before volatile events.
Maintenance margin is the minimum account equity required to keep leveraged positions open, lower than the initial margin that opened them. Breach it and brokers issue margin calls, then liquidate automatically. Exchanges raise maintenance levels before volatile events, shrinking headroom exactly when traders need it.
How It Works
- Set below initial margin requirements
- Checked continuously against live equity
- Raised ahead of elections, votes and expiries
Trading Tips
Operate far above maintenance, never near it
Check for event-driven hikes before holding through news
Liquidation starts at math, not at mercy
Maintenance Margin Example
Say maintenance sits at 50% of initial margin and your level slides to 55% Friday before an election weekend hike to 100%. Monday opens with positions auto-closed although prices barely moved: the rule changed, not the market.
How Traders Use Maintenance Margin
Track distance to maintenance in percent, not dollars, and halve exposure when hikes loom. Survivors keep triple the minimum; the liquidated kept exactly enough.
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