Margin call calculator
Two distances every leveraged position carries: the move that triggers the warning, and the move at which the broker closes it for you.
What the numbers mean
Equity is balance plus the position's running profit or loss. Margin call fires when equity falls to the broker's warning level - commonly 100% of required margin - and stop out closes the position when it falls to the closing level, commonly 50%. Both distances are knowable in advance, which is what this calculates.
A stop out is not a safety feature. By the time it fires, most of the account is already gone - it exists to protect the broker from your balance going negative, not to protect you from losses. Your own stop, placed well inside these distances, is the protection.
Worked example
A $10,000 account holds a $50,000 position at 30:1. Margin call at 100%, stop out at 50%.
- Margin: $50,000 ÷ 30 = $1,666.67
- Margin call when equity falls to $1,666.67 - a move of 16.67% against the position
- Stop out at $833.33 equity - a move of 18.33%, with $9,166.67 of the account gone
The unit test suite pins these exact figures.
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